Wednesday, 6 May 2015 00:56
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SRI LANKA’S revived friendship with India could be beneficial for thousands of northern fishermen who have been affected by Indian fishermen crossing the maritime boundary line into local waters.
Last week the Indian Coast Guard in an eye-opening report informed the Madras High Court Bench that 36,865 Indian fishing boats reportedly crossed the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) in the Palk Bay region and indulged in poaching as well as smuggling activities in the Sri Lankan waters between January 2014 and February this year.
Filing a counter affidavit in reply to a contempt of court application moved against top Government officials, including the Union Cabinet Secretary, the Indian Coast Guard said the Sri Lankan Navy had even provided registration numbers of 1,474 such boats to the Indian High Commission along with a request to prevent unauthorised entry into their waters.
Claiming that a majority of the Indian fishermen were let off by the Sri Lankan Navy with a warning, the Coast Guard said only 185 boats and 937 crew members had been detained between January 2014 and 29 March 2015, on charges of following banned methods of fishing, which caused damage to Sri Lankan fishing gear, smuggling contraband and other illegal activities. The Indian Coast Guard in a moment on candour admitted it was not legally empowered to arrest many of these fishermen and insisted information on the magnitude of the problem had been reported to the Tamil Nadu Government.
A few days later the Indian Central Government made an unequivocal appeal to Indian fishermen to stop venturing into Sri Lanka’s waters and warned continued forays would reduce chances of obtaining clemency from the Sri Lankan Government. This however would spawn fresh problems as Indian fishermen insist they cannot make ends meet unless they crossover to the Sri Lankan side. Despite this hitch, the stance of the Indian Central Government has been sharply in favour of Sri Lanka than observed in previous exchanges.
In addition, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has also taken the tough stance by presenting a bill in Parliament to ban bottom trawling in Sri Lankan waters. While the chances of the bill getting passed are minimal at this point, given the well-stocked line of legislation awaiting to be presented in Parliament that includes the 20th Amendment and the Right to Information Act, its very presence will increase discourse. Such a stance to help protect Sri Lankan fishermen and give them a chance to earn their living as well as protect Sri Lanka’s maritime bounty is certainly welcome.
Nonetheless, any long-term solution will come from the fishermen themselves. Previous attempts have been largely unsuccessful, with Indian fishermen requesting access to Sri Lankan waters and refusing to stop bottom trawling practices. After the Indian Central Government’s stance, there are fresh calls for talks between the fishermen of both sides. A Sri Lankan delegation of fishermen backed by both Colombo and New Delhi could have a better chance to thrashing out a deal beneficial to the island and finally break the deadlock on discussions. But regional politics still play a large role and how far the Indian Government’s stance goes to change the ground situation remains to be seen.
