Rameswaram fishermen announce two-day strike against arrests by Sri Lankan Navy

Announcing a token two-day strike on Saturday (December 7, 2024) and Sunday (December 8, 2024), fishermen associations in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, have urged the Union government to immediately secure the release of the 14 fishermen arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy on charges of poaching recently.

Announcing a token two-day strike on Saturday (December 7, 2024) and Sunday (December 8, 2024), fishermen associations in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, have urged the Union government to immediately secure the release of the 14 fishermen arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy on charges of poaching recently.

At a meeting of all the major fishermen associations on Friday (December 5, 2024), a resolution was passed to refrain from engaging in fishing activities till Sunday.

Speaking to The Hindu, fishermen leader Sesu Raja said the community had been facing numerous hardships and that their livelihood was in question. “Until a few months ago, the Union Ministers in New Delhi had been asking us to be patient as elections were on in Sri Lanka. Now that the elections are over and a new President and Prime Minister have assumed office, the Union government has gone silent,” he alleged.

He added that the future of fishermen in Tamil Nadu appeared bleak. “What is preventing political leaders from organising a high-level meeting with the fishermen of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka,” he asked, and recalled that this was a promise made by late External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj when she visited the fishing community here about a decade ago.

“Traditional fishermen have been fishing in the Palk Bay for the last five decades or even more. Trouble began only after the war broke out in the island nation with the LTTE. That war has ended, but the woes of the fishermen here don’t seem to end,” he said. Only when safety is assured can the fishing community survive, he added.

“The Union government is all praise for the fishing industry for its ever-rising exports, but at the same time, it is nonchalant about the issues faced by the fishermen — we cannot tolerate that,” he said, urging the Centre to resolve their issues permanently.

A total of three resolutions were passed in the meeting. The associations called for the immediate release of the arrested fishermen and the trawlers impounded by the Sri Lankan Navy.