Rameswaram fishermen to boycott fishing indefinitely; will not participate in annual Katchatheevu church festival

Fishermen in Rameswaram protest Sri Lankan Navy arrests, boycott fishing activities, and hoist black flags in protest.

All fishermen associations in the coastal district of Ramanathapuram have announced that they will refrain from fishing along the Palk Bay indefinitely, and will also hoist black flags atop their dwellings as a mark of protest against the continuing arrests of T.N. fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy.

The announcement, on Saturday, February 17, 2024, was made after an emergency meeting was convened in Rameswaram, at which fishermen and their families participated in large numbers.

The hour-long meeting, which was presided over by a fishermen association leader R. Sagayam and others, also resolved to boycott the two-day annual festival at the St. Antony’s church in Katchatheevu, to be held on February 23 and 24.

Speaking to mediapersons, fishermen leader P. Jesu Raja said that it had become a routine affair for the Sri Lankan Navy to arrest fishermen from Tamil Nadu, on charges of poaching. “We are within our rights. We have been fishing along this stretch since time immemorial,” he said.

On February 4, in two different incidents, 42 fishermen were held and four trawlers belonging to them were impounded. The arrested fishermen were later remanded in judicial custody in the island nation. When the case came up for hearing on February 16, the court in Sri Lanka freed 20 fishermen, with a warning to not violate the IMBL (International Maritime Boundary Line) agreement, but sentenced two boatmen and a fisherman to undergo prison terms for having repeated the offence.

At a time when the fishermen are seeking help for survival and for their livelihoods, there have not been any tangible efforts from the Union government to stop these arrests, Mr. Jesu Raja charged. As a result, the Sri Lankan authorities had intensified their arrests of gullible fishermen, he alleged.

The meeting further resolved to stage a padayatra from Rameswaram to the Ramanathapuram district collector’s office on February 20, and hand over all documents issued to the fishermen by State authorities including their licences, since they had decided not to venture into the sea.