Sri Lankan PM justifies shooting of Indian fishermen amid Sushma visit
Posted on March 7th, 2015
Courtesy IndiaToday
Amid diplomatic moves to forge closer ties, the festering fishermen’s issue between India and Sri Lanka on Saturday threatened to snowball into a major row with Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe justifying his country’s navy shooting intruding Indian fishermen.
Wickremesinghe told a television channel that his country’s law has a provision to “shoot” anyone trying to “break into my house” — referring to Indian fishermen intruding into his country’s waters, as he met Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swarajhere on Saturday.
The Indian minister is here to prepare the ground for Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s bilateral visit next week, the first by an Indian prime minister since 1987.
Indian external affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said that India will take up the fishermen issue with Colombo during talks between Sushma Swaraj and the Sri Lankan side.
“This is an ongoing dialogue between India and Sri Lanka; the external affairs minister will certainly take up this matter today (Saturday) both with her Sri Lankan counterpart and with the Sri Lankan prime minister. We want to ensure both India and Sri Lanka are able to work together,” the spokesperson said.
Sushma Swaraj also held delegation level talks with her counterpart Mangala Samaraweera during which all bilateral issues were discussed.
In an interview to Thanthi TV, a Chennai-based news channel, Wickremesinghe said his government was willing to make a “reasonable deal” with India with respect to fishing rights.
To a question if shooting at intruding Indian fishermen can be justified, Wickremesinghe said: “If someone tries to break into my house, I can shoot. If he gets killed… Law allows me to do that… On the fishermen issue, as far as I’m concerned, I have very very strong lines. This is our waters… Fishermen of Jaffna should be allowed to fish. We stopped them from fishing. That’s why the Indian fishermen came in… they are willing to have a deal… Let’s have a reasonable deal.. But not at the expense of the income of the northern fishermen…No…”
Wickremesinghe continued: “Why are you coming into our waters? Why are you fishing in our waters…? Stay on the Indian side… There will be no issue…No one will shoot anyone else… You stay on the Indian side, let our fishermen stay on the Sri Lankan side… Otherwise don’t make accusations of human rights violation by the navy. You came in there.”
He also took a pot shot at India for filing murder charges against two Italian Marines over the killing of two Indian fishermen in 2012.
“… Why do you all pick up the Italian sailors? You say you are friendly with Italy, show that same magnanimity to Italy that you want us to show.”
To Thanti TV saying that the marines had killed two Indian fishermen, he said: “Look… If you want us to show that magnanimity to your fishermen, India should show the same magnanimity to Italian sailors.”
He also said that Indian fishermen could not be allowed to trawl the seas in his country’s territorial waters.
His comments came even as armed Sri Lankan fishermen allegedly abducted seven Indian fishermen late on Wednesday, demanding a ransom from their families, Xinhua reported on Friday.
The seven Indian fishermen later returned to Tamil Nadu, a leader said on Saturday in Rameswaram.
“Seven fishermen were allegedly abducted by some armed Sri Lankan fishermen on March 4. They were later released by their captors after confiscating their catch, mobile phones and other equipment,” G. Arul, a fishermen’s leader in Rameswaram town, told IANS on Saturday.
According to the Sri Lankan media, the Indian Coast Guard has detained six Sri Lankan fishermen on the charge of poaching in Indian waters, 128 nautical miles off Nagapattinam coast on Thursday.
Senior Tamil journalist R. Rajagopalan has said that Sushma Swaraj should issue a statement condemning Ranil Wickremesinghe’s “provocative” speech regarding the Indian Tamil fishermen.
March 7th, 2015 at 4:53 pm
AT LAST, AT LAST, THE DUPLICATE PRIME MINISTER OF SRI LANKA HAS SPOKEN FOR THE TAMILS OF JAFFNA. WELL DONE SIR. MICHCHAM SALAAM.
March 7th, 2015 at 5:07 pm
Namaste: Thank you Ranil. Stand up to Indian imperialists. Jai Hind
March 7th, 2015 at 6:15 pm
Just an empty threat! He does not have the BALLS to follow up on that threat. No way!
March 7th, 2015 at 6:29 pm
Good start, but we have 5 YEARS TO GO. In the meantime lets see.
Rajapakse also won cudos within the fist few months. then hell broke lose as he was branded with every possible name for defending Sri Lanka against the Tamils. RAJAPAKSE HAD AND STILL HAS MORE GUTS THAT THIS GUTLESS WONDER. LETS SEE IN A MONTH OR SO BEFORE LOWERING OUR GUARD. ‘
REMEMBER COLOMBO TURNED THE POLICE ON THE BADU BALA SENA IN KANDY ONLY THIS WEEK. NEVER FORGET THAT,
March 7th, 2015 at 7:18 pm
Run-nil says these nonsense to FOOL the people. He worships Tamil Madu people.
RW will NEVER EVER shoot any TN clown. Mark my word.
March 8th, 2015 at 12:31 am
At last this gay (Ranil) had the backbone to say to Indians “keep off” from our territorial waters. Let’s see what will happen after this. First time in history I see an illegal Govt taking revenge from a losing Govt and the Govt servants like this. This is not fair at all. First they must work and show instead of taking revenge from the Opposite side. These liars won’t stop lying until the election is over so people must believe what they see only. Best thing is to get these traitors out somehow.
March 8th, 2015 at 12:51 am
No one should fooled by this staged interview. This gay-boy who who has come to power as the PM unlawfully is still trying to fool the idiotic Sri Lankans with his lies. This show is only for the Sri Lankan audience with the connivance of the Indian media. This is simply empty rhetoric and there is nothing to wait for. Indians will now freely fish in Sri Lankan waters and for Kallathonis it will be open season. Already there are over a million illegal immigrants in the North.
March 8th, 2015 at 3:32 am
THE DUPLICATE PRIME MINISTER OF SRI LANKA HAS SPOKEN FOR THE TAMILS OF JAFFNA. – Any one can fool you You are like We-Demilayas with you last 2,600 years even though you get shit out from you at Mullivaikkal .
March 8th, 2015 at 4:31 am
Sri Lankan PM justifies shooting of Indian fishermen amid Sushma visit-yaaa PM can you order to do ? to whom you are fooling apart from yourself .
March 8th, 2015 at 9:02 am
Tamil Nadu fishermen overfished their area and did bottom trawling and ruined the sea bed on their side. Fish cannot reproduce there as a healthy sea bed is essential for fish reproduction. The young of the fish depends on the sea bed for their food. This is general knowledge and TN experts and religious leaders ought to take this problem up and treat it as their own problem, not Lanka’s problem Inland fisheries and rebuilding of the sea bed ought to be top priority for them. Also they have to make it illegal to sell Conch shells as trawling the sea bed and ruining it is due to bottom trawling for Conch shells which fetch high prices in TN. Plastic/silica conch shells can be made ?
This is not Lanka’s problem ! Lanka politicos should point that out without making threatening statements.
March 8th, 2015 at 9:08 am
There is hype up on Tamil ‘genocide’ story and now TN fishermen being threatened. What is the motive for all this and the end game ? Separatism, of course !
Lanka politicos should not get trapped into these TN created sob stories. TN leaders are merely trying very hard to get a separate state for Tamils only in Lanka. Some of our D&D leaders are falling into that trap. Eelam will bring Colonists back to SE Asia.
European elections are on – SE Asians, beware of traps !
March 8th, 2015 at 3:02 pm
What is the motive for all this and the end game ? Separatism, of course !-no wrong , Modi is visiting his latest formed Union state Saiva TE on 19th March.
March 8th, 2015 at 3:49 pm
Mr Modi has enough troubles in India without adding on Lanka NE problems too. It is the NE that has a mania for Separatism to please ex-colonists.
March 9th, 2015 at 2:31 pm
Frank Diaz:
You say the ecological damage done by Indian fishermen in Tamil Nadu’ waters are not Sri Lanka’s problem and you are right but Tamil Nadu is making sure it is SRI LANKA’S PROBLEM.
HERE IS AN OFF BEAT SUGGESTION.
IF THE POACHING DOES NOT STOP. ONE SOLUTION MIGHT AS WELL BE MADE.
SRI LANKA IS RICH WITH MARINE RESOURCES
TAMIL NADU RICH WITH ARCHAEOLOGICAL TREASURES.
TAMIL NADU FISHERMEN STEAL SRI LANKAN MARINE RESOURCES THEN IN COMPENSATION STEAL TAMIL NADU’S ARCHELOGICAL WEALTH AND SELL IT ON THE BLACK MARKET STARTING WITH THE TEMPLE OF RAMESHWARAM.