Indian fishermen and their families observed a hunger strike on Wednesday to protest against the Sri Lankan navy’s repeated arrest of Tamil Nadu fishermen.
Members of 11 fishing associations held the protest in Rameswaram, calling on the Indian government to help them trace Vilvaraj – a fisherman who went missing at sea last month.
Colleagues of Vilvaraj told of how the Sri Lankan navy had rammed their fishing boat with the attack craft causing the boat to sink. Whilst three of the fishermen were subsequently threatened at gun point by the Sri Lankan navy not to reveal details of the incident, Vilvaraj is thought to have been trapped and drowned in the sunken boat.
The protest comes after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Tamil Nadu J Jayalalithaa urged the Indian Prime Minister to “wage a strong diplomatic offensive to uphold the rights and interests of our Indian fishermen”.
See our earlier post: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister urges Modi to wage ‘strong diplomatic offensive’ on Sri Lanka (02 Oct 2015)
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