Facebook icon
Twitter icon
e-mail icon

Mass arrest of fishermen is 'near warlike' act says Tamil Nadu CM

The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa called the mass arrest of fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy this week a "near warlike" act.

In a letter to the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, she wrote,

"These are the largest and most outrageous acts of mass abduction of our fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy,"

"Such brazen and near warlike acts could not have been carried out without the tacit approval of the Sri Lankan government. India's prestige and image has suffered grievous damage,"

"Surely, we cannot continue our facile 'do not touch policy' in the face of these audacious and high handed acts that violate the lives and livelihoods of our fishermen anymore,"

"The Sri Lankan High Commissioner in New Delhi must be summoned to the ministry of external affairs and our strong protest lodged. Prime Minister, sir, you must personally take up this issue with the President of Sri Lanka without any further delay,"

Meanwhile the DMK leader, M. Karunanidhi, condemned New Delhi for letting the Sri Lankan Navy turn the Bay of Bengal into an "open-air prison".

We need your support

Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.

Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view

We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.

For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.