The Sri Lankan prime minister, Ranil Wickremasinghe reiterated his defence of the Sri Lankan navy's shooting at Indian fishermen who stray into its waters, stating that it was Sri Lanka's right.
"The Lankan navy has the right to shoot in any part of the country if anyone enters territorial waters, this is nothing new," Mr Wickremasinghe told NDTV on Monday.
His comments come just days after the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, visited Sri Lanka and stated that the issue of fishermen across the Palk Straits was a "humanitarian" issue and must be resolved through dialogue.
Earlier this month, Mr Wickremasinghe made similar remarks in an interview to the Indian TV channel, Thanthi TV, prompting widespread condemnation from Indian officials, including members of the Indian parliament.
"That is not the way for a head of government to say to a friendly country. As far as the fishermen are concerned, all deep sea trawlers must be sent to Bay of Bengal or the Arabian Sea," Mr Wigneswaran told CNN-IBN.
"The solution is to prohibit trawlers in the Palk Strait Area and have a Palk Strait management committee and they should be in a position to see that none of these things are happening and that they go to deep sea."
Mr Wickremasinghe had previously said: "If someone tries to break into my house, I can shoot. If he gets killed...Law allows me to do that.
Defending his comments, Sri Lanka's foreign minister, Mangala Samaraweera told The Hindu: “PM Wickremasinghe merely reflected the frustration felt by many of the fishermen locally, nothing more."
"The Lankan navy has the right to shoot in any part of the country if anyone enters territorial waters, this is nothing new," Mr Wickremasinghe told NDTV on Monday.
His comments come just days after the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, visited Sri Lanka and stated that the issue of fishermen across the Palk Straits was a "humanitarian" issue and must be resolved through dialogue.
Earlier this month, Mr Wickremasinghe made similar remarks in an interview to the Indian TV channel, Thanthi TV, prompting widespread condemnation from Indian officials, including members of the Indian parliament.
"That is not the way for a head of government to say to a friendly country. As far as the fishermen are concerned, all deep sea trawlers must be sent to Bay of Bengal or the Arabian Sea," Mr Wigneswaran told CNN-IBN.
"The solution is to prohibit trawlers in the Palk Strait Area and have a Palk Strait management committee and they should be in a position to see that none of these things are happening and that they go to deep sea."
Mr Wickremasinghe had previously said: "If someone tries to break into my house, I can shoot. If he gets killed...Law allows me to do that.
Defending his comments, Sri Lanka's foreign minister, Mangala Samaraweera told The Hindu: “PM Wickremasinghe merely reflected the frustration felt by many of the fishermen locally, nothing more."