Sri Lanka’s Fisheries Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said the security forces will be ordered to cut the fishing nets of Indian fishermen who come into Sri Lankan waters, reports the Sunday Times.
Stating that the arrest and detention of Indian fishermen and their equipment had failed to stop them from entering Sri Lankan waters, Mr Amaraweera said that new official orders would be sent round soon.
“We have also decided that any of the Indian fishermen’s detained boats will not be released,” he said.
Earlier this year, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe repeatedly stated the Sri Lankan navy had the right to shoot Indian fishermen who stray into its waters, causing outrage in India.
But the minister stated he was not worried about the response from Tamil Nadu, saying, "Tamil Nadu is always protesting against Sri Lanka and therefore they will launch further protests against this action, but it doesn’t matter as the Indian Central Government and the Indian Fisheries Minister understand the situation."
The latest comments come amidst an increasing number of arrests of Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan navy last week.
See our earlier post: More Indian fishermen arrested by Sri Lankan navy this week (17 Oct 2015)
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