The Sri Lankan Navy Commander, Jayanath Colombage, dismissed criticism by Tamil Nadu politicians over the arrest and detention of Tamil Nadu fishermen, by saying, "we are only protecting ourselves".
Speaking at the Marine Conservation Conference, he said,
“The only deterrent for poaching we came across so far is arresting and we are doing it, of course Mr. Karunanidhi came up with the statement that Sri Lanka Navy trying to make the Bay of Bengal into an open air prison!""Sorry sir, we are not doing that, we are only protecting ourselves. We are not interfering in their business. They would argue that the fishing is a livelihood business in Tamil Nadu, and I would say it is a livelihood business for Sri Lankans fisher folks, but it is multimillion dollars fishing industry for Indians. It is the disparity or the context of the whole issue that need attention.”
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