Scores of northern Sri Lankan fishermen on Thursday took to the streets, blaming Indian fishermen for the recent death of two Jaffna fishermen “in a clash” at sea. The agitating fishermen protested the continuing use of the bottom trawling fishing method by Indian fishermen, “ravaging” their seas.
Long-festering tensions between fishermen in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province and Tamil Nadu have escalated in recent weeks, following two clashes mid-sea on January 27 and 29, when Indian trawlers reportedly rammed into smaller Sri Lankan fishing boats.
Days later, the bodies of two fishermen from Jaffna peninsula were recovered, according to Annalingam Annarasa, who leads the Federation of Jaffna District Fishermen’s Cooperative Society Unions.
The current flashpoint has not only escalated an old conflict but has also set back proposed talks among fishermen and ongoing bilateral attempts to find a solution to the crisis. In the long history of the Indo-Lanka fisheries conflict, Tamil-speaking fishermen on either side of the Palk Strait have rarely resorted to physical attacks on each other, although the Sri Lankan Navy has often been accused of attacking and killing Indian fishermen. In 2021, five fishermen from Tamil Nadu died in the Palk Strait.
Read more:
https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/jaffna-fishermen-hold-protest-opposing-indian-trawling/article38372898.ece