Colombo, March 7: Amid diplomatic moves to forge closer ties, the festering fishermen’s issue between India and Sri Lanka Saturday threatened to snowball into a major row with Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe justifying his country’s navy shooting intruding Indian fishermen.
Wickremesinghe told a television channel that his country’s law has a provision to “shoot” anyone trying to “break into my house” – referring to Indian fishermen intruding into Lankan waters, as he met Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj here Saturday.
The Indian minister is here to prepare the ground for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bilateral visit next week, the first by an Indian prime minister since 1987.
Indian external affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said India will take up the fishermen issue with Colombo during talks between Sushma Swaraj and the Sri Lankan side.
“This is an ongoing dialogue between India and Sri Lanka; the external affairs minister will certainly take up this matter with her Lankan counterpart and prime minister. We want to ensure both India and Sri Lanka are able to work together,” the spokesperson said.
Sushma Swaraj also held delegation level talks with her counterpart Mangala Samaraweera during which all bilateral issues were discussed.
In an interview to Thanthi TV, a Chennai-based news channel, Wickremesinghe said his government was willing to make a “reasonable deal” with India with respect to fishing rights.
To a question if shooting at intruding Indian fishermen can be justified, Wickremesinghe said: “If someone tries to break into my house, I can shoot. If he gets killed… Law allows me to do that… On the fishermen issue, as far as I’m concerned, I have very strong lines. This is our waters… Fishermen of Jaffna should be allowed to fish. We stopped them from fishing. That’s why the Indian fishermen came in… they are willing to have a deal… Let’s have a reasonable deal.. But not at the expense of the income of the northern fishermen…No…” IANS
