Hundreds of striking fishermen had on Sunday made preparations for their proposed sail to Sri Lanka on October 28 as part of their plan to protest against the detention of fishermen by Sri Lankan Navy, The Hindu reported.
The report said : "Hundreds of fishermen tied "white flags" on their boats to show their resolution to send 10,000 fishermen to Sri Lanka if their demands including fishing rights in Kachativu under the control of Sri Lanka, release of fishermen arrested by Sri Lankan navy and return of 92 fishing boats were not met."
"Fishermen from Rameswaram, Nagapattinam, Pudukottai, Thanjavur and Ramanathapuram are on an indefinite strike in support of their demands.
Last week the fishermen had held a demonstration in front of the Sri Lankan High commission office at Chennai and had submitted a memorandum to the President Chandrika Kumaratunga through the High commissioner, fishermen's association sources said.
They had also warned that they would be forced to commit self-immolation if they were not allowed to fish near Kachathivu".
Meanwhile when The Island contacted the Minister Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Chandrasena Wijesinghe for his comments on the the report, he said the Sri Lanka Government would not allow foreigners to poach and exploit the country's resources. He admitted that the failure of the governments of both countries to address the problem had led to the current crisis.
"Now the problem is by and large controlled by the social forces. This would lead to worsening of the situation," he said.
"Fishermen in the North and East have been complaining for decades that Indian fishermen were poaching in Sri Lankan waters. We can never allow foreigners to make use of our resources. So far our government has been involved in discussions with both, the Thamilnadu Government and Indian Central Government. We have scheduled further discussions for next month.
Meanwhile, the Indian fishermen spurred by some other forces have resorted to this agitation.
We accept that they have a right to protest and demonstrate in their country, but not in Sri Lankan territory," the minister said.
He added that former Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike had managed to solve the Katchchthivu dispute without harming the bilateral interests of the two countries, but successive governments had failed to continue to safeguard the interests of fishermen of the two countries. "We are certain that these fishermen are not backed by the Indian Government which had initiated discussions with us to solve the current crisis through negotiations," the minister said.
"In any case, we are not ready to forfeit our fishermen's rights," he added.
Navy spokesman Commodore Jayantha Perera said the Indian fisherman had not got the blessing of the their government and as such they could not enter Sri Lanka territory as they had to pass the Indian navy and their coastguard which were patrolling the seas and were also cooperating with the Sri Lankan navy.
The Deputy Minister of Defence Ratnasiri Wickremanayake and the Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Narasima Rao were not available for comment.
Meanwhile, an official of the Indian HC said they had no information on the proposed visit by the Indian fishermen.
