Fishermen arrested: Jayalalithaa urges PM to summon SL envoy

The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu state J. Jayalalithaa on Friday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to summon the Sri Lankan High Commissioner and convey India's strong protest on the arrest of Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy.

In a letter to Mr. Singh, she said five fishermen from Nagapattinam were attacked by the Sri Lankan Navy on July 30 on the high seas with pipes and sickles. Another 36 fishermen, also from Nagapattinam, were arrested by the navy on July 31. "I am pained to note that such incidents of unlawful abduction and arrest of fishermen from Tamil Nadu by the Sri Lankan Navy go on unabated and are occurring with alarming frequency", she said. Her letter to Mr. Singh comes a day after she had slammed the Centre for not taking any "concerted efforts" to secure the release of the arrested Tamil Nadu fishermen. Due to the "lack of response" from the Government of India, the Sri Lankan Navy was acting with "impunity" and was carrying out "unprovoked" and "illegal" acts of abduction and detention of innocent fishermen from Tamil Nadu, she said in her letter. "It is disappointing that the Government of India has failed to take any concerted steps to convey to the Government of Sri Lanka through the highest diplomatic channels our strong protest and sense of outrage at these continuing incidents of attack and illegal abduction of fishermen of Tamil Nadu on the high seas by the Sri Lankan Navy", Ms. Jayalalithaa said. Ms. Jayalalithaa criticised the Ministry of External Affairs for "not taking any steps" to lodge a strong protest of illegal detention of fishermen from Tamil Nadu by the Sri Lankan Navy. "I consider that the least that the Government of India can do is to summon the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka in New Delhi and convey India's strong protest against and deep sense of approval over the assaults and arrests of Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy continuing unchecked", she said. Ms. Jayalalithaa cautioned that unless the Centre takes positive and concrete steps to secure the release of these fishermen, "the deep sense of frustration amongst the fishermen community in Tamil Nadu is bound to escalate." She recalled her previous letters to Mr. Singh seeking the urgent need to take up the matter with the Government of Sri Lanka at the highest levels. "I once again exhort you to take immediate action to secure the release of all the fishermen from Tamil Nadu who are in Sri Lankan custody and arrange for their immediate repatriation," she said.