Dismissing the Opposition's claim that his government has given fishing rights to Indians, the Sri Lankan President has said that he has issued clear instructions to the Navy to seize boats that violate the country's territorial waters, the Indian English daily The Hindu reported.
"We have not allowed fishing in our waters for the Indians. I have given clear instructions to Navy to arrest boats or trawlers that violate our water limits," the President was quoted as saying at a meeting Thursday night.
President Sirisena Thursday held a meeting at the President's Office with the parliamentarians of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and other Tamil political leaders of North to discuss the northern fishermen's issues.
Opposition group National Freedom Front had alleged that the government had given fishing rights to Indians in Sri Lankan waters as an appeasement policy towards India.
The President has said that he discussed at length the fishing issue between the two countries during his visit to India in February.
"I want to resolve this issue without hurting our long standing bilateral relations with India. We have asked the Indians to stop bottom trawling," the President has said. The President said he was looking forward to a constructive role by the TNA ruled Northern Provincial Council to resolve the dispute.
"I hope they can exercise their legislative powers to tackle the issue even by consulting the Indian High Commissioner," he added.
At the meeting Northern Province Minister of Fisheries B. Deniswaran has presented a memorandum to the President seeking the deployment of the Sri Lankan Coast Guard in the Palk Strait and Palk Bay to protect Sri Lankan Tamil fishermen from Indian poachers and drug smugglers.
At the third round of talks between the representatives of Sri Lankan and Tamil Nadu Fishermen Associations held in Chennai on March 24, the Indian fishermen had called for 83 days per year for three years to fish in the Palk Strait until they can phase out the bottom trawlers.
Sri Lanka has banned the bottom trawling practice the Indian fishermen use while the Sri Lankan fishermen are strongly against it as the practice depletes the marine resources and damages the seabed.
The Indian groups had also assured they will fish five nautical miles off the Sri Lankan coast. The Sri Lankan fishermen have agreed to consider the proposals put forward by their Indian counterparts and return for the fourth rounds of talks next month.
