Fisher families flee back to Vankalai following SLN threats

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 January 2006, 15:55 GMT]
About two hundred fisher families, residing in Siruthoppu near Pesalai since 1980, have returned to Vankalai about 20 km off Mannar town following intimidation and threats by sailors of the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN), civil society sources said. They took their fibreglass fishing boats and nets and other fishing gear in tractors and available means of transport. A SLN camp is located close to Siruthoppu, which is also called Vankalaipaddu since these fisher families arrived from proper Vankalai village twenty-five years ago, sources said.

Fisheries sources said SLN sailors following claymore mine attack on SLN bus killing several sailors on December 23, had threatened these fishermen.

Fisheries sources said since the attack, masked men have regularly entered their houses in the night threatening inmates with death and other atrocities.