Eezham fishermen not responsible for attack on Tamil Nadu fishermen

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 April 2010, 14:11 GMT]
The president of Jaffna peninsula fishermen society federation, C. Thavarathinam, said Tuesday that the Tamil fishermen from Jaffna peninsula had nothing to do with the attack on Tamil Nadu fishermen on Kachchaitheevu seas Monday night. While refuting the rumour blaming Jaffna fishermen for the attack he said that there is a strong suspicion that the Sinhalese fishermen from the South who engage in deep fishing on Northern seas in large numbers had attacked the fishermen from Tamil Nadu with the assistance of Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) soldiers who are in full control of the islets of Jaffna and the seas around. Meanwhile, fishermen who were attacked said that SLN soldiers had assaulted them and cut off their nets besides confiscating their catch, sources in Raameasvaram said.

A hand grenade was lobbed on one of the boats of nearly 500 fishermen from Tamil Nadu who had come to Kachchaitheevu Monday night to fish from Raameasvaram.

The boat had been completely burnt but the four fishermen who were in it had been saved by the fellow fishermen and taken to Raameasvaram.

Fishermen in Raameasvaram are in rage against the attack on their fishermen.

The Monday night attack on Tamil Nadu fishermen was a planned one aimed at souring the good relationship that exists between them and the Jaffna peninsula fishermen, Thavarathinam said.

The fishermen of Jaffna peninsula who live with all their rights denied by the SLN are not in a position to involve in such incidents, he added.