SLA re-imposes fishing restriction in Manalkadu

[TamilNet, Sunday, 28 April 2002, 11:33 GMT]
The Sri Lanka army Sunday barred fifty fishermen of Manalkaadu, on the southeastern coast of Jaffna, from setting out to sea for fishing in the early hours of the morning. The fishermen's national identity cards were sized by the military. They were then taken to the SLA camp at Kudathanai.

Fishermen on the coast of the Vadamaradchi division of the Jaffna peninsula were permitted to fish from 2 a.m. to 5 p.m. following a spate of protests in the north and under the terms of the cease-fire agreement between the Liberation Tigers and the government of Sri Lanka. However, fishing is still banned off the coast of Nagarkoil.

The Manalkaadu fishermen were released from the Kudathanai SLA camp later in the morning.

Fishermen in Manalkaadu told TamilNet that the army had ordered them not to set out to sea before 4 a.m. They said that they had been fishing from 2 a.m. to 5 p.m. so far after the SLA eased restrictions last month.

The Manalkaadu beach draws tourists from Jaffna and other parts of the island. The SLA, however bars Muslims and Tamils from entering the area.

Tamils and Muslims who wish to visit the Manalkaadu beach have to obtain a special pass to do so from the SLA's Kudathanai camp. Sinhala tourists are not required to get the pass from the army to enter Manalkaadu, sources said.

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