Fifty Tamil Nadu fishermen wounded in new SLN attack

[TamilNet, Sunday, 11 July 2010, 12:38 GMT]
Fifty fishermen from Tamil Nadu were injured when they were attacked allegedly by Sri Lankan Naval (SLN) personnel while fishing off Katchathivu Island, PTI reported Sunday, citing Indian Fisheries department officials. The attack comes hours after the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu staged a demonstration near the Sri Lankan deputy high commission in Chennai to protest the recent death of a fisherman in an SLN attack off the Kodiakarai coast on Wednesday. Hundreds of Indian fishermen, and many more Tamil fishermen in Sri Lanka, have been killed or wounded in SLN attacks over several years.

The Indian officials said the SLN personnel in eight patrol boats intercepted about 200 fishermen in 130 boats off Katchathivu, an island between the two states’ shores, assaulted them and took away their catch, their Global Positioning systems and batteries Saturday night.

They however, did not say how many of them have been hospitalised.

Fishermen Association president P Jeysu said each of the affected boat owners had suffered losses of about Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000.

Meanwhile, SLN spokesman Captain Athula Senarath was quoted in state-owned newspapers on Sunday as saying the SLN had carried out an indepth investigation into the alleged attack on Wednesday and found that no SLN vessel was sailing in the location mentioned.

He said the killing of Indian fishermen has never happened and the SLN has always adhered to the proper procedures to ensure their safety, the Sunday Observer reported.