Colombo’s Fishing Ministry accelerates structural genocide with EU ‘certificate’

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 September 2016, 09:20 GMT]
The European Union, influenced by Washington and London to impose a one-sided ban on the LTTE directed the Norwegian-brokered peace process into a genocidal end in 2009. The EU is now backing Colombo's ministries that engage in full-fledged structural genocide against Eezham Tamils, complain Tamil fishermen. The EU removed its import restrictions on Colombo’s fish exports citing Colombo’s Ministry of Fisheries ‘improving’ its legal framework, sanctions on illegal fishing etc. In the meantime, the same SL ministry has increased its activities against the Tamil fishing industry in the occupied North-East. A number of public servants in the sector serving the people since the times during the war are now being demoted or transferred. Local Tamil fishermen are being harassed with ‘lawsuits’ while intruding Sinhala fishing companies and fishermen have occupied the coastal stretch of Vanni.

While the northern coast including the islets off Jaffna are occupied by the SL Navy under various pretexts and the coastal villages such as Mayiliddi are being permanently seized by Colombo, all the community-based ‘Paadu’s from Kaddaik-kaadu in Vadamaraadchi East to Mukaththuvaaram situated at the mouth of Kokku'laay lagoon in Mullaiththeevu, have been seized by fishing companies and fishermen from South brought through the ‘Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development’ working with the SL military and SL Police.

While there is much focus on illegal trawlers destroying the livelihood of fishermen in the North, Colombo's ministry has brought more than 12 big companies from South and hundreds of Sinhalese fishermen to exploit the fishing sea-beds along the eastern coast of Vanni.

While more than 1,000 fishing boats of fishermen from South are allowed to exploit the resources in Kokku'laay lagoon and in the seas off Mukaththuvaaram, Tamil fishermen who engage in Veechchu-valai fishing (nets thrown into shallow waters) at Kokkku'laay lagoon are facing lawsuits filed by the SL Ministry.

At the same time, the SL Fishing Ministry has found it uncomfortable to have experienced Eezham Tamil public servants in key positions in Jaffna, Ki'linochchi and Mullaiththeevu.

The Tamil public servants who have been serving the people during the times of war and its aftermath are facing demotions and transfers.

While the assistant directors in Jaffna and Mullaiththeevu are facing transfers, Mr Rasamanikam Raveendran in Ki'linochchi is facing demotion, complained fishing society representatives in Vanni.

The affairs of fishing industry should have been fully determined by the Northern Provincial Council. The EU, before giving ‘certificates’ to the genocidal system of Colombo should inspect the ground realities in the occupied country of Eezham Tamils, they further said.

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