Fishermen warned over lights

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 September 1999, 18:16 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) at Maamunai and Nagar Kovil ordered representatives of fishermen's organisations on Jaffna's southeastern coast today not to light lamps on the beach between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m.

No reason was given for the order, the representatives said.

Fishermen in the peninsula usually light lamps to identify spots on the shore where they rest or sleep before they set out to sea to ensure their presence is identified, they added.

Fishermen in the Nagar Kovil and Maamunai areas said that they now face the danger of being shot by SLA troops on patrol or getting caught in cross fire, they said.

The SLA told the fishermen that any of them who set out to sea before 2 a.m. would be shot by troops stationed on the shoreline and that anyone who ventured beyond the one kilometre zone into the sea would be arrested or shot by the Sri Lanka Navy.