Tamil fishermen complain of assault by southern fishermen

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 April 2003, 18:42 GMT]
Two Jaffna fishermen were assaulted while fishing in the Vadamaradchi sea Thursday morning by Sinhalese fishermen who came from the south of the country in ?tank boats" to fish in the northern sea, fisheries co-operative federation sources said.

Nineteen-year-old Lingathas Anparasan and fifteen year old Thevathas Santhan Wednesday lodged a complaint at the Vadamaradchi North Fisheries Co-operative Federation, saying that they were attacked by Sinhalese fishermen in the presence of Sri Lanka navy personnel, sources said.

According to the complaint of the victims, the Sinhalese fishermen had surrounded the Vadamaradchi fishermen and assaulted them and later threw them into the sea after grabbing their catch.

Fisheries co-operative sources in Vadamaradchi said that while the poaching by Indian fishermen has declined, southern fishermen are increasingly present in the northern sea in recent times, impacting the local fishermen?s ability to fish, and potentially depriving them of their livelihood.