Pon Radhakrishnan, OPS, Stalin meet protesting fishermen

Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan, rebel AIADMK faction head O Panneerselvam and DMK leader M K Stalin today met protesting fishermen, who are on a stir against the killing of their colleague allegedly by the Sri Lankan Navy last week.
Speaking to reporters after meeting the fishermen, Radhakrishnan said Sri Lanka had assured India during the tripartite talks in Delhi that they would not shoot Indian fishermen and only arrest them if they cross the International Maritime Boundary Line.
"They have violated the promise by killing the fisherman," he said.
He said the issue would be raised during the next round of tripartite talks on March 16 and added that the Centre would take efforts to redress the grievances of the fishermen.

Radhakrishnan alleged that in the past 22 years, a total of 500 fishermen had been killed by the Sri Lankan Navy.
The Minister of State for Shipping said he got the information about the fisherman's death only a day after the March 6 incident.

He requested the protesting fishermen to give up the stir and accept the body of their colleague, which is kept in a mortuary here. But the protesters refused, saying they wanted a permanent solution to the problem.
Radhakrishnan earlier went to the government hospital and paid homage by placing a wreath on the body.
Former Tamil Nadu chief minister Panneerselvam demanded that the Centre take steps to end such attacks, adding that he would extend financial aid to the family of the deceased fisherman.

He said it was the Centre's responsibility to take care of the fishermen and added that he would soon leave for Delhi to apprise the Union government of the issue. He too went to the government hospital with former fisheries minister K Jayapal and paid homage to the deceased fisherman.
DMK working president M K Stalin, while speaking to reporters outside the mortuary, alleged that the Centre has failed to act so far in the issue.
"The demands of the fishing community have not been met. No one from the External Affairs Ministry has visited the protesting fishermen," he charged.

He also pointed out that DMK MPs had raised the issue in the Parliament.
The DMK leader urged the Centre to take steps to retrieve Katchatheevu islet from Sri Lanka.
Hundreds of fishermen continued their protest here for the fifth day today against the killing of 22-year-old Bridgo, who was shot dead on Monday allegedly by Lankan Navy personnel while he was fishing in a mechanised boat at a short distance off Katchatheevu islet.
Fishermen and students from Nagapattinam, Karaikal and Jegadapattinam also joined the stir.