New Delhi: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M
Karunanidhi on Tuesday said the Centre should press Sri Lanka to
abide by the Indo-Sri Lanka accord of 2008 and desist from
attacking Indian fishermen who stray into their waters.
In his address at the conference of Chief Ministers on
Internal Security here, he also condemned the recent killing
of two Tamil Nadu fishermen allegedly by the Sri Lankan navy.
"The Sri Lankan Government should abide by the
Indo-Sri Lanka joint statement on fishing arrangements (which)
categorically states that there shall be no firing on Indian
fishermen," Karunanidhi said.
Fishermen who cross International borders unwittingly
and apprehended by other neighbouring countries in the West
and East are not subjected to physical harm. "But Indian
fishermen who cross the International Maritime border off Sri
Lanka are repeatedly subjected to physical harm, harassment
and at times get killed," he said.
The Sri Lankan Government must be asked to follow the
due procedure of law as India does in the case of Sri Lankan
fishermen who cross into Indian waters, Karunanidhi said.
He however thanked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for
deputing Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao to Colombo to take up
the issue with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse.
PTI
