Stalin urges Modi to take up fishermen issue with visiting Lankan Prez

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take up with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, the issue of protection of the traditional fishing rights of Indian fishermen. Pointing to Wickremesinghe’s two-day official visit to the country this week, Stalin outlined ‘retrieval’ of Katchatheevu island and addressing the genuine aspirations of the Tamil-speaking people in Sri Lanka as matters of great concern to the people of Tamil Nadu. At the invitation of Prime Minister Modi, Wickremesinghe is set to visit India on an official visit on July 21. This will be his first visit to the country since assuming the ‘current responsibilities,’ according to the External Affairs Ministry. Stalin, writing to Modi, said it is imperative to protect the social, political, cultural and economic rights of the Tamils in Sri Lanka so that they could lead dignified lives as equal citizens. ”For this purpose, there must be adequate and meaningful devolution of powers to the provinces, which fulfils the genuine and unresolved aspirations of the Tamils in the island nation,” he said. An official release here said Stalin wrote to Modi on July 19. Tracing the nearly 50-year old history of India ceding Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka without Tamil Nadu government’s ‘consent,’ Stalin said the ”island has historically been a part of India, and fishermen from Tamil Nadu have been traditionally fishing in the waters around this island.” In 1974, India ceded Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka. Indian fishermen face highly restricted access to traditional fishing grounds, increased harassment by the Sri Lankan Navy and arrests on trespassing charges, he said. Restoring the right to fish in the traditional fishing grounds of Palk Bay has always been among the top priorities of the government of Tamil Nadu. ”I urge the Union government to initiate diplomatic efforts to revisit the agreement transferring Katchatheevu island and make all efforts