Poaching: Lanka wants urgent meeting of Joint Working Group

The Government has told India to make a serious effort to resume meetings of the Joint Working Group of the two countries to find a solution to the fishing crisis in the Palk Strait, a top official said yesterday.

“We have told the Indian government to set an early date and we expect it to respond positively,” External Affairs Ministry (EAM) Secretary Karunatilleke Amunugama said.

The government raised the issue with the Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid who was on a two-day visit to the country earlier this week, he said.

The Joint Working Group had been scheduled to meet in July this year but it was put off as India was yet to find the appropriate officials for the meeting, Mr. Amunugama said.

He said Sri Lanka hoped the delegations would include officials from the immigration, navy, relevant ministry secretaries and the industry of both countries.

Mr. Amunugama said the issue of illegal fishing in Sri Lanka’s northern waters by South Indian fishermen was taken up during the meeting with Mr. Khurshid but the Indian delegation suggested that the matter be handled in a humanitarian way.

Sri Lanka, however, insisted that it had to protect its maritime boundaries but promised to expedite the release of Indian fishermen arrested for poaching.

He said that for a start, there was agreement to hold regular meetings between various fishing organisations from the two countries in a bid to defuse tension.

External Affairs Minister G. L. Peiris this week called for a reduction of the number of Indian fishermen coming to Lankan territorial waters.

Meanwhile, in a related development Mannar’s Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Rayappu Joseph, yesterday pledged he would take up the issue of poaching with Tamil Nadu leaders.

The Northern Province’s new Chief Minister, C. V. Wigneswaran also raised the matter with Mr. Khurshid who made a brief visit to the north.