Anbumani Ramadoss
| Photo Credit: E. LAKSHMI NARAYANAN

PMK Leader Anbumani Ramadoss on Sunday said the recent arrest of fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy should be seen as an attack on India’s sovereignty, and demanded the Central government to issue a strong warning to the Sri Lankan government.

In a statement, Dr. Anbumani said though the issue of Tamil Nadu fishermen crossing the maritime boundary should be seen as a humanitarian and livelihood-related problem, as decided by the India-Sri Lanka Joint Working Group on Fisheries at a meeting held on October 29, it was not being considered in that manner.

“During the recent visit of Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to India, he had discussions with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during which the same stance was reiterated. However, the Sri Lankan Navy arbitrarily arrests Tamil Nadu fishermen as if they were engaging in cross-border terrorism. This is a direct challenge to India’s sovereignty,” he said.

Dr. Anbumani said the Tamil Nadu government has failed in this issue and said they should try to find a permanent solution to the issue instead of merely writing letters to the Central government.