Lankan action against Indian fishermen not acceptable: Manmohan
February 17, 2011 08:29 am
PM Manmohan Singh on Wednesday came down heavily on Sri Lanka over the detention of 118 Indian fishermen by the Lankan authorities. In his interaction with television journalists, Singh said that this kind of behaviour was not acceptable among neighbouring countries.
“I have been told that about 118 fishermen have been taken into custody. We are
taking up this matter with the Sri Lankan government. We take a very serious
view. I think only earlier this month, the foreign secretary made a strong
demarche...this kind of behaviour is not acceptable among neighbouring
countries,’’ said Singh.
The Prime Minister was responding to a question about the fishermen being
apprehended by the Sri Lankan authorities on Tuesday after they allegedly
crossed over into their waters. The arrest comes close on the heels of the
killing of two Indian fishermen allegedly by the Sri Lankan Navy.
External affairs minister SM Krishna had on February 1 said use of force
against Indian fishermen should be part of the history and asked Sri Lanka to
take a decision that will not upset the bilateral ties, Times of India reports.