Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa advocated a "humanitarian approach" to avoid clashes between fishermen from India and his country near the international maritime border (IMB).
Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai on Monday met Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and raised the issue of frequent attacks on fishermen from Tamil Nadu during his talks with authorities in the island nation, underlining that there was no room for violence. Ending his three-day visit to the nation, Mathai said that he had taken up the issue with the Lankan government. He was told that the Lankan navy was not involved in the attacks.
The WikiLeaks expose on the alleged 'cash-for-votes' scam in 2008 on Friday disrupted Parliament proceedings, as a united Opposition demanded a clarification from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the matter. The cables published by WikiLeaks alleged that the United Progressive Alliance government had bribed MPs to win the 2008 trust vote after the Left parties withdrew support on the Indo-US nuclear deal.
When over a hundred fishermen from Tamil Nadu were arrested by the Sri Lankan navy and their boats seized last month, fishermen in coastal Tamil Nadu went on strike. Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar visits the coastal towns of Nagapattinam and Rameswaram to discover that the fishermen do not have many choices.
Sri Lanka on Friday released 136 Indian fishermen who were apprehended for allegedly poaching in its waters, a day after India conveyed its deep concern over their detention and sought their release.
India on Monday conveyed its "deep concern" over killing of its fishermen allegedly by Sri Lankan Navy as External Affairs Minister S M Krishna met his Lankan counterpart G L Peiris, who said the two countries were working to find a "sensible and pragmatic" solution that endures.
Targetting Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on the issue of continued attacks on Tamil Nadu fishermen allegedly by Sri Lankan Navy, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief J Jayalalithaa on Wednesday described him as "weak and ineffective" and asked him to quit if "doesn't know what to do".
Sri Lanka on Sunday rejected as "baseless" the allegation that its military had killed an Indian fisherman and wounded two others.
Voicing concern over alleged attacks on Tamil Nadu fishermen by Sri Lankan Navy, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday asked the defence force of that country not to open fire on the Indian fishermen but apprehend them if they had done something wrong.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Thursday sought Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh's personal intervention for a firm action to put an end to Sri Lankan navy's firing on Indian fishermen.
Sri Lankan fishermen attacked the Indian fishermen with stones, before boarding the Indian boats.
An Indian Navy ship on a patrol turned out to be the saviour of a large group of fishermen from here when they were allegedly being chased by Sri Lankan naval men close to the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL), fisheries officials said in Rameshwaram.
Marumalarchi Dravida Munntera Kazhagam General Secretary Vaiko on Friday said repeated attacks on Indian fishermen, allegedly by the Sri Lankan Navy, has made the livelihood of over one crore fishermen in Tamil Nadu quite uncertain.
The Sri Lankan navy on Tuesday arrested 25 Indian fishermen for allegedly poaching in the country's waters, officials said.
Taking a serious note of the killing of two Indian fishermen allegedly by the Sri Lankan Navy, India on Tuesday told Colombo that the use of force against them should not be repeated and asked it to take a decision that will not upset bilateral ties. External Affairs Minister S M Krishna also directed Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao to convene a meeting of the Indo-Sri Lanka Joint Working Group on the issue around February 15 to discuss the issue.
Sri Lanka on Tuesday said its navy would not fire at Indian fishermen even if they had crossed the maritime boundary and suspected the role of some "third party" behind the recurring incidents.
Around 40 activists of a Tamil outfit on Friday stormed the Sri Lankan High Commission in New Delhi, pelting stones and ransacking the premises -- an incident which the Government of India regretted and promised appropriate action against the perpetrators.
A Sri Lankan Court on Wednesday ordered the release of 29 fishermen from Nagapattinam and Karaikal but extended the judicial remand of five others, officials said.
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Friday asked External Affairs Minister S M Krishna to prevail upon the Sri Lankan government to allow unloading of a ship carrying relief materials sent by overseas Tamil diaspora for civilians displaced due to the war in the island nation.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Tuesday said India should verify reports about Sri Lanka's proposed intention to set up a military base in Katchatheevu, saying "the unilateral action" was a great cause of concern for fishermen and the state government.
The recent rise in number of deaths of Indian fishermen by Sri Lankan naval forces has raised an alarm in New Delhi. Politicians from Tamil Nadu met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday to brief him on the recent killings on the Sri Lankan waters, and also gave him a memorandum on the same.
An LTTE aircraft on Tuesday night carried out an air strike in Colombo, though no major damages were reported, the defence sources said. "The LTTE aircraft dropped two bombs at around 23:15 in Colombo," sources said.
Running short of ammunition, particularly heavy-calibre artillery and mortars, the LTTE will try to tap the supplies from their South Indian hideouts
'Investment is the only way India can counter the Chinese influence in the region.' 'With more and more investments, you will have more and more stake; the strategic importance of Sri Lanka can be fulfilled with investments.' 'Investments should come because the void which is created by investments is always going to be filled by Chinese companies.'
The Centre on Thursday expressed its unhappiness over reported Sri Lankan plans to dilute key provisions of the 13th Amendment to its Constitution and termed the island nations's move as "unacceptable".
Sri Lanka's Navy has praised India for its help in countering the LTTE, and said the militant group's "backbone has been broken" after the destruction of several rebel vessels.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam on Saturday sunk a Sri Lankan naval logistic ship at the Trincomalee harbour with the Tiger rebels claiming it was the handiwork of their commandos from 'Kangkai Amaran unit'. "An under-water explosion damaged and caused logistic vessel A-520 (MV Invincible) to sink at 2.15 am on Saturday while moored at the Ashroff jetty in Trincomalee harbour," a Sri Lankan Navy statement said.
Intelligence officials on Wednesday questioned local fishermen to verify reports that their boats had been used by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to attack a Sri Lankan Navy vessel.
The Sri Lankan Navy on Wednesday claimed that it has killed at least 40 Tamil Tiger rebels when it confronted a flotilla of Sea Tiger boats in the seas off Vettilaikerni in the northern Jaffna peninsula.
The fighting started after Naval personnel intercepted a group of Sea Tiger boats moving toward the Pulmodai area on the northeast coast.
The number of naval ships patrolling the area had been increased from two to four while an unmanned aerial vehicle was also keeping vigil.
There was no immediate reaction from the LTTE in this regard.
The exercise was carried out in the Indian Ocean about 30 kilometres off the coast of Colombo.
Over 24 Tigers rebels are believed to have been killed on Sunday when the Sri Lankan Navy attacked and destroyed a ship carrying arms for the LTTE. "There were 24 to 25 people aboard the ship and we believe all of them have been killed," Defence Spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara said. The Lankan naval task group comprising Off Shore Patrol vessels SLNS Sayura, SLNS Sagara, Fast Attack Vessel SLNS Suranimila and Rendezvous vessel 521 were engaged in the elite operation.
There was no immediate confirmation of the incident from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
It was started when the LTTE launched a suicide attack on a ship with Indian crew.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse has said he does not want joint patrolling with India to check smuggling of arms to Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
The Sea Tigers seized two fast attack crafts of the Sri Lankan navy and dismantled all the armament including a 23 mm canon and an AGL gun before destroying them.
Five Indian fishermen were given the death penalty by a Sri Lankan court on Thursday for alleged drug trafficking, prompting a response from India that it will appeal to a higher court against the judgement.
Naval gunboats intercepted the Tiger boats leading to the battle, which lasted for six hours, it said.
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