Sri Lanka organises sea-paramilitary to attack Tamil Nadu fishermen

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 October 2011, 21:40 GMT]
Calling themselves ‘Somalian pirates’ a sea-paramilitary created and deployed by Sri Lanka’s Navy is intensifying its mid-sea attacks on Tamil Nadu fishermen in the waters of the Palk Bay, Gulf of Mannaar and off the southern tip of India, news sources in Jaffna said. Largely Sinhalese from the south, along with a Tamil gang inducted by the SL Navy from Koddadi, a coastal locality near military occupied fort of Jaffna city, man the paramilitary. SL Navy has given military training to this outfit. A Sri Lankan minister is also suspected to be involved in the operation. Several lakhs worthy of fish catch of the fishing fleets of Tamil Nadu is routinely seized after attack by this paramilitary getting inside Indian waters, while the SL Navy holds off the fishing fleets along the maritime boundary. One such attack took place while the Indian foreign secretary was visiting Jaffna on Sunday.

The sea-paramilitary trained by the SL Navy leaves the shores in the evenings without any fishing equipment with them, but returns in the mornings carrying fish catch worthy of lakhs of rupees, news sources said.

News reports coming from Tamil Nadu range from accusing the ‘Somalian pirates’ to local fishermen of Sri Lanka for the mid-sea raids and attacks. But the hands of the SL Navy trained paramilitary behind the attacks are increasingly becoming clear in recent times. The attacks also have escalated in the recent months.

Fisheries officials and fishing communities in the peninsula are afraid to open their mouth on the issue for fear of life.

Political observers in Jaffna suspect a deep conspiracy behind the whole affair, aiming at wedging Eezham Tamils and Tamil Nadu. The benefits of such a divide go not merely to genocidal Colombo, they point out.

Following the announcement of striking gas in the waters by an Indian company, there is speculation about industrialisation of the waters. Colombo announced the bidding of five more portions in the Palk Bay for oil exploration, but it is stalled during the visit of the Indian foreign secretary, as India wanted to re-demarcate the maritime boundary first.

Briefing about the future of Sri Lanka’s military to visiting US Asst Secretary of State, Robert Blake, in December 2009, the SL defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa was particularly harping on the expansion of SL Navy, ostensibly reasoning that it will prevent the LTTE coming back. He was promising SL Navy’s help in countering ‘piracy’ and trafficking of persons and narcotics.

While SL Navy’s ‘piracy paramilitary’ is coming to light now, a Wikileaks cable revealed the hands of a Sinhala minister in the narcotic smuggling from India to Maldives via Sri Lanka.

But both India and the USA conduct grand Naval exercises with Sri Lanka, and both assist the genocidal Navy.

SL Navy’s ‘expansion’ was particularly targeting on building new bases in the country of Eezham Tamils, especially in the islets off Jaffna, at the closest locations to the Tamil Nadu coast. Amidst opposition from Eezham Tamil fishing communities, Sinhala fishermen in large numbers were brought to these places in recent times by the SL Navy to catch sea cucumbers, conch and prawns.

Besides, new installations that come up in these places near SL military or naval bases, in the name of ‘tourism enclaves’ or ‘pilgrim enclaves’ also raise suspicions among strategic observers.