Fishermen to end stir on Monday after talks with Union Ministers Sitharaman, Radhakrishnan

Fishermen agitating over the killing of a colleague allegedly by Sri Lankan Navy decided to withdraw their six-day old protest on Monday after talks with Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Pon Radhakrishnan in Rameswaram on Sunday.

The breakthrough came after talks between a delegation of fishermen leaders led by Struggle Committee President Arualanandam and the two ministers at a hotel here.

Arulanandam said the ministers have assured that the fishermen's demands would be met following which they decided to call off their agitation by Monday evening after the funeral of the slain fisherman Bridgo.

The fisherman was shot dead on March 6 allegedly by the Lankan Navy personnel while fishing in a mechanised boat off Katchatheevu islet.

The fishermen have been on the protest since March 7, refusing to receive the body of the youth unless a central minister visits the island and gives them an assurance that such incidents would not recur.

Earlier in the day, Commerce Minister Sitharaman accompanied by Radhakrishnan, senior BJP leader from the state, visited the fishermen at nearby Thangachimadam and appealed to them and the mother of 22-year old Bridgo to end the agitation and arrange for his burial.

Later, she held talks with the fishermen leaders. Ramanthapuram District Collector S Natarajan and other officials were present.

Natarajan told reporters that the fishermen have agreed to withdraw the agitation tomorrow after the funeral of Bridgo.

Another fishermen leader P Sesuraja said the community had already given a call for a one-day fast tomorrow. After the fast, the funeral would be held and the agitation would be withdrawn, he added.

The fishermen's decision to withdraw the stir comes two days after Sri Lanka released 53 Indian fishermen, arrested in recent past, as per a decision by the two countries to set free fishermen in each other's custody to defuse the tension following the killing of Bridgo.

The fishermen drew support from several political leaders who visited them and expressed solidarity, demanding the Centre's intervention in nabbing the culprits.

Chief Minister K Palaniswami last week wrote to the Centre and urged it to summon Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India forthwith and convey to him "the strong feelings of the Government of India and government of Tamil Nadu about the 'unprovoked' firing on fishermen and non-adherence to earlier agreements on this issue.

Earlier, after meeting the protesters at Thangachimadam,

Sitharaman said the fishermen's grievances would be conveyed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi "who will find a permanent solution to the issue."

Explaining the steps taken by the Centre on the issue, she told reporters that the Indian High Commissioner in Colombo had taken up the matter with Sri Lanka within two hours of the firing incident.

She said the island nation had not kept its promise made during the tripartite talks that Indian fishermen crossing the International Maritime boundary line would not be harmed and would only be arrested.

The minister, who spoke in Tamil, said the killing of the fisherman would be raised by the Indian High Commission Secretary during the March 16 tripartite talks.

She said investigation was on into the killing after which suitable steps will be taken to prevent recurrence of such incidents and also to ensure that the culprits were punished.

Stating that the BJP government had taken various steps since coming to power in 2014 to address issues of Tamil Nadu fishermen including the dispute over fishing rights in the Plak Strait, she said discussions were also on with Sri Lanka to release 136 boats seized by the island nation.

Five fishermen languishing in Sri Lankan prisons since November 6, 2011 had been saved from the gallows. Since 2014 till December 2016, a total of 1,753 fishermen detained by Sri Lanka had been released, the Minister said.

The government had also introduced various welfare schemes for the fishermen, she said.

Rejecting charges that the Centre which took prompt action in arresting Italian marines in the killing of two Keralite fishermen was not taking similar action in the present case, she said both were different incidents and should not be compared.