Sri Lankan firing on fishermen unintentional - Indian Navy

The Indian Navy came to the defence of its Sri Lankan counterpart over the allegations of firing at Indian fishermen in the Palk Strait, saying that such incidents were not intentional and fishermen often got caught in crossfire between the Sri Lanka Navy and the LTTE.

“In fact, the Indian fishermen crossover the maritime boundary and fall prey to the crossfire between the Lankan Navy and LTTE,” Commodore PE Van Halteren, Naval Officer In-charge (Tamil Nadu), told reporters in Chennai.

“As a matter of policy, they do not open fire on Indian fishermen but when the fishermen venture too close to their maritime boundary, especially in the dark, it is difficult for them to distinguish fishermen from the LTTE,” he said.

Halteren said the Lankan Navy never crossed over to the Indian territory to attack the fishermen, as claimed by the fishermen on many occasions. “We are in touch with them on such issues and it would be better if our fishermen do not cross the international maritime boundary and enter their territory,” he said.

The Tamil Nadu Government has already warned the fishermen that their licenses would be cancelled if they enter Sri Lankan waters more than thrice. PTI