Attack on fishermen: Jayalalithaa writes to PM

CHENNAI: Voicing concern over frequent attacks and harassment of Tamil Nadu fishermen allegedly by Sri Lankan navy, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has told Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that it should be viewed as "an act of provocation and aggression" against India.In a strongly-worded letter to Singh, she said the attacks should be treated as a national issue and not an "isolated problem of Tamil Nadu alone".Her letter to Prime Minister yesterday comes days after she conveyed similar strong sentiments to Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai when he called on her here ahead of his three-day visit to Lanka from Oct 8.Seeking the Prime Minister's intervention to convey India's serious objection to Colombo, she emphasised that the harassment of Tamil Nadu fishermen "should be viewed as an act of provocation and aggression against India by Sri Lanka, similar to acts of firing across the borders of India by neighbours such as Pakistan and China".Recalling Mathai's visit, she said it was "distressing" to note even before Mathai reached Colombo, the "Sri Lankan Navy again chased away our fishermen in the sea by firing in the air, off Mandapam coast of Ramanathapuram District"."I brought the various incidents of attacks and harassment to his (Mathai's) notice and requested him to take up the above issues with the Government of Sri Lanka who, on the one hand were participating in various Indo-Sri Lanka Meetings in order to resolve the fishermen?s problems and on the other were resorting to violence against our fishermen," she said.Jaya recalled that 16 incidents of attack and harassment had taken place since May 16 (after her government came to power) and expressed her deep anguish over them.Fishermen were either injured in attacks or their catch and property damaged by Lankan navy during such incidents, she claimed."The Indian fishermen, especially belonging to Nagapattinam and Ramanathapuram Districts of Tamil Nadu, venture out to sea for fishing only with the constant fear of being attacked by the Sri Lankan Navy/miscreants," she said.