BJP takes up fishermen killings with Sri Lanka envoy
By IANSFriday, February 11, 2011
NEW DELHI - Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushma Swaraj Friday raised with Sri Lanka’s envoy the killings of Indian fishermen by the island nation’s navy.
Sushma Swaraj said that High Commissioner Prasad Kariyawasam had promised to convey her concerns to Sri Lankan leaders.
“I met the high commissioner at my residence. I raised the issue of killing of our fishermen by the Sri Lanka Navy,” Sushma Swaraj posted on Twitter.
She quoted Kariyawasam as saying that Colombo did not approve of the killing of fishermen from Tamil Nadu and promised to convey her “concerns to the highest authorities in Sri Lanka”.
The BJP leader said she “will continue to follow up this issue”.
Last month, the killing of two Indian fishermen in the narrow sea dividing India and Sri Lanka triggered protests in Tamil Nadu. The Sri Lanka Navy was blamed but Colombo denied involvement.
Ahead of elections in Tamil Nadu in May, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao visited Sri Lanka Jan 31 to discuss the matter. External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna has voiced “deep concern” over the killings.
