இலங்கை சிறைகளில் வாடும் 85 மீனவர்களும், 128 படகுகளும் விடுவிக்கப்பததால் அவர்களின் குடும்பங்கள் தாங்க முடியாத துயரத்தில் தத்தளிக்கின்றன....

DMK working president M.K. Stalin expressed grave distress on March 6, 2017, pointing out that eighty-five Tamil fishermen and one hundred and twenty-eight mechanized fishing boats continued to remain held under custody in Sri Lankan prisons and naval bases. Stalin emphasized that the failure of governmental diplomacy to secure their timely release had pushed hundreds of coastal families into unbearable mental agony, social insecurity, and economic ruin.

Stalin noted that mechanized fishing boats represent the lifetime savings, mortgaged assets, and primary source of livelihood for entire coastal neighborhoods. While fishermen languished in foreign detention cells away from their loved ones, their vessels were left to decay in foreign harbors, suffering irreparable hull and engine damage from tidal exposure. Stalin condemned both central and state administrations for treating this continuing human crisis with bureaucratic sluggishness instead of prioritizing emergency diplomatic intervention.

The opposition leader demanded that the Ministry of External Affairs negotiate an immediate, comprehensive prisoner and vessel exchange agreement with Colombo. He reaffirmed that the DMK will continue to mobilize democratic support across coastal Tamil Nadu until every detained fisherman returns home safely.