By Shamindra Ferdinando
A high level Indian naval delegation was in Colombo early last week to discuss a gamut of issues including the arrest of Indian fishermen poaching in Lankan waters, authoritative sources said yesterday.

The delegation led by a senior navy officer, comprised officers from both the Indian navy and the Coast Guard, the sources said adding the two sides exchanged views of bilateral issues during extensive talks at the navy headquarters.

Sri Lanka’s Defence Advisor based in New Delhi and his counterpart in Colombo were also associated in the discussions, the sources said. Vice Admiral D. W. K. Sandagiri and the senior officers including the senior officer in charge of navy’s northern command were involved in the talks. The sources declined to go into details but stressed that all related issues were discussed.

There had been regular meetings between the two sides, the sources said revealing that one such round of talks took place on board the then INS Sayuru on November 29,1999 in northern waters. Sri Lanka acquired the same ship on October 31, last year as part of the ongoing efforts to improve navy’s ability to tackle the Sea Tigers.

The naval talks come weeks after Sri Lanka’s decision to take action against Indian fishermen poaching in Lankan waters. The navy in late April began apprehending some of the fishing craft that entered Lankan waters. Thirty nine Indians were held along with their boats. They were produced before Jaffna Magistrate’s Court last Friday [25] and remanded till June 6.

The sources said that India has stressed that all issues relating to fishermen must be dealt humanely. India sent her Deputy High Commissioner in Colombo along with the Defence Advisor to meet with the detained men in Jaffna amidst calls by Tamilnadu political groups that the Central Government take up the issue with Sri Lanka.

The government late last week took a group of local and foreign journalists to Kankesanthurai where the northern command briefed them of the problems caused by the entry of hundreds of Indian fishing craft almost daily. The LTTE take advantage of these craft to mount attacks and sometimes use them to ferry fuel and other supplies for them, the navy said.

Meanwhile, Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Minister Mahinda Rajapakse has left for New Delhi to discuss bilateral issues particularly the detention of at least 70 Sri Lankan fishermen and 30 trawlers. Before leaving for New Delhi, the minister told 'The Island' that he was confident of solving problems relating to poaching by fishermen of both countries. Some of the Lankans had been arrested in November 1999, the minister said.