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Sri Lanka's Genocidal War - '95 to '01  
Strangling the Right to Work
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Jesuit Refugee Service Report, 25 January 2001
"Is it fair
that we are not allowed to fish at night time in our country,
but foreign fishermen are allowed to do so?" Fishermen in
Pesalai, Mannar Island
Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka's war
zones are endangered not only by shelling, landmines and gunfire. They must face
human rights violations on a daily basis, some life-threatening, others which
subject them to indignities and to economic hardship.
One violation they face is severe restrictions imposed by the Sri
Lankan government and army, which incapacitate their potential to work. In no
case is this more true than that of fishermen in the north. On Mannar Island, an
estimated 78 per cent of the breadwinners are fishermen, but they are hardly
allowed to fish. "Fishermen are not catching enough fish. They can just be
stopped from fishing, and they cannot refer to anyone else, there is nothing
they can do about it," said church workers in Mannar district.
"We are only allowed by the army to fish during very limited hours
in the day, between 6.30am and 5pm. We cannot fish at night, which is the best
time for fishing," said fishermen in Pesalai (the largest fishing village in
Mannar, where 90 per cent are fishermen). "The motors of our boats are kept by
the security forces. When we come in from fishing, we must return our motors to
the police station and report to them." Prior to 1990, no restrictions were
applied to the fishing trade, but now a range of limitations is rigidly imposed.
The fishermen said: "Previously, there was no restriction on fuel, now we are
only allowed 50 litres. We are not even allowed to do deep sea fishing, and are
only allowed to go three and a half kilometres away from the shore, in shallow
waters."
Sri Lankan Tamils are not allowed to fish in their own waters, but
Indian fishermen are. Very likely by bribing the Navy, they make their way into
Sri Lankan waters and fish where they like, when they like. "Indian trawlers are
allowed to come and fish in Sri Lankan waters at night. The Indian fishermen
have bigger trawlers and nets and they take everything," continued the
fishermen. "Sometimes we leave our nets at night and the Indian trawlers tear
them. So now, we can only fish on certain days a week if we want to keep our
nets. Is it fair that we are not allowed to fish at night time in our country,
but foreign fishermen are allowed to do so?"
Getting fishing equipment and spare parts for their boats is another
nightmare for the fishermen as many necessary items are restricted - "because
the army may suspect we are buying them to construct bombs" - and a pass is
needed to get them. "To buy most items for our boats, we need to go to Mannar
town, so we need a pass. Some things we need to get from Colombo, and it is so
difficult to get there, we need passes and sponsorships," said the fishermen.
Not surprisingly, these imposed controls have led to a drastic drop
in the income of the fishermen and their families. "We have all we need to
enable us to live a good life here in Mannar, but our income is not enough now
because of the restrictions. Before, when we could fish at night time, we would
earn an average of 2,000 rupees per day, but now we only get around 500 rupees
because of the curfew," they said. "Once some of us were rich, now we have
nothing. Our food intake has decreased much, and this has led to an increase in
ill health, but then, medication is scarce as it is also restricted."
As if all this were not enough, fishermen are subjected to further
indignity and hardship when the army, navy and police take the best of their
catch as it is landed. "If we do not allow them to, we will not be allowed to go
fishing the next day. Out of seven kilos of prawns, for example, they will take
one kilo, always the best quality," the fishermen said. This habitual practice
takes a further cut out of the income of the fishermen, and it is an abuse they
are powerless to do anything about. In Batticaloa, a fisherman did refuse, and
was arrested, tortured and detained for over two years after that (on the
customary vague suspicion of being a member of the LTTE). The Mannar Bishop, Rt
Rev. Dr Rayappu Joseph, said: "Members of the Navy collect fish for their own
consumption and they ill treat and assault the fishermen. They take the best
fish for free without asking."
The violations suffered by the fishermen at the hands of the
security forces can cost them their lives. The cases of "disappearances" of
fishermen shot dead by the Navy while at sea - because they are taken for Tigers
- are legion. One woman from Pesalai said: "My husband has been missing since
August 1998, when he was arrested while fishing. I heard he is in Kalatura
prison, and I wrote to the government asking after him. The reply I received
was... thousands of people disappear, how can we trace him? I have spent all my
money to try to find him, all for nothing, the children do not know their father
at all." Another woman explained tearfully how her husband and her son were shot
at when they went out fishing with another man in 1994.
Under the guidance of the Church, however, a number of steps have
been taken, which have led to a decrease in such incidents. Cases of
disappearances are usually reported to the Citizens' Committee, which follows
them up.
It is not only fishermen who face problems in working. The
cultivation of land is also fraught with difficulties. In the cleared areas,
cultivation of many areas is simply forbidden, while in the uncleared areas, it
is very difficult to cultivate due to restrictions on kerosene and a ban on
fertilisers.
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