Give immediate attention to the ‘fasting fishermen’ – Christian women ask President

The members of the Movement of Christian Women’s Voice (MOCWV) observed that there is a “threat to the lives of the six young Sri Lankan fishermen” who have been rescued from Somali pirates and have started a “continuous hunger strike” from Victoria Harbor in Seychelles, have sent a letter to President Ranil Wickremesinghe “requesting an urgent action to urgently rescue them” from the difficult situation the fishermen are facing.

In the letter to the President, the Movement of Christian Women’s Voice (MCWV) points out that “it is a crime in several aspects”  to allow these young people who have overcome and saved their lives to be detained in this way for more than a month.

“In this way, youth labor is stuck in one place, on one hand. And on the other hand, it has been stopped as one of the ways to provide foreign exchange to the country. Also, because they are not engaged in their livelihood, they do not get money. Therefore, the members of these fishing families are facing severe social and economic problems.” told Mojo News the Co-conveners of the Movement of the Christian Women’s Voice.

Melani Perera, the co-convener of the MOCWV, said that Francis Milroy, the owner of the vessel, told them that so far these Six fishing families have not received any economic help from the Sri Lankan government to face this crisis suddenly happened.

“Without taking the necessary legal measures and keeping them in detention is an injustice to those fishermen and their families as well as to our country,” told Mojo News Sister Deepa Fernando, a Co-convener of the MOCWV.

Pointing out that spending such a long time on a matter that cannot be resolved at the level of the fishermen, but should be resolved at the diplomatic level is a big molecular act,  Sister Deepa said that at least the government of Sri Lanka should provide some kind of relief assistance for these fisher families to maintain until the fishermen are brought to Sri Lanka.

Quoting the statements made by the young fishermen who are in fast hunger to the  BBC Sinhala news and to the Mojo News Lanka YouTube channel, the MOCWV stressed that their request to the Sri Lankan government, including the Ministry of Foreign Services and the Ministry of Fisheries, is very humane and a reasonable request, said in the letter to President, dated 05th of March, by MOCWV.

In this letter sent to the President, the MOCWV said, “The effort made by the Sri Lankan government to rescue the fishing vessel “Lorenzo Putha 4″ which was hijacked by Somali pirates on January 27th is well appreciated.”

Also, the Movement of Christian Women’s Voice, consisting of 33 lay members, requests the President not to let that reputation get ruined and take the necessary legal procedures to bring the vessel to Sri Lanka and give them an acceptable certificate to break the fast.

“If the Sri Lankan authorities do not take measures to bring us to Sri Lanka within these two or three days, we will take a tough decision and Sri Lanka should be ready to take responsibility for our lives” Fishermen have warned the Sri Lanka government,” said that in the letter to President by the MOCWV.

So, the Movement requested the President to give immediate instructions related to the immediate fulfillment of this reasonable request demanding the members of the fishermen’s families, Fishermen, and the owner of the Vessel.

As the owner of the multi-day Vessel “Lorenzo Putha 4” Francis Milroy, his new multi-day Vessel “Lorenzo Putha 4 “, which made its maiden voyage from Dikowita fishing port on January 12, was hijacked by Somali pirates in the Arabian Sea on January 27. With the intervention of the Seychelles and Sri Lanka governments, the Seychelles Coast Guard rescued the six fishermen and the vessel safely to Victoria Harbor on January 29.

“Exactly, I don’t understand who else should be asked to intervene in this issue. All the people who are officially responsible have been told repeatedly. The only thing I get from them when I speak, they say that “they need time”. Now I am fed up hearing the same useless reply. Even if I lose my yacht, I need my Six fishermen to be released. Otherwise,  who would feed those six families?” the owner of the Vessel had said to the MOCWV.

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