On September 1, as President Anura Kumara Dissanayake arrived at Myliddy fisheries harbour in Jaffna, there were high expectations among the Tamil fishermen in the region. Clad in black trousers and a pale brown shirt, Anura arrived in style at the harbour premises once controlled by the Sri Lankan army.
In his usual firebrand style, Anura’s five-minute speech addressing the local businessmen and representatives of the fisher community in Myliddy caught everyone by surprise. After launching the fisheries harbour development project - phase 3 to support the livelihood of the war-affected fishermen, Anura said, “The government is committed to safeguarding the surrounding seas, islands, and landmass of the country for the benefit of the people and will not allow any external force to exert influence in this regard.”
In the evening, Dissanayake took a boat ride to Katchatheevu along with Minister Ramalingam Chandrasekaran. The quick, unannounced visit and his statement during the Myliddy event were apparently intended to send a strong message to Sri Lanka’s closest neighbour, India, and its politicians that he will safeguard the seas and the islands around the country and resist any external pressure.
Through the visit, he also sent a message to the Sri Lankan Tamil fisherfolk in the northern province that the government will stand by them.
What sparked the fresh row
Anura’s statement and his visit to Katchatheevu came in the wake of Tamil actor and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) leader Vijay's statement at his Madurai conference that India should retrieve the tiny island in the interests of safeguarding the fishermen in Tamil Nadu. Sri Lanka’s foreign affairs minister Vijitha Herath was quick to respond that the country will not give back Katchatheevu to India.
Though Vijay’s speech drew huge cheers among his followers, it has backfired in terms of India-Sri Lanka diplomatic relations and also disturbed the actor’s followers in Sri Lanka.
In Jaffna, the posters erected by his fan clubs have been brought down. Vijay has been the only Tamil actor to have a huge fan following in Sri Lanka. His films usually draw a huge crowd on the very first day in theatres in Colombo and other parts of the island nation. But sources say that his films are unlikely to hit the Sri Lankan cinemas in the near future due to his Katchatheevu statement.
Katchatheevu's strategic importance
Katchatheevu is an uninhabited island located 14.5 km south of Delft Island off the Jaffna Peninsula and 16 km northeast of Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu. It is said that the act of conceding the island has led to the frequent arrests of Indian fishermen who crossed the maritime borders while fishing. The political party leaders in Tamil Nadu argue that retrieving Katchatheevu will be a solution to the periodic arrests faced by the fishermen on charges of fishing illegally in Sri Lankan territorial waters.
The talks about retrieving Katchatheevu had always been a flashpoint in Tamil Nadu politics, though it never fetched votes. In the recent past, the BJP and its former Tamil Nadu unit leader K. Annamalai raked up the issue, followed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his speech at Rameswaram.
In the run-up to the 2024 elections, Modi, while speaking at a public rally, criticised the opposition Congress for ceding the island in 1974. He stated that the new revelations about the agreement were startling.
In 1991, the Tamil Nadu assembly adopted a resolution demanding the retrieval of the Katchatheevu island. In 2008, a petition was filed in the Supreme Court arguing that the island should not have been ceded to the neighbouring country without an amendment. The final hearing in the case is scheduled to be held on September 15.