Italian marines are no guests: Fishermen

KOCHI: Close on the heels of the Supreme Court’s direction asking the Kerala Government to consider the plea to transfer the incarcerated Italian marines to a guest house, the fishermen’s organisations have come out strongly against such a move.The representatives claimed that such a bias towards the Italian marines when there are instances of Indian fishermen and sailors detained in foreign prisons was unwarranted.“There are hundreds of Indian fishermen literally rotting in Pakistani prisons.A parliamentary delegation from India found that over 500 persons were housed in a hall meant for less than half the number, and without basic sanitation facilities.These fishermen are not guilty of any crime.They had only ventured unknowingly into foreign waters.But our government has done nothing to ensure the basic facilities to these persons, and their unfortunate plight continues.In such a situation, is it justifiable for the government to provide guest houses for the accused persons?”, said T Peter, Kerala Swathanthra Matsya Thozhilali Federation (KSMTF).The KSMTF will send an official statement to the Chief Minister requesting him to reject the plea.“The state government has the power to take a decision on its own ”, he said.The Kerala Fisheries Coordination Committee (KFCC) which organised the ‘Human Sea’ across the state protesting against the killings, said that the move was an indication of the further course the case would take.“This is the latest in a series of downturns the case has been facing.The state and the Union Governments have rejected the organisation’s plea for thorough investigation of the case by a committee involving the departments concerned, the prosecution of the captain and so on.The new development only points to a pessimistic outcome.However, the co-ordination committee will submit a detailed representation before the Fisheries Minister and express our strong resentment against the Supreme Court’s directive,” said Charles George, KFCC.Similar views were expressed by the All-Kerala Boat Operators Association which alleged that the Indian government has failed to take any steps to help the Indian sailors lodged in prisons across the world.“When Indian sailors were imprisoned in Taiwan and the US, the Indian government failed to ensure decent treatment to its own citizens,” said Joseph Xavier Kallapurackal, general secretary of the All-Kerala Boat Owners Association.