Prove Harm or Lift Ban: Purse-Seine Protesters Set Ultimatum to End Satyagraha

COLOMBO (News1st): The purse-seine or Ma-Del fishermen’s association stated that they would end their protest if authorities can prove that the use of tractors and winches in purse-seine operations is harmful to the environment.

They made this announcement as their satyagraha in front of the Presidential Secretariat entered its sixth day.

Fishermen from several regions launched a satyagraha on the 5th, demanding that the ban on using tractors and winches in purse-seine fishing be lifted.

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa and several opposition politicians visited the protest site from time to time, but the fishermen told them yesterday that the matter had become politicised due to the opposition’s involvement.

By this morning, the fishermen had presented a condition under which they were willing to end the satyagraha.

The fishermen also said they were prepared to withdraw the case they filed in the Court of Appeal.