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Foreign Ministry provides translation services for Lankan fishermen detained in Madagascar
View(s):The Foreign Ministry has stepped in to provide a Sinhala-French interpretation for tomorrow’s court hearing against a group of Lankan fishermen who have been detained in Madagascar.
Eight Lankan fishermen are currently detained in Madagascar on allegations related to illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing within Madagascar’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
The ministry, through its Consular Affairs Division and in coordination with the Sri Lanka High Commission in Seychelles — accredited to Madagascar — has been engaged in the matter, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Employment Arun Hemachandra told the Sunday Times.
He said reecognising the need for appropriate linguistic support in the legal proceedings, arrangements have been made to provide the interpretation facility.
The detained Lankan fishermen at a governemnt facility in Madagascar
“The ministry is also working closely with the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and is pursuing all appropriate diplomatic avenues to ensure due process is observed, and to facilitate the early release of the detained Sri Lankan nationals,” he said.
“Consular assistance continues to be extended in accordance with established procedures, with the well being and legal rights of the fishermen being given the utmost priority,” he said.
Earlier the fishermen had expressed concern that lack of proper legal support for them would be a disadvantage when their case is taken up, as when the case was taken up the last time there appeared to be a communication gap. Court proceedings in Madagascar had been conducted in French.
Family members had met with Deputy Minister of Fisheries Rathna Gamage and called for intervention regarding their case.
The vessel had departed from the Wellamankara fishing harbour on April 5 and was detained on June 2 when they were returning to the country.
They have been accused of the failure to produce valid entry documents or fishing licenses and tampering with navigation data and the Automatic Identification System (AIS).
The Malagasy Police discovered 16,125 kilograms of frozen shark heads, 1,618 kilograms of dried shark fillets, 23 kilograms of dried shark fins, and 4 kilograms of dried shark gills aboard. The shark species are listed under Appendix II of the CITES agreement.
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