Families of fishers held in Seychelles complain of inordinate delay in bringing them home

Families of a group of fishermen abducted by Somali pirates and subsequently rescued by Seychelles Defence Forces about three months ago say their loved once were yet to be brought home.

They complain that the government is not keen to secure their release. Against the backdrop of repeated complaints, Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda recently invited the families of those fishermen held in the Seychelles to a meeting at his Ministry, where they were briefed of the efforts being made by the government in this regard.

A statement issued by the Fisheries Ministry quoted EPDP leader Devananda as having assured them that the Cabinet, on several occasions, took up this matter and President Ranil Wickremesinghe has issued instructions to the Foreign Ministry to speed up the repatriation.

Apologising for the inordinate delay in getting the fishermen back, Minister Devananda said that as there hadn’t been similar incidents previously, both Sri Lanka and Seychelles officials experienced some difficulties in addressing legal issues.

Seychelles Defence Forces rescued the group after Sri Lanka alerted them of the incident. The rescued fishermen and their vessel Lorenza Putha were brought to the Port of Victoria.

International media reported that the hijacking of the Sri Lankan vessel occurred in international waters about 840 nautical miles (1,555 kilometers) east of Somalia, 1,100 nautical miles (2,040 kilometers) from Sri Lanka and north of the Seychelles.(SF)