No to Foreign Fishing Vessels in SL waters!

After months education campaign against foreign fishing vessels, Chinese Vessels in particular which are operating in SL EEZ as the BOI approved joint venture fishing operations became successful as hundreds of fishermen came to streets demanding remove Foreign Fishing Vessels out of the SL EEZ.
The boat owners, skippers and crew members came to Streets, at Thoppuwa Junction and protested demanding 4 main demands;
1. Remove Foreign Fishing Vessels from SL EEZ,
2. Not to unload and sell the fish from the fishing vessels which lowering the prices of local fishing vessels operators,
3. Mediate to release immediately, the fishermen who are detained in foreign countries,
4. Implement effective Fuel Subsidiary scheme and remedy the irregularities of existing fuel subsidy scheme.

This protest was some what critical as people were blocked the Puttlam-Colombo road at Thoppuwa bridge and road was blocked more than 2 hours. Police was so patiente and we were suspicious this much of patiente of Police.
The reason was some what clear to some people. Because, the slogans chanted at the protest were aimed at the fisheries minister, Dr. Rajitha Senarathne and not the overall plans of the SL government. Also, some senior ministers like Milroy Fernando, North Western Fisheries Minister Sanath Nishantha and Dayashreetha Tissera were around before the protest began even. And the demand at the blockade of the road was to bring the ministers of the North Western Province to settle.
However, the deputy fisheries minister Sarath Kumara Gunarathne appeared and promised 20 people to meet President for a solution.
So, we think this is well planned protest to attack some of the ministers in the cabinet and make image of one person in the country.