COLOMBO: Taking exception to the statement made by Defence Minister A.K. Antony that 77 Indian fishermen had been killed by the Sri Lanka Navy (SLA) from 1991 to mid-April 2007, the Sri Lanka Government on Saturday said there was "absolutely no evidence" to link the SLA with attacks on fisher folk.

In a statement "to set the record straight," the Sri Lanka Foreign Ministry claimed that despite incursion of over 5,000 Indian fishing vessels into its maritime waters every month, the Sri Lankan Navy has observed utmost "restraint" and adopted a "humanitarian stance."

It said that prior to the issue of the latest press note, "there had been irresponsible speculation," pointing fingers at the involvement of the Sri Lankan Navy. The Ministry said its attention had been drawn to recent written responses to Indian Parliamentary questions regarding incidents involving fishermen from Tamil Nadu.

It said that over the years, there had been increasingly heavy incursions by Indian fishing vessels across the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) into Sri Lankan waters.

"The monthly observations of crossings of the IMBL by Indian fishing vessels amounts to not less than 5,000. The LTTE uses the the presence of these fishing vessels for their illicit activities, including launching attacks on naval and coastal units of the Sri Lanka Security Forces. Despite the grave constraints thereby created, the Sri Lanka Navy applies and will always continue to apply an absolutely humanitarian stance vis-a-vis the Indian fishermen," it said.

The statement said that whenever there are reports alleging the involvement of the Navy in firing incidents, the Navy headquarters in Colombo institutes the most diligent and scrupulous inquiries. It said the procedure involves first determining if any Sri Lanka Naval craft has been deployed in the vicinity of the alleged incident. If any craft had been deployed, an assessment was made as to whether ammunition had been expended.

"The outcomes of all the inquiries have established absolutely no involvement by the Sri Lanka Navy. As a further step, the findings of the inquiry and the process of investigation leading to the conclusion, are shared with the Indian High Commission in Colombo."

The Ministry said the Director-General of Police of Tamil Nadu issued a press note dated April 27 identifying on the basis of investigations of "six Sri Lankan Tamils belonging to the LTTE's Sea Tigers Wing" by the "Q Branch Police" of Tamil Nadu, the complicity of the LTTE boat "Maria" in the killing of five fishermen from Kanyakumari on March 29.

"It would be seen from the above that there is absolutely no evidence to link the Sri Lanka Navy with attacks on Indian fishermen. Moreover, the policy followed by the Government of Sri Lanka and her Security Forces towards fishermen from India with which Sri Lanka has longstanding and close ties, is designed to preclude any such happening," it said.

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