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Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Fishermen stage tsunami protest
More than 1,000 fishermen have been protesting against the government in the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, 300 days after the Asian tsunami
The protestors allege the government has not done enough to help rebuild their industry.
They are also demanding access to the billions promised in foreign donations.
The fishermen and their families were one of the groups worst hit by last year's tsunami on 26 December.
Over 30,000 people died in the disaster in Sri Lanka alone and millions were made homeless.
Forgotten Plight
'We are not from any political party, we are just fishermen trying to tell the government to help us,' said L Jayatilleke, one of the organizers of the protest.
The BBC's Dumeetha Luthra says that with presidential elections due next month, many survivors feel their plight has been forgotten.
Our correspondent says many fishermen have not been able to resume their trade due to the imposition of a minimum 100 metre buffer zone to prevent rebuilding close to the shore.
Although that has now been reduced to 15 metres, it has seriously delayed reconstruction efforts.
Elusive billions
The protesting fishermen accuse the government of inactivity.
'What happened to the money the foreigners gave,' read one banner carried by protesters, referring to the promised five billion dollars in foreign assistance.
They said they had seen little of the billions that had been promised and demanded more.
One protest leader was detained by police.
Last year's killer waves killed over 7,000 fishermen and destroyed more than 22,000 fishing boats in Sri Lanka alone.
Source: BBC News - UK
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