COLOMBO, Sept. 23 -- Sea piracy targeting fishermen in Sri Lanka's Eastern Province has intensified, with allegations that members of the security forces are also involved in facilitating the attacks, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress MP M.L.A.M. Hizbullah told Parliament on Wednesday (23).

Responding to Fisheries Minister R. Chandrasekar's reply to a question he had previously raised under Standing Order 27(2) in Parliament, Hizbullah said fishermen in the Eastern Province had been subjected to repeated robberies at sea for nearly a decade, but that the incidents had recently become more frequent and had spread to a wider area.

"Just two days ago, in the Valaichchenai-Vakarai area, fishermen who had spent several days at sea setting nets to ca...