LTTE Headquarters,
                                                Tamil Eelam.
                                                06. April 1997


PRESS RELEASE
NEWS FROM TAMIL EELAM

CIVILIANS HARASSED IN EAST - 50 TAKEN AWAY
        Fifty Tamil civilians have been 'removed' by Sri Lankan forces in
        a cordon and search operation carried out jointly by the
        notorious STF and ordinary troops in Batticaloa. The Tamil
        residents of Perianilavanai were alerted when they witnessed a
        massive build up of troops in their village on Thursday. The
        armed forces broke into people's homes arbitrarily selecting some
        for arrest. Around 50 men and women were picked and, after tying
        their hands with rope troops hauled them into army vehicles and
        drove them to Kalmunai police station. Up to now none have been
        released.

CYCLING CURBED IN ARMY-RUN JAFFNA
        Armed forces in occupation of Tamil Jaffna have issued a further
        directive eroding the civil liberties of Tamils. All cyclists
        must dismount wherever there are army checkpoints in the
        vicinity. This is a major disruption to civilian life since
        checkpoints can be found virtually every fifty yards in most
        parts of this region. This makes it hardly worth mounting a cycle
        under the new rule. It is a punishable offence not to dismount
        near a military checkpoint. There has been a pronounced worsening
        of army-civilian relations in occupied parts, with soldiers
        beginning to treat the population with more and more disdain.
        Army regulations are getting progressively harsher and the
        battlelines are already being drawn between the military
        dictators and ordinary civilians.

TAMIL FESTIVAL POSSIBLE AGAIN IN MULLAITIVU
        Now that the Sri Lankan army has been cleared from Mullaitivu the
        Tamil people of the region are once again able to participate in
        their dearly-loved Hindu Tamil festival known as the Vathapallai
        Kannakai Amman festival. Scheduled for tomorrow, the event has
        been sorely missed by the Tamil people who were unable to freely
        indulge in this annual cultural extravaganza while watched over
        by Sinhala troops who maintained a camp in Mullaitivu until very
        recently. Since the dismantling of the Mullaitivu camp last year
        by LTTE forces the Tamil population here has been able to breathe
        freely again. The programme for tomorrow is as follows: 7 AM
        early morning Poosai; 12 PM Moolasthan and Vasantha Poosai; 3 PM
        the deity will be carried around the outer Veethy.

LTTE AND NGOs TRY TO ALLEVIATE TAMIL HARDSHIPS
        In a TEEDOR-initiated social development scheme, Tamil school
        children of the Melivanam elementary school (Vanni) are being
        given nutritional supplements during school hours. The
        LTTE-administration is actively promoting this and similar
        schemes across Vanni. The Sri Lankan government has for years
        imposed a food and medicine ban to Tamil areas in order to
        cripple Tamils and facilitate military occupation. The LTTE and
        local NGOs are trying hard to bring some relief to those worst
        affected by this policy. The TRO meanwhile has completed a set of
        temporary homes in Maniankulam for Tamils displaced by Sri Lankan
        military operations in Panipulam and Jaffna. The project was
        supported by the Kilinochchi Tamil Displaced Persons Development
        Society.   

Political Committee,
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam

(English translation of the LTTE statement released by
LTTE International Secretariat, 211 Katherine Road, London E6 1BU,
United Kingdom. Tel:0181- 503 4294 / Fax: 0181-470 8593)