LTTE Headquarters,
                                                Tamil Eelam.
                                                23. August 1997
PRESS RELEASE
NEWS FROM TAMIL EELAM

LTTE TRAVEL DEPARTMENT INFORMS TAMILS ABOUT INCONVENIENCES
	The LTTEās Transport and Travel department has announced to Tamil
	Eelamās public that Sri Lankan military authorities at Mannar
	checkpoint are operating an erratic policy when it comes to admitting
	Tamils into army-controlled areas on legitimate business. This, the
	department says, often results in many Tamils having to return to
	unoccupied areas without conducting their business. The military
	sometimes admits a limited number of travellers through but mostly the
	Mannar checkpoint is closed with the result that people have to return
	en massse. In view of this, the LTTEās transport and travel division
	will regulate the number of Tamil travellers venturing to Mannar
	checkpoint, allowing them through in smaller batches to reduce the
	chances of the Sinhala military turning people back.
	
PADDY CULTIVATORS AWARDS CEREMONY SET FOR WEDNESDAY
	Wednesday will see cultivators from Vanni gather to receive awards for
	their work and ingenuity in paddy cultivation and vegetable gardening.
	The competition (for 1996-7) was initiated by TEEDOR -- the Tamil
	Eelam Economic Development Organisation -- which works closely with
	the indigenous LTTE administration towards raising the quality of life
	for Tamil Eelamās people. The response to the competition was
	overwhelming, with many rice and vegetable farmers enthusiastically
	entering into it. Prizes will be awarded by TEEDOR at a public meeting
	scheduled to be held in the Sri Subramaniya Vidyasalai
	(Puthukudiyiruppu).
	
TROOPS FORCE TAMILS TO BUILD NEW ARMY FORTIFICATIONS
	The Sri Lankan army based at Kommathurai and Kumpurumoolai camps (in
	Batticaloa) are forcing ordinary Tamil residents to build extensive
	protective fortifications and defence lines for the Sinhalese troops.
	Local Tamil civilians are being brought into the camps and held inside
	sometimes for a week at a time where they are made to cut trenches and
	erect earthworks for the armyās defence. Tamils who own tractors have
	also been ordered to work for the Sinhalese soldiers free of charge.
	There is a sense of urgency and unrest prevailing among the civilian
	population here, where increasingly vulnerable Sinhalese soldiers are
	becoming even more heavy-handed with the local Tamil population.
	
TWO SINHALA TROOPS KILLED, THE REST FLEE
	LTTE forces today killed two Sinhalese troops in the Jesiya settlement
	of Batticaloa. The remaining Sri Lankan soldiers took to their heels
	leaving behind their weapons and ammunition. The LTTE suffered no
	casualties.   
        
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)