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

FULL MILITARY HONOURS TO LTTE DEAD
	Crowds gathered in Periapandivirichchan Kulamās burial grounds last
	Friday to see full military honours given to two LTTE fighters killed
	recently in battle with the Sinhala army. The burials took place at
	the end of a long procession in which with the bodies of the dead
	fighters were carried to musical accompaniment played by the local
	student orchestra. Most of the crowd were people from Mannar Madhu who
	wanted to pay their respects to the women, Supiramaniam Amirtha
	Ranjini (22) of Thatchanana Maruthamadu (Mannar) and Vadivel Thevy of
	Chettikulam (Vavuniya) who died in Puliyankulam defending their
	homeland from invading Sinhalese troops. The chief address was
	delivered by Mr. Staniklas (head of the burial grounds) after which
	student leader Selvaraj read out memorial verses in praise of the
	departed fighters.
	
	Full military honours were also given a day later in the same burial
	grounds to LTTE woman fighter Ratnasamy Jeyaledchumy of 4th Mile Post
	(Vavuniya). On this occasion, head of Mannar divisionās LTTE Womenās
	section -- Miss Kuveni -- delivered a powerful speech in defence of
	the LTTE's liberation struggle against the Sinhala occupation.
	
MILITARY OPERATION AFFECTS 12,500 TAMIL STUDENTS
	Sri Lanka has stopped Tamil students in Mullaitivu from obtaining
	school uniforms, textbooks and exercise books, which are supplied free
	to schools in Sinhala areas. Funds for purchasing school furniture or
	doing building repairs are also not provided to Tamil areas. In many
	parts, children are having to sit on the bare ground under trees to
	receive their education. Also, more than 75 school buildings have had
	to be converted into welfare centres for the displaced and the Sri
	Lankan military shells school buildings even while classes are in
	progress. Sri Lanka hopes that by such deprivation of essentials and
	terror-tactics, the morale of the Tamil people can be broken. This is
	the essence of Sri Lankaās military strategy. But the governmentās
	measures are rather consolidating and unifying the Tamil people as
	never before and convincing them further of the need for liberation.
	Under these circumstances, the determination among the ordinary people
	to evict the Sinhalese armed forces from Tamil lands is, without
	doubt, at its highest ever.
	
RELIEF RATIONS DENIED TO DISPLACED
	11,808 Tamil families recently displaced to Mullaitivu by Sri Lankaās
	latest military operation, have been supplied with only two weeks of
	dry food rations. Earlier the government ordered the reduction of
	rations to the displaced by one third so that 36,046 people were given
	only enough food for 24,000 people. The government deliberately cuts
	food to Tamil civilians as part of its military strategy. It
	mistakenly believes that by keeping Tamil people on the edge of
	starvation they can eventually wear down Tamilsā will to resist
	occupation.
	
TROOPS VICTIMISE WAHARAI INHABITANTS
	Sri Lankan troops have cut all bus-links out of unoccupied Waharai.
	Inhabitants now have to walk some 20 miles to reach the town of
	Valaichchenai to carry out food shopping. The Sinhala military is also
	restricting the amount of food and other essentials the residents of
	Waharai can carry back to their town.
	
SHELLING OF TAMIL TOWNS
	An unmanned spy plane flying over Mullaitivu yesterday was soon
	followed by intensive shelling of residential areas by Sri Lankan
	forces based at Mankindimalai. The attacks continued for several hours
	as usual panicking residents and damaging property. The government
	frequently claims civilian casualties are "accidental" but it is clear
	to all civilians on the ground that they and their property are the
	intended targets.
	
ARMY TRUCK KILLS CIVILIANS
	A speeding Sri Lankan army truck has knocked over and killed a Tamil
	man and his granddaughter in Karanthan Urumpirai (Jaffna). The army
	drivers sped away without stopping, leaving the dead and injured lying
	in the road and nearly knocking over a crowd of people who were
	returning from a temple.
	
TEEDOR ENCOURAGES PEOPLE TO SAVE
	Tamil Eelamās Economic Development Organisation (TEEDOR) is advising
	the people of Tamil Eelam to save money under the current trying
	circumstances, and has started encouraging this habit by setting up
	till-boxes in every household of Parithy cultivators colony (Mannar
	district). TEEDORās spokesman has said it will try its best to make
	sure this good habit is taken up by the people for their own future
	economic well-being.  
        
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)