LTTE Headquarters,
                                                Tamil Eelam.
                                                16. February 1997


PRESS RELEASE
NEWS FROM TAMIL EELAM

EDITOR WARNED NOT TO REPORT ARMY ATROCITIES
        The editor of a Tamil newspaper in Jaffna has been interrogated
        and threatened by the Sri Lankan army for reporting the story of
        an army massacre in which 9 Tamil civilians were gunned down by
        Sri Lankan soldiers. The editor of "Uthayan", a Tamil-language
        daily, was threatened many times before military authorities in
        occupied-Jaffna arrested him and warned him against publishing
        such incidents without the army's approval. The atrocity in
        question took place in army-occupied Pannalai (Karanaigar) and
        was in revenge for an LTTE attack on a military target the same
        day. A group of Tamil civilians on their way to work was stopped
        by armed Sinhala troops on the 29 January. The Tamils were
        ordered to return home immediately. The civilians obeyed and
        turned back towards the direction of their homes not wanting to
        antagonise the soldiers. The soldiers then opened fire on them as
        they walked, killing nine and injuring six more. Three of the
        dead were women, and one a 15-year old child. Most of those
        killed were later discovered to be related. Their names are -
        Sinnapodian Selvam (60), Ratnam Saraswathy (45), Satkunarasa
        Puvaneswary (20), Nagamuthu Naguleswaram (15), Viravan
        Anandamoorthy (30), Santhamalli Anandamoorthy (28), Sinnavan
        Sanmugam (65), Sinnavan Nagan (55), Nagan Puvandran (20).

ROUND-UPS ONCE A DAY ON MANNAR ISLAND
        Army 'round-up and search' operations are occurring at the rate
        of once a day in army-controlled Mannar Island. Tamil civilians
        of the region report that verbal harassment and beatings are
        common in all such operations. Earlier this week, the armed
        forces designated an 'Iron Ring' around the Mannar hospital area
        and everyone within the circle was interrogated with what has
        become customary cruelty. Witnesses say that in one place, two
        Tamil civilians were bound, gagged and tortured in front of the
        others. Public torture is becoming a more and more common army
        tactic used to intimidate other civilians.

DISPLACED CIVILIANS AGAIN UNDER FIRE
        Sri Lankan warplanes are for the second successive day targeting
        refugee camps where Tamils are gathered. Tamil families forced
        from their homes by the Sri Lankan army's Operation Edibala are
        presently in shelters in a number of nearby areas. Refugee camps
        at Periamadu (Mannar) for the past two days have been bombarded
        from the skies by Sri Lankan planes. Sri Lanka prevents
        journalists entering the Tamil northeast where they might report
        such incidents.

ARMY AMBUSH - TAMIL BOY KILLED
        A young Tamil, Kanapathipillai Nithiananthan, was shot dead by
        low-lying Sinhala troops while on his way to work last week. The
        ambush took place at Pallikudiyiruppu (Mutur). The boy was 22.

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)