LTTE Headquarters,
                                                Tamil Eelam.
                                                19. February 1997


PRESS RELEASE
NEWS FROM TAMIL EELAM

MULLAITIVU BATTLE MADE AVAILABLE TO PUBLIC
        Film footage of last July's Mullaitivu battle in which the LTTE
        overran a massive Sri Lankan military base is now available to
        the people of Tamil Vanni. Operation "Ceaseless Waves" is
        depicted here in all its military splendour from the planning
        stage to its actual conduct. The footage - which also shows Sri
        Lankan air-sea reinforcements being meticulously repelled -
        illustrates decisively that the LTTE is today a highly
        disciplined and professional army in its prime. It also makes
        ridiculous Sri Lanka's insistence that the LTTE is reduced or
        spent force. The LTTE has always been open about its military
        losses as well as successes. The release of such video footage to
        the public demonstrates an openness in military matters which
        contrasts sharply with the Sri Lankan government's regular
        concealment of military news and casualty figures from its own
        population.

LTTE RECORDS CONTINUED RISE IN MEMBERS
        Students in Tamil Vanni are gravitating to the LTTE's ranks in
        record numbers. Every day there arrives a stream of new recruits,
        with Puthukudiyiruppu (Mullaitivu) currently generating the
        highest rate of new cadres. The general opinion among students
        seems to be that freedom has to be secured from occupying troops
        before any meaningful education can begin.

SINHALA PRISONERS SHIPPED TO JAFFNA
        A new government initiative to ship Sinhalese prisoners from
        Colombo jails to the Jaffna peninsula is underway. The placing of
        hardened Sinhalese criminals to live among the ordinary Tamil
        population of Jaffna has caused intense worry among residents who
        have reported several incidents of rape and murder by the armed
        forces since they occupied Jaffna in 1995. The criminals are
        brought from over-crowded jails in Sri Lanka's western province
        and then settled in Jaffna. They are then free to roam the
        streets of Jaffna. The intention can only be to intimidate and
        terrorise the Tamil population. The project, concealed by the
        government's reporting ban, has ensured that the quality of life
        of Tamils living under Sri Lankan occupation deteriorates by the
        day.

ARMY WIPES OUT NORTHEASTERN TREES
        The Sri Lankan military is carrying out a covert tree-demolition
        project in captured areas of the northeast. The ecology of the
        region has been destroyed since the government's military
        operations resumed in 1995. Some 2.5 million trees have so far
        been wiped out and the army is now ordering Tamils to cut down
        mango trees growing in their own gardens. In Jaffna city, ancient
        stately trees planted down roadsides by the ex-British colonial
        administration have been cut to stumps. The bizarre government
        scheme is going on apace hidden by restricted news reporting from
        the north-east. It demonstrates again that an organised policy of
        crippling the Tamil nation is being commandeered.
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)