LTTE Headquarters,
                                                Tamil Eelam.
                                                15. January 1997


PRESS RELEASE
NEWS FROM TAMIL EELAM

MORE RAPES  - STF DISCIPLINE BREAKING DOWN
        Sri Lankan soldiers have violently raped three Tamil women in
        Batticaloa. At 3am (January 2nd) troops broke into a Tamil house
        where a mother, daughter and woman relative were sleeping. The
        rapes took place at gun-point. Neighbours later admitted all
        three to Valaichenai hospital. The soldiers are members of the
        STF, the so-called elite force of the Sri Lankan army. Rapes by
        the STF are said to be occurring on a regular basis in Sri
        Lankan-occupied areas. Last week, two incidents were reported in
        Mandoor, fuelling anxieties that military discipline in occupied
        territory is rapidly breaking down, especially in Batticaloa.
        Local Tamil women live in terror of the STF whose recent record
        of indiscipline is staggering.

TWO SOLDIERS DIE - VAVUNIYA
        Two Sri Lankan soldiers manning an observation tower in Vavuniya
        were killed on Monday night during an LTTE attack. All the other
        soldiers guarding the tower at Kanthankulam fled. There were no
        LTTE casualties.

MOTHER KILLED WHILE PRAWN-FISHING
        A Tamil widow with 8 dependent children was shot dead by the Sri
        Lankan army while she was fishing for prawns in the Batticaloa
        lagoon. The soldiers, who were taking part in the government's
        recent 'Rivi Jaya' offensive, opened fire on her for no reason
        killing her instantly.

MILITARY 'DISAPPEARS' A MENTAL PATIENT
        Sri Lankan military authorities deny holding a Tamil mental
        patient who residents saw being arrested by the army in
        Nasivanthivu (Valaichchenai) last week. The 15-year old boy had
        been wandering through the streets when the military decided to
        take him away. Worried residents and family went to the local
        army camp but soldiers denied having taken him. His fate, like
        many other Tamil youth recently abducted, remains a source of
        constant worry for relatives. It has been found that when the
        army denies holding a Tamil person, the chances of ever seeing
        them again - alive, at least - are slim.

NOT EVEN A BLACKBOARD - TAMIL SCHOOL
        While Sinhala schools are given all relevant educational
        equipment and facilities Tamil schools, often in the same
        district, have a paucity of such facilities. The Othiyamalai
        Tamil school, for instance, has an acute shortage of teachers and
        is functioning without even a blackboard. The Sri Lankan
        government has ignored all appeals by teachers and parents to
        improve conditions, again diminishing the government's claim to
        care equally for all ethnic communities.


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/ Fax: 0181-470 8593)