LTTE Headquarters,
                                                Tamil Eelam.
                                                17. January 1997


PRESS RELEASE
NEWS FROM TAMIL EELAM

PARENTS OF "DISAPPEARED" THREATENED
	The Sri Lankan army has begun intimidating Tamils, mainly
	parents, who make official inquiries about disappeared relatives.
	Military authorities earlier routinely responded to enquiries by
	flat denial of any knowledge of the missing person. But now
	soldiers have begun house-raids to intimidate relatives of the
	missing into withdrawing their complaints. Two weeks ago, one
	Tamil man in Madduvil was killed in his home after proceeding
	with enquiries about a missing relative. Although the government
	had, under pressure from outside, set up a so-called Human Rights
	Task Force (HRTF) in Jaffna to monitor disappearances, Tamil
	residents say this body is totally ineffectual and "helpless". It
	merely records cases and that is the end of the matter. And with
	the HRTF offices being so close to military headquarters there is
	growing suspicion among locals that a "sharing of records" takes
	place enabling soldiers to locate complainants and intimidate
	them into silence. Sri Lanka is coming under pressure from
	reputable NGOs about the disturbing rate of army-related
	disappearances in the north and these army-orchestrated
	intimidation campaigns are a calculated measure to hide these
	disappearances from the outside world.

THREE DISAPPEAR FROM UNIVERSITY
	Three more Tamil undergraduates at Jaffna university have gone
	missing, according to the student union. A text distributed by
	members of the union says all efforts to trace the missing boys
	has ended in failure. No one doubts that they were taken by Sri
	Lankan security forces who are occupying Jaffna and fears are now
	growing for their lives. Two of the missing students are from the
	Arts faculty, the other from the Science faculty.

ARMY KILLS TWO MORE YOUTH
	Two 22-year old Tamil youth were killed last week by Sri Lankan
	navy personnel. The bullet-ridden bodies of Thevarasa Vigneswaran
	and Somasuntharam Sivakumar were found next to a roadside in
	Karainagar (Jaffna).

CROWDS FLOCK TO COL. KITTU'S ANNIVERSARY
	Ceremonies in Vanni marking Col. Kittu's 4th death anniversary
	were hugely attended yesterday. The main procession carrying
	Kittu's portrait (and nine other portraits of those who died with
	him) marched from 5.45pm through the streets until reaching the
	Borg Memorial Grounds. Later, a large public meeting was held,
	honouring the national heroes. The day's events demonstrated once
	again the strong cohesion that exists within the nation of Tamil
	Eelam and Tamil people's affinity with the LTTE leadership.

NO CIVIL ADMINISTRATION IN JAFFNA
	The Sri Lankan military occupying Jaffna has transferred the
	Assistant Director of Education from Jaffna to Trincomallee. The
	army has not felt it necessary to provide a reason for the forced
	transfer of Mr E. Sivananthan but the act itself is a clear
	violation of the civil liberties of Tamils. Though Sri Lanka
	wants to present an image of normalcy in occupied areas,
	incidents like this show categorically that strict military
	authority prevails in army-occupied parts of the north-east.

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)