LTTE Headquarters,
                                                Tamil Eelam.
                                                22. January 1997


PRESS RELEASE
NEWS FROM TAMIL EELAM

TWO MORE TAMIL YOUTH 'DISAPPEAR'
        Sri Lankan military officials at Vantharumoolai army
        camp deny holding two Tamil youths, aged 15 and 22,
        who went missing earlier this month. The boys' parents
        were told that no persons by the names given had been
        arrested. But Sinnathamby Gnanasegaram and  Sinnathamby
        Singarajah had been seen by locals being led into an
        army vehicle on 6th January on a road in Vantharamoolai.
        They have not been seen since.
        The rate of 'disappearances' of Tamils in Sri Lankan
        -occupied Tamil areas is markedly on the rise,
        according to many humanitarian organisations. Many
        Tamil youth are later found to have been tortured and
        killed by Sri Lankan security forces. Four other Tamil
        youth have gone missing recently in this area amid
        similar circumstances.  

NAVY KILLS ELDERLY FISHERMAN
        The Sri Lankan navy - notorious for its attacks on
        ordinary Tamil fishing vessels - has fired on and
        killed an elderly Tamil fisherman. The man, like many
        others living in coastal areas of Trincomallee, had
        no other means of earning a living other than fishing
        but the Sri Lankan navy heavily curbs the rights of
        Tamil fisherman. Recently, the navy banned Tamils
        in this district from deep-sea fishing, leaving
        deep-waters exclusively for Sinhalese fishermen,
        who also receive navy escorts. Reports of acute hunger
        among sections of the Tamil fishing population are
        now emerging from these parts. Appeals made to the
        Sri Lankan government about the worsening situation
        have not been responded to. Dry rations have not been
        provided to compensate for the effects of the ban.
        Sri Lanka claims to have "liberated" Tamils in the
        areas it occupies.  

        
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)