LTTE Headquarters,
                                                Tamil Eelam.
                                                03. July 1997

PRESS RELEASE 
NEWS FROM TAMIL EELAM
                                           
NGO'S ADMIT GOVERNMENT IS OBSTRUCTING FOOD TO TAMILS
	NGOs in Sri Lanka acknowledged at an emergency meeting of foreign
	and local aid agencies in Mullaitivu that the Government of Sri
	Lanka is purposefully disrupting the flow of urgently-needed food
	to thousands of Tamils displaced by its military offensives. Most
	NGO representatives in attendance openly stated that despite
	repeatedly presenting the government with facts and figures
	relating to the desperate food shortage among the Vanni displaced
	they had met with deliberate government obstructions to carrying
	out relief work. They also agreed that the amount of food being
	permitted through to Vanni is woefully inadequate. Strong words
	were used by a number of NGO representatives who accused the
	government of being "adamant" and "refusing to see reason". This
	dramatic confirmation of repeated LTTE claims means that the
	"food crisis" faced by Tamil civilians in Vanni can no longer be
	conveniently dismissed as "propaganda". We remind the
	international community that since May 13th (when operation Jaya
	Sikuru commenced) Sri Lanka's Sinhala military forces have
	entirely blocked the import of food and medicines to the Vanni
	district. Government assurances of "adequate food supplies"
	should be viewed with extreme caution in the context of a
	two-year government ban on media to the region.  UNHCR and ICRC
	too were present in this meeting.
	
EVEN LEGITIMATELY PURCHASED FOOD IS BLOCKED
	Food "allowed through" by the government to Vanni's non-displaced
	permanent residents is also inadequate. For 1996 only 2,464
	lorries were permitted to travel to Mullaitivu district alone out
	of a needed 4,440 lorries - which was almost a 50% cut. Up to
	June 1997, out of the officially "allowed" 2,297 lorries, only
	726 have actually been let through to Mullaitivu. (These refer
	not to "aid" supplies but legitimately purchased food which the
	government curtails).
	
MORE SPONTANEOUS DEMONSTRATIONS ERUPT IN 'FORGOTTEN' VANNI
	In response to the worsening food blockade - and denied access to
	the media - Tamil people are carrying out mass demonstrations
	across Vanni in protest at the government-imposed food-shortage.
	Sick and hungry  crowds are marching in Mallavi today trying to
	impress upon the world their situation and their expectations.
	The mass gathering will end at the area's ICRC office where a
	petition will be handed over to the Sinhala president of Sri
	Lanka and the heads of all foreign NGOs. To those who wish to
	still delude themselves that Sri Lanka is liberating the Tamil
	people, free media access to these mass demonstrations would be
	an eye-opener.
	
TAMIL SCHOOL BOMBED - TWO CHILDREN CRITICAL
	Low-flying Sri Lankan Kfir jets struck at a Tamil school in
	Munrumurippu Palapani (Mankulam) yesterday. Bombs and rockets
	blasted the building which was also housing displaced people. The
	attack which took place at 7.30 am has critically injured two
	Tamil girls. One girl is Muniandy Nirmalaranee, the other has not
	yet been identified. The incident resembles one which occurred
	during the government's recent operation to occupy Jaffna. On
	that occasion dozens of school children were killed at a place
	called Nargakoil and foreign aid workers on the ground confirmed
	the tragedy. Sri Lanka continues such assaults on civilians with
	impunity.
	
25 YOUNG TAMILS ARRESTED AT GAMPAHA STATION
	Sri Lanka police stormed a Badulla-Colombo train randomly
	arresting 25 Tamil youth. They were loaded onto closed police
	trucks and driven away. No further news is known about their fate.
	
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)