LTTE Headquarters,
                                                Tamil Eelam.
                                                11. July 1997

PRESS RELEASE 
NEWS FROM TAMIL EELAM
                                           
NEW JAFFNA GA REPORTS SCALE OF ARMY DAMAGE
	Jaffna's new government agent (GA) Mr. Shanmuganthan has compiled
	a report outlining the damage done by Sri Lanka's army in the
	peninsula, which starkly contradicts the Sri Lankan government's
	own version. Mr. Shanmuganthan's report highlights that at least
	650 Tamil civilians have 'disappeared' from the peninsula since
	the Sinhala occupation (of a total 1150 arrested) and that 50% of
	civilian dwellings here have been demolished by army
	bombardments. The report also reveals that the government has not
	taken any remial action towards improving the situation.
	
TAMIL AREAS STRANGLED WHILE SINHALA AREAS ARE DEVELOPED
	Three poverty-alleviation schemes are in force in Sinhala areas -
	the food-stamp scheme (introduced by Jayawardane); the Janasaviya
	scheme (by Premadasa); and the Samurdhi programme (by
	Kumaratunge). Under the latter, the Sinhala poor receive a
	monthly hand-out of 700 rupees plus free foodstuffs and other
	essentials. Tamils of the north/east get none of these benefits.
	Even the little they obtained in the past is being wittled down
	to the point where even the minimum necessary for survival is
	being curtailed in places. 25,000 Tamil families in Mullaitivu
	alone were rendered destitute last month after their food-stamps
	were withdrawn by the government. Another 19,359 Tamil families
	in Mullaitivu have now also become affected by the cut. On top of
	all this, the Chandrika government actually hampers the relief
	attempts of foreign NGOs who are trying to assist the suffering
	people of Vanni.
	
'FRAMED' TAMIL WOMAN FREED AFTER TWO YEARS IN PRISON
	A Tamil woman imprisoned without charge for over two years in
	Batticaloa has been freed after it was found out that the Sinhala
	police who arrested her had set her up after she refused to have
	sex with them. Batticaloa police arrested Selvarajah Thavamlar
	(31) of Karuveppankerni - a mother of four - in May 1995 on the
	charge of concealing explosives. But the woman had to be freed
	after the high court was faced with incontrovertible evidence
	that police had set her up. She had been arrested and held
	without charge under Sri Lanka's draconian emergency regulations
	which allows Sinhala police to hold Tamils without charge for
	well over a year. There are many hundreds of innocent Tamils
	languishing in Sinhala prisons whose cases stand little chance of
	being re-heard.
	
ARREST OF INNOCENT TAMILS ACCELERATES UNDER IMMIGRATION ACT
	Frivolous charges are being concocted by Sri Lankan (Sinhala)
	police to arrest Tamils seeking to leave Sri Lanka for
	employment. 34 Tamil youth (both male and female) were recently
	arrested at Katunayake airport despite all their documents being
	genuine and despite not having committed any offence. Sri Lanka's
	minister of Justice has ordered that they be charged under the
	Immigration and Emmigration Act.  More recently, 7 young Tamil
	people from Batticaloa were arrested in their lodgings in
	Maradana as they prepared to leave the country for work. Though
	their documents of travel and identity were faultless the
	minister has sanctioned their arrest under the same Act.
	
NEW HOME FOR ELDERLY UNDER LTTE ADMINISTRATION
	A home for the elderly was opened by the TRO in Aiyanpuram
	(Vanneri) on June 7th. TRO financed the project under its
	accelerated development scheme. The home is named after Jaffna's
	foremost saint, Yougar Swami.
	
SPY PLANE TOURS VANNI
	An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flew over Vanni on a spying
	mission early yesterday morning. It was followed at night by
	Puccarra bombers but, fortunately for residents, on this occasion
	no bombs were dropped.

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)