LTTE Headquarters,
                                                Tamil Eelam.
                                                18. July 1997

PRESS RELEASE 
NEWS FROM TAMIL EELAM
                                           
WFP REPRESENTATIVE "CANCELS" VANNI VISIT
	Sri Lanka's Commissioner for Essential Services - who is supposed
	to look after the needs of the Tamil displaced - has indicated
	that the World Food Programme representative who has meant to
	survey the Vanni food situation "shortly" has now postponed his
	visit. The Commissioner had earlier said he would not allow in
	more food supplies to Vanni until the WFP report was finished. We
	warned that this was a delaying tactic aimed at letting Tamil
	people starve. This intention has been confirmed by the
	announcement that the WFP's visit has now apparently been "put
	off indefinitely", leaving one to question whether any such visit
	was planned at all. There is meanwhile no improvement in the food
	situation, with over 75,000 Tamil people marching against the
	government in Akkarayan a few days ago.
	
"SCORCHED EARTH" POLICY BEING USED AGAINST TAMILS
	Disabling Tamils' food sources has been one of Sri Lanka's main
	aims during its military operations on the Tamil homeland. The
	twin policy of denying food-entry to Tamil areas and
	simultaneously destroying Tamil crops in army-controlled areas,
	is based on the premise that Tamils should not be fed and neither
	should they be allowed to feed themselves. Sinhala troops are
	encouraged to drive across precious rice fields in armoured
	vehicles to render the fields uncultivable; and where Tamils are
	found producing food, soldiers are instructed to arrest the
	farmer concerned and destroy his crops. Last week, Sri Lankan
	troops stationed in the Valaichchenai (Batticaloa) paper factory
	drove their heavy vehicles over 100 acres of paddy and arrested 6
	agricultural labourers, while setting fire to several stacks of
	their un-mown paddy.
	
VILLAGES IN VADAMARADCHY ROUTINELY HARASSED BY SINHALA ARMY
	Every village in Vadamaradchy is being systematically subjected
	to cordon and search operations by the Sinhala army occupying
	Jaffna peninsula. In all such operations, life is disrupted,
	traffic comes to a halt and schools are closed. The
	government-funded Tamil groups EPDP, PLOTE etc. partake in these
	operations as "guides" or "interpreters" for the Sinhala forces.
	Masked decoys are then taken along the crowds of ordinary people
	and these men arbitrarily hand-pick individuals for arrest. The
	Sinhala army then takes the arrested people to unknown locations
	and many of those taken are never seen again.
	
SIX-HOUR SHELLING OF VANNI TOWNS
	Sinhala troops at Nedunkerni and Mankindimalai yesterday fired
	shells at surrounding Tamil towns for six hours without let-up.
	The barrage started early yesterday morning and most of the
	shells fell on Oddusudan junction. Shuttered shops and houses
	were torn to the ground. Similar damage was wreaked in parts of
	Nedunkerni, Puliyankulam and Nainamadu. Troops at Nedunkerni used
	battle-tanks to lob shells at selected civilian targets. Two Kfir
	bombers meanwhile encircled nearby jungle settlements dropping
	several high-powered bombs. Casualty figures are awaited.
	
ELDERLY TAMILS IN DETENTION CENTRES UNDERGO EXTREME STRESS
	Over 1000 Tamils held in Sri Lanka's detention camps at Vavuniya
	are between 50 and 60 years of age. They are known to be
	undergoing extreme stress after being confined to these camps for
	no good reason by Sinhala military authorities. They are crowded
	together without privacy, without proper toilets and without any
	medical facilities. None of the thousands of Tamil "inmates" of
	these detention camps has done any wrong; they are travellers who
	are being forcibly held in what the government terms "welfare
	centres". But not a single person is allowed to leave of their
	free will making them effectively prisoners.
	
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)