LTTE Headquarters,
                                                Tamil Eelam.
                                                04. June 1997

PRESS RELEASE
NEWS FROM TAMIL EELAM                                           
                                                
PLEASE NOTE:

	Food "intended" for Vanni is being depicted by some Colombo
	journalists as magnanimous government aid waiting to be sent to
	Tamil areas. This impression needs to be corrected. The
	food-stocks being stopped are of two kinds - food that has been
	legally purchased by Tamils and waiting to be collected from
	Vavuniya (to be legally sold in Vanni); and, secondly, food that
	the government is obliged to give to compensate the half a
	million people it has displaced (people, that is, rendered
	incapable of producing their own food). This makes somewhat crass
	Sri Lanka's boast yesterday that "food lorries will now be sent
	to Tamils," as if food was to be graciously handed out to Tamils
	as a gesture of remarkable kindness. Indeed, the government's
	long-standing measures to block legitimate trade while at the
	same time withholding food to Tamil people displaced by its
	offensives, is what enables us to characterise Sri Lanka's policy
	as a food-siege against the Tamil people. 
	
ARMY PROCEEDS WITH TOWN-BY-TOWN DESTRUCTION
	Sri Lanka's town-by-town demolition of the Tamil habitat
	continued yesterday with artillery directed at the
	thickly-populated towns of Katsilaimadu, Muthaiyankaddu,
	Mulliyawallai. Oddusuddan and Mankulam also took a heavy
	pounding. The artillery was fired from army camps - sometimes at
	distances as far as 20 miles (e.g., Omanthai to Mankulam)- making
	the government's claim to be attacking "known LTTE positions"
	extremely dubious. Most of the shelling came from Nedunkerni,
	travelling distances of 7-15 miles. The Tamil population of Vanni
	is again on the move as Sri Lanka's military objective of
	engendering a weak drifting population is put to effect.
	Civilians are, well and truly, disorientated, frightened and
	hungry. Yet there has been no let-up in the shell-fire. So far
	reports say four civilians have been critically wounded in
	Katsilaimadu. Many stretches of trees have been knocked down.
	
9 PARAMILITARIES KILLED IN BATTICALOA
	LTTE forces took on a well-armed contingent of Sri Lankan
	paramilitary police in Valaichchenai on Monday, killing nine.
	There were no LTTE casualties. The paramilitaries had just
	obtained arms and ammunition from the nearby Sri Lankan army camp
	at Karuvankerni and were on patrol when the LTTE intercepted
	them.
	
	A misleading report emanated yesterday where the paramilitaries
	were described as ordinary "policemen", engaged in "removing
	roadblocks". We alert readers that certain Sinhalese journalists 
	have consistently used terminology like this to create the subtle
	impression that these are "soft targets". The idea is to help
	define the LTTE as "terrorists" and obscure the true urgency of
	the Tamil need for security and freedom from Sinhala armed
	forces.
	
HINDU CELEBRATION POSTPONED DUE TO SHELLING
	An abrupt halt was called to Mulliyawallai's annual Pongal
	festival (held at the Poothan Vayal Nakathambiran temple) when
	random shelling by Sinhala forces based at Nedunkeri disrupted
	the gathering. Sri Lanka's long-range artillery - launched from
	15 miles away - caused devotees to abandon the ceremony for this
	year.
	
AIRFORCE TARGETS NEARBY RESIDENCES
	Sri Lankan airforce planes focused attention yesterday on
	striking Nedunkerni's Tamil border towns. Kodalikal jungle was
	the worst hit, with people believed to be injured. Details are
	still emerging.
	
SCARED RESIDENTS FLEE KILINOCHCHI BARRAGE
	Tamil residents have left Kilinochchi's surrounding areas after
	Sinhala troops at the army camp there launched shells on them. It
	was the third successive day of this onslaught.

        
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 / Fax: 0181-470 8593)