LTTE Headquarters,
                                                Tamil Eelam.
                                                05. June 1997

PRESS RELEASE
NEWS FROM TAMIL EELAM                                           
                                                
RAPE OF NEDUNKERNI COMPLETED - EVERY BUILDING TRASHED
	Sinhala armed forces in recently-occupied Nedunkerni town - after
	wholesale looting of Tamil property and food - have sealed their
	temporary glory by a systematic blowing up of all Nedunkerni's
	remaining buildings. Powerful dynamite was used to obliterate the
	last vestiges of the town's civilisation to rubble, structure
	after precious structure. The relish with which Sri Lanka's armed
	forces have carried out this task is a lesson in itself, and
	underlines the absurdity of viewing these men as "liberation
	forces".
	
	A concerted dismembering of Tamil society (town by town) is
	taking place, where Tamils' life-lines and self-sufficiency is
	being progressively weakened by the Sinhala government. It is not
	too alarmist to see in this process a latent genocidal tendency.
	The media-ban affords Sri Lanka the luxury and space to undertake
	such a policy in well-conceived phases. The current
	"supply-route" offensive, it is now obvious, is a cover to
	intensify long-range artillery attacks on Tamil towns miles away
	from the proposed supply route while the food-siege and frequent
	population displacements engender an increasingly weak and
	drifting Tamil population.
	
TAMIL SCHOOLS BEING CLOSED DOWN - EDUCATION BADLY HIT
	The education system in Tamil areas is coming under sustained
	attack at the hands of Sinhala armed forces. In addition to the
	bombing of school buildings - most notoriously the killing of 40
	young school children in Nagarkoil - Jaffna's military
	authorities are closing down schools at an alarming rate.
	Elsewhere in occupied Tamil parts, schools are being used to
	shelter Tamil refugees and also being taken over by Sinhala
	military men for their own use. A Sri Lankan police contingent is
	occupying the Chettikulam Tamil mixed school and the army
	presently resides in Pavatkulam elementary school. The army is
	also occupying the Tamil school managed by the Ceylon Christian
	Mission. As we reported yesterday, two American missionary
	schools have just been closed down by military officials in
	Navali (Jaffna).
	
HUNDREDS OF CATTLE SLAUGHTERED
	Army shelling from Manal Aru has wiped out hundreds of cattle
	left behind by Tamils fleeing the ferocious onslaught. The
	slaughter took place last Monday. Many houses and trees were also
	demolished during this operation. Meanwhile, shelling from
	Kilinochchi's army camps are keeping Tamil residents in nearby
	towns on tenterhooks.
	
"NO ADMITTANCE TO SERIOUSLY ILL TAMIL PATIENTS"
- DEFENCE MINISTRY
	The army commander in Vavuniya has banned the admission of
	seriously ill Tamil patients to the area's hospital. He has also
	stopped doctors sending Tamil patients to Colombo for treatment. 
	The Sri Lankan defence ministry has passed this order to army
	officials on the ground. The Sri Lankan government claims it
	treats Sinhalese and Tamils as equals.

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)