LTTE Headquarters,
                                                Tamil Eelam.
                                                17. June 1997

PRESS RELEASE
NEWS FROM TAMIL EELAM
                                           
TROOPS REMOVED FROM JAFFNA TO BOLSTER 'JAYA SIKURU' FORCES
	Owing to the troop-shortages being faced by Sri Lanka's dwindling
	military forces, Sinhala soldiers from occupied Jaffna have been
	removed to make up the numbers for the 'Jaya Sikuru' operation,
	which LTTE forces effectively stalled last week. A mini- army
	camp at Gurunagar in Jaffna city has been vacated and the army's
	checkpoints at Nallur Kailasapillaiyar Kovil, Veeramakali, Amman
	Kovil and Brown Road have all been dismantled. Because of the
	resultant troop scarcity in Jaffna, the region's military
	authorities have completely closed two important roads leading to
	Jaffna university - Cumaraswamy Road (opposite the main entrance)
	and the path along the railway line (leading to the university
	dormitories). Barbed wire fences ensure that no travel through
	these roads is possible for students. Jaffna is entirely a Tamil
	area; Sri Lanka's military forces who enforce these restrictions
	are all Sinhalese.
	
MILITARY ERODES TAMILS' FISHING AND FARMING RIGHTS
	Tamils living in Mutur (Trincomalee) are being progressively
	restricted from fishing and cultivating, by orders from the
	occupying Sinhala military. This is happening despite the fact
	that - according to official government statistics - a third of
	Trincomalee's population derives its living from fishing and the
	rest from farming. Sri Lanka's armed forces have banned deep-sea
	fishing to Tamils and have tried to disrupt as far as possible
	their ability to cultivate land. Even food brought in from
	outside is routinely confiscated at army checkpoints and items
	like artificial manure fall into the government's category of
	"banned goods". Tamil fishing and farming communities,
	subsequently, are under tremendous strain, lacking the ability to
	fend for themselves, with the government of Sri Lanka trying to
	gradually squeeze the life out of them. Sinhalese fishermen
	living in Mutur (on the other hand) are escorted by the
	all-Sinhala Sri Lankan navy into deep waters where they are
	guaranteed a healthy catch.
	
	Meanwhile in Batticaloa the occupying Sinhala military
	authorities have issued further restrictions on Tamil fishermen
	who use the lagoon. They can only fish in broad daylight and
	never after 6pm. After 7pm, a general curfew operates during
	which time nobody can step out of their house till the next day.
	Sri Lanka says it has liberated Tamils in the areas it occupies.
	
MANNAR ARMY CAMP LASHES OUT
	Sri Lanka's military camp in Thallady (Mannar), dormant for some
	time, has woken up with a vengeance. Shells are being launched
	ferociously towards nearby Tamil towns causing many civilians to
	flee to safer areas.

	
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)