LTTE Headquarters,
                                                Tamil Eelam.
                                                20. June 1997

PRESS RELEASE
NEWS FROM TAMIL EELAM
                                           
WAR ON TAMILS APPROACHES PEAK AS THOUSANDS STARVE
	The overwhelming majority of Tamils displaced by Sri Lankan
	government forces in "Jaya Sikuru" and earlier operations are
	still without food. The world is unaware of the extent of this
	unprecedented situation. Where previous Sinhala governments have
	blocked food and medicine to Tamil regions, the
	Chandrika-government has gone further, displacing half a million
	men, women and children and now threatening their future
	survival. The genocide-mentality of this Sinhala government is
	evident in all its military operations: it has brought about the
	ruin of the Tamil homeland and the near-total destitution of its
	people. Thousands of Tamils remain sprawled under trees,
	desperate and hungry, while Sinhala forces continue to blast town
	after town. That their actions can be regarded by anybody as the
	behaviour of a "liberating" as opposed to a "conquering" Sinhala
	force is astounding.
	
PULIYANKULAM POUNDED FOR SECOND DAY
	Kfir bombers thundered over Puliyankulam for the second day
	yesterday, flattening remaining houses and public buildings.
	Human casualties were avoided since most Tamil people fled the
	area. There was simultaneous artillery-fire on the town from army
	positions in occupied Omanthai and Nedunkerni.
	
HINDU DEVOTEES MEET SINHALA RESISTANCE
	Tamil Hindus wanting to attend the famous annual religious
	ceremony on Nainativu island (off Jaffna peninsula) are being
	manhandled by Sinhala troops there. Every year large crowds cross
	to the small island to participate in the special Hindu occasion,
	held at the Nakapoosani Amman temple.  On Monday, three Tamil
	boys were dragged away from their groups by soldiers occupying
	the island, and taken to the Karainagar naval installations for
	"special attention." They have not been seen since, raising the
	likelihood that they have been tortured and/or killed. Other
	devotees who have gathered on the island report they have been
	beaten by Sinhala troops for no apparent reason.
	
TWO TAMIL WOMEN HOSPITALISED AFTER ARMY SHELLING
	Two Tamil women are still in Mannar hospital after army shells
	landed on them last week. Poomany (45) and Sahayamalar (40) were
	residents of the Hundred Houses Colony.

	
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)