LTTE Headquarters,
                                                Tamil Eelam.
                                                30. June 1997

PRESS RELEASE 
NEWS FROM TAMIL EELAM
                                           
RESIDENTIAL TAMIL AREAS UNDER FIRE FROM TROOPS
	Artillery shells were let loose by Sri Lankan forces on the Tamil
	towns of Puliyankulam and Puthur from early morning till late
	afternoon yesterday. The artillery raid was launched from army
	positions at Omanthai and was targeted at residential areas. A
	number of houses were wrecked and some herds of cattle were
	killed.
	
JAFFNA UNIVERSITY'S MEDICAL FACULTY READY TO CLOSE
	Owing to staff and student shortages, lack of medical equipment
	and intimidation from Sinhala armed forces, Jaffna university's
	medical faculty is on the verge of closing. With Sri Lankan
	military officials occupying room numbers 17, 18, 19, 22, 23, and
	24 students and teachers fear to enter the building. Civilian
	life everywhere in the peninsula has become totally disrupted
	since the Sinhala occupation (beginning in 1995). The military
	dominates the entire scene and the fabric of Tamil society is
	being gradually torn apart by their presence. What was once one
	of the best medical facilities on the island (in the early 80s
	and 90s) is on its last legs.
	
TAMIL WHO LOST IDENTITY CARD DIES OF FEAR
	A Tamil dockyard worker died of a heart attack after he lost his
	identity card and feared having to walk past Sri Lankan army
	officials without it. 52-year old Ulu Kathiresan from Trincomalee
	died of the anxiety caused by the loss of his card, his daughter
	told a hearing. She said he was afraid to step on the street
	incase he was stopped, questioned and assaulted by the army.
	
TAMIL EELAM'S SOLDIERS RECEIVE FULL MILITARY HONOURS
	Full military honours were given to Tamil Eelam's soldiers who
	died defending their country from Sri Lankan forces at Periamadu.
	The 26 bodies were carried in a mile-long procession attended by
	vast numbers of people wanting to pay their respects. The brave
	men and women were laid to rest after a moving military ceremony
	held at Visuvamadu burial grounds.
	
THENMARADCHY SCHOOLS ARE VIRTUALLY DESERTED
	Schools in Thenmaradchy (Jaffna) have one of the lowest
	attendance rates anywhere on the island. It is no co-incidence
	that Thenmaradchy also has the highest number of 'disappearances'
	of Tamils. Most of those that have 'disappeared' after arrest by
	the Sinhala army in the peninsula have been students, with a
	large number of teachers also missing. School turn-out here is so
	low that at least three schools have been closed down for lack of
	attendance - Kerudavil Sarasvathy school, Sarasali mixed school
	and Eluthumadduval Tamil mixed school. This indicates the levels
	of fear being experienced by Tamils in army-occupied Jaffna. It
	is a reality which the government knows very well and the very
	reason it stops independent reporters going to the region.
	
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)