LTTE Headquarters,
                                                Tamil Eelam.
                                                15. March 1997


PRESS RELEASE
NEWS FROM TAMIL EELAM

'650 JAFFNA DISAPPEARENCES' - HUMAN RIGHTS FORCE ADMITS
        An official of the government's own Human Rights Task Force
        (HRTF), Nalinda Indathissa, has acknowledged the 'disappearance'
        of at least 650 Tamils from army-controlled Jaffna.  While the
        HRTF remains a token body set up chiefly to assuage the
        international community, and though it has itself come in for
        severe criticism from international bodies for its gross
        ineffectiveness, its admission of so many hundreds of
        army-related disappearances ought to be an eye-opener about the
        scale of harassment Tamils are facing in their own land. Indeed,
        the level of violence against Tamils in the peninsula - including
        the alarming rate of extra-judicial killings - can no more be
        dismissed as the work of 'a few bad apples' in the military. It
        is a systematic brutalisation of the population which only those
        living through it can properly appreciate. Even journalists who
        might wish to report independently on the real ground situation
        are turned away by the government which knows that the truth
        would astound and horrify the international community. That is
        why for a year and a half since the military's occupation of
        Jaffna Sri Lanka has still not permitted journalists free travel
        to captured areas.

FOUR MORE TAMILS 'MISSING' IN JAFFNA PENINSULA
        The following is a record of the latest Tamil civilians to go
        missing after arrest by the Sri Lankan armed forces occupying
        much of the Jaffna peninsula. All enquiries as to the persons'
        whereabouts have proved futile, indicating the strong possibility
        that they have been killed.

Latest Tamil 'disappearances' in army-occupied Vadamaradchy
(Jaffna peninsula)

CIVILIAN MISSING      AGE     SEX     ARRESTED    PLACE OF ORIGIN

1. Ponniah
   Sivamoorthy        28      m     Polikandy     Polikandy

2. Thambithurai
   Kupenthirarajah    30      m     Polikandy     Polikandy

3. Pasupathy
   Thevamanoharan     22      m       Polikandy   Polikandy

4. Veerapathivan
  Theepan            19      m       Polikandy    Kottawathai
                                                                                                        
RIGHTS IGNORED BY OCCUPYING ARMY
        Tamils in occupied territories are being denied their full
        rights, even those rights which pertain to the present 'emergency
        regulations'. By law, arrest and detention under emergency
        regulations must be followed by official notice to next-of-kin
        regarding the person detained. Sri Lankan armed forces in
        practice never observe this rule and Tamils are helpless to alter
        this situation. Detainees are also supposed to be handed over to
        the nearest police station within 24 hours but this rule too is
        not observed by the occupying forces.

BATTICALOA PRISONERS ON DEATH-FAST
        Three Tamil men held in Batticaloa jail began a fast-unto-death
        on Monday to protest their imprisonment without trial. They are
        among thousands of Tamils throughout the island being detained in
        this manner. The situation is particularly disturbing in
        Batticaloa. Even married Tamil women with children can be seen
        languishing behind bars without the prospect of release or trial.
        Sinhala military officials remain remarkably immune to the
        tragedy, not treating such cases with any degree of seriousness.
        Such is the indignity Tamils are expected to just put up with.
        Pleas to the Attorney General routinely go unheeded and the jails
        are getting fuller as more and more innocent Tamils become
        deprived of their basic human liberties. Those who have engaged
        in the death-fast are - P. Uthayaraj, M. Kokulan and T.
        Balakrishnan.

ARMY FIRES MORTARS AT BATTICALOA TAMIL VILLAGE
        Sri Lankan mortar fire was launched from Valaichchenai police
        station on midnight Wednesday killing one man and maiming a woman
        in the Tamil village of Karuvakerni. S. Pandaram (56) was killed
        while S. Ranjithamalar (36) is critically wounded. The hammering
        of populated Tamil villages with lethal weapons should prompt
        questions about Sri Lanka's claim to be liberating Tamils.

5 TAMIL REFUGEES ARRESTED AND NOT SEEN AGAIN
        Five inmates of a Trincomallee refugee camp, one of them a woman,
        were arrested on Tuesday. Until now, they have not been seen
        raising concerns about their safety. In this particular camp,
        there are 1770 refugees belonging to a total 460 families. All
        are being held after returning from India between 1992 and 1996.
        The 4th Milepost refugee camp is one of many dotted around the
        island where Tamils are held in their thousands under the control
        of the Sri Lankan (Sinhala) military. Facilities are extremely
        poor and conditions can only be described as degrading. But this
        is another of the 'necessary evils' Tamils are expected to
        tolerate indefinitely.

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)