LTTE Headquarters,
                                                Tamil Eelam.
                                                23. March 1997


PRESS RELEASE
NEWS FROM TAMIL EELAM

FOUR MORE TAMILS 'DISAPPEAR'
        The rate of disappearances in army-occupied territory continues
        to rise with four more Tamils missing after arrest by Sinhala
        soldiers in Trincomallee. The four boys were taken away by troops
        conducting a massive round-up and search operation in the Tamil
        suburbs of Anpuvalipuram and Uvarmalai. Hundreds of residents
        were ordered to stand in an open field in the baking sun for
        hours on end while one army unit orchestrated a person by person
        interrogation and another ransacked people's homes. The parents
        of the four arrested boys have been wandering from camp to camp
        trying to get details about their children but military
        authorities have not divulged any information. Torture and
        extra-judicial killings of Tamils are a disturbing feature of
        life in Sri Lankan army-captured areas, according to many
        independent sources including Amnesty International. Such gross
        abuses of human rights are likely to continue while armed Sinhala
        troops roam freely in the Tamil homeland.

TROOPS SHOOT TAMIL BOY DEAD IN PUBLIC
        A 21 year old Tamil boy has been gunned down by Sri Lankan troops
        in Thenmaradchy (Jaffna peninsula) in front of others during a
        cordon-and-search operation. He was doing no wrong but it is
        thought soldiers opened fire to intimidate others, an escalating
        practice. What the incident points to is the growing indifference
        of the Sri Lankan army to the Tamil people in areas under its
        occupation. Far from liberating the Tamil people Sinhala troops
        are inducing a climate of terror to try and subdue them.

HEALTH MINISTRY VIOLATES AGREEMENT WITH TAMIL HOSPITAL
        Two years ago, the health ministry agreed to allocate funds to
        Oddusudan hospital to build an urgently needed a delivery ward.
        The government has still not provided any of the money necessary
        to undertake this work. What is clear is that Tamils and
        Sinhalese do not receive equal treatment by Sri Lankan
        authorities. Indeed, discrimination and racism against Tamils
        operates at vitually all levels. This is obvious when one
        compares the state of hospitals in Sinhala areas with the gross
        neglect of Tamil hospitals over the past decade. It is today
        beyond doubt that Tamils can only live in dignity when they are
        permitted to conduct their own affairs as a nation in their own
        homeland, instead of being dependent on the benevolence of the
        Sinhala state.

ODDUSUDDAN WELCOMES NEW LTTE RECRUITS
        In the past 48 hours, an influx of new recruits from Oddusuddan
        has further strengthened the LTTE's ranks. The strong opinion of
        new members is that the LTTE must keep on developing its fighting
        strength if it is to successfully prevent Sri Lankan (Sinhala)
        forces from conquering the Tamil nation.

NEW CROPS IN TAMIL EELAM EASE BURDEN
        Non-traditional crops like corriander, mustard and anise have
        been successfully cultivated in certain parts of Tamil Eelam
        under an innovative scheme run by TEEDOR, the Tamil Eelam
        Economic Development Organisation.  In an experimental farm at
        Puthukulam the new crops are helping to ease the burden placed on
        Tamils by Sri Lanka's block on the transport of food to the
        Vanni. By home-growing these items dependence on imports will
        lessen. The LTTE leadership works hard in conjunction with the
        independent TEEDOR to promote the development of agriculture in
        the Tamil homeland.

	
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)