LTTE Headquarters,
                                                Tamil Eelam.
                                                11. May 1997
PRESS RELEASE
NEWS FROM TAMIL EELAM

MILITARY IMPOSES NO-GO ZONES IN JAFFNA
	Sri Lanka's military has created 'no-go zones' for Tamil
	civilians in the occupied Jaffna peninsula. Tamils are now
	totally cut off from certain residential areas, which have been
	handed over to the top military brass and other military
	personnel. One famous tourist hotel - the Gnanams - has been
	converted into the official residence of the area's Sinhala
	military commander.
	
	The entire muslim quarter - the fabled Casbah - is also occupied
	by the military. Its narrow alleys and lanes have been widened
	for military use by flattening houses and shops. The same
	bulldozing tactic has been used to create parking spaces for
	heavy military vehicles.
	
	Meanwhile, people living in Jaffna's coastal districts of
	Navanthurai, Colombuthurai and Gurungar have been evicted from
	their homes to make way for military personnel. Former residents
	of these densely-populated areas have been dumped into makeshift
	camps, which the government calls 'welfare centres'.
	
	Sri Lanka says Jaffna has been "liberated" by Sinhala troops.
	
SHELLING CAUSES EXODUS FROM VADDAKACHI
	Non-stop shelling by Sri Lankan forces on Vaddakachi in the
	district of Kilinochchi has created an exodus of Tamil people to
	Ramanathapuram. The Vaddakachi school has had to be evacuated
	with students and teachers now crammed together in the
	Ramanathapuram school, which was itself already over-crowded. Sri
	Lanka deliberately generates Tamil refugees as part of its
	military policy.
	
TWO TAMIL BOYS DISAPPEAR
	Two 20-year olds arrested by Sri Lankan troops in Batticaloa have
	gone missing. Witnesses saw the two Tamil boys - Kandiah
	Sivakumar and Kanagasabai Ravichandran - being dragged away to
	the local army camp after they were pulled up by soldiers manning
	the Senkaladi checkpoint. Relatives seeking information about
	these boys have met with flat denials by military personnel,
	prompting fears that the boys have been tortured and killed. Such
	denials by the military authorities are routine, rendering the
	Tamil population living under Sinhala military rule totally
	powerless.
	
FISHERMAN SHOT DEAD IN LAGOON
	A Tamil fisherman has been shot and killed by Sinhala soldiers
	occupying Batticaloa. The man was fishing in the Kinnaiyady part
	of Batticaloa lagoon at 8.15pm when the unprovoked attack
	happened. 8.15 is a normal hour for fishermen to cast their nets.
	The fisherman - Velmurugu Muthucumaru (44) - is the latest in a
	long line of victims of trigger-happy Sri Lankan soldiers who
	regularly open fire on Tamil fishermen.
	
SHORTAGE OF X-RAY SPECIALISTS IN JAFFNA
	Manthikai hospital - one of Jaffna's biggest - is without any
	X-ray technicians. Patients requiring X-rays have to be
	transferred all the way to the Jaffna base hospital. Even here,
	only three out of the necessary twelve X-ray technicians are
	present. Moreover, the Jaffna base hospital remains ruined after
	it was shelled to bits by Sri Lanka's military forces during the
	1995 military invasion of Jaffna.  
	
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)