LTTE PRESS RELEASE 01.09.1997 Tamilnet Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit via: news@tamilnet.com (TamilNet mailing list) LTTE PRESS RELEASE 01.09.1997 ----------------------------------------------------------------- =46ollowing Press Release is sent for distribution through TamilNet , by the LTTE international secretariat, 211 Katherine Road, London E6 1BU, United Kingdom, Tel/fax: 0181-470 8593. ----------------------------------------------------------------- LTTE Headquarters, Tamil Eelam. 01.September1997 6500 SINHALESE ARMED PERSONNEL KILLED IN EELAM WAR 3 In the two and a half years since the Chandrika government resumed war on the Tamil people, government troops have suffered 6500 casualties. This is the highest number lost during any single phase of the war. In Eelam War 1, the government lost 797 troops and in the four and a half years of Eelam War 2, it lost 5500 armed forces personnel. These figures were made available recently by the LTTE's statistical division. MSF CONFIRMS LTTE'S REPORTS ON MALNUTRITION A report by the medical relief agency MSF confirms what the LTTE has been alleging for the past two years about conditions in Vanni due to the government's restrictions on medicine. Mr. Salim Malik - MSF co-ordinator and author of the report - says that after exhaustive study he found malnutrition has taken a firm grip on the inhabitants of Mullikulam and Palamoddai. Due to the repeated pattern of poverty and neglect, he adds, the people are extremely vulnerable to life-threatening diseases like pneumonia and dysentery. Infrastructural and medical facilities are non-existent, he says, and the people here have no purchasing power. Mr. Malik's report points out that children are the worst hit by this situation. SOLDIERS FORCE SIX TAMIL CHILDREN TO SIT IN THE SUN AS PUNISHMENT Government forces in Batticaloa ordered six Tamil school children to sit in the hot sun for one whole day for forgetting to dismount from their cycles and remove their caps near an army checkpoint. The six children are students of Batticaloa's Hindu college. In a clear effort to intimidate the children further, a Sinhala military officer lectured them to think that the Sinhala soldiers are "Gods in human form". A similar lecture was given to a group of bus Tamil passengers recently. VIDUTHALAI PULIGAL'S LATEST ANALYSIS The latest issue of the LTTE's official journal "Viduthalai Puligal" says in its lead story that politicians of the Sinhala community who control the government are bent on annihilating the Tamil population of the island and on destroying Tamils' national identity through colonisation. The government, it says, is using its all-Sinhala armed forces to evict Tamils out of traditional Tamil lands so that Sinhalese can be settled in their place. The LTTE, the journal concludes, is the only force capable of thwarting the government's plans. The latest issue of the magazine also analyses current LTTE strength, noting its ingenious methods of improvisation and unbreakable resolve as the two of the main reasons for its military success. TROOPS KILL TWO CIVILIANS IN TEMPLE GROUNDS Sinhala troops hiding inside the Suthumalai Amman temple in occupied Jaffna have killed two Tamil civilians on the temple's premises. Mahalingam Uthayakumar (24) and A. Ramesh of Suthumalai and Tellipallai respectively were the victims. The incident has caused agitation among the peninsula's Hindu community who are outraged that innocent blood has been spilt on holy grounds. KILINOCHCHI-BASED ARMY HAS KILLED 122 TAMIL CIVILIANS THIS YEAR Since January this year Sinhalese armed forces occupying Kilinochchi have violently killed 122 Tamil civilians. 73 others have been arrested in this period, and their whereabouts unknown. The figures were compiled by the Confederation of People's Organisations, based in Vanni. Those killed and arrested were people who had earlier fled the army invasion of the town and were returning to inspect their property and recover valuables. Many returnees have been either shot or knifed to death. The manner of their deaths - some people have been sliced in the most gruesome manner - have raised suspicions of mental illness among the ranks of the Sinhala soldiery. NEW HOUSING COLONY OPENED IN VANNI The Additional. GA for Kilinochchi Mr. Rasanayagam opened the Thumpuru housing colony managed by the Hindu youth society, on 25th of August at 3pm. The national flag of Tamil Eelam was raised in the presence of the TRO chief Mr. A. Rasadurai. The head of the elementary school for the colony cut the tape. Mr. Thangarasa, president of the youth society presided over the public meeting that was held after the opening ceremony. 300 TAMIL CIVILIANS ARRESTED IN ROUND-UP The government's STF forces recently arrested over 300 Tamil civilians in one go, and subjected them to an acrimonious interrogation in the Kalmunai STF army camp. The round-up took place in Pandiruppu (Kalmunai, Batticaloa). Five of those arrested remain in custody without charge. There are fears they are being tortured. 2 BOYS AND 2 GIRLS ARRESTED IN TRINCOMALEE ROUND-UP Sinhalese troops have arbitrarily arrested 4 Tamil youth - two boys and two girls - in Thampalakamam (Trincomalee). Soldiers and police threw a dragnet around the village and raided people's homes early yesterday, smashing household items in a frantic search for "hidden arms". The entire village was forced to go to open fields where they were bullied and interrogated. Villagers were released only in the late evening but four are still in army custody. NINE LTTE FIGHTERS DIE Nine LTTE fighters were killed Saturday in an unexpected direct confrontation with enemy forces in Kilinochchi. Military casualties are not yet known. The LTTE captured some arms and ammunition. 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) ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytas-09.11.97-19:14:06-28892