TamilNet Press Release 09.26.97 Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit ----------------------------------------------------------------- Following 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. 26.September1997 LTTE PRESS RELEASE NEWS FROM TAMIL EELAM 85 TAMILS ARRESTED IN BATTICALOA ON WEDNESDAY 24th SEPTEMBER The army's drive against the Tamil people has intensified in Batticaloa, where Sinhalese STF forces arrested 85 young Tamil men two days ago in a so-called "cordon and search operation" in army-occupied parts of the area. Three more Tamil youth were arrested on the same day at Kallady coast and two Tamil fishermen from Kathankudy - who were fishing in the Kokatticholai waters - were also arrested by the occupying army. None of these civilians mentioned have been released. THILEEPAN'S MARTYRDOM CELEBRATED THROUGHOUT TAMIL EELAM The people of Tamil Eelam - regardless of their predicament, whether displaced or caught under military rule - have fittingly celebrated the passing away ten years ago of LTTE fighter Lt. Col. Thileepan, who fasted unto death in defence of Tamil people's self-respect. All over Tamil Eelam, people's hearts have been stirred - as they are every year at this time - and they have taken part in acts of dedication and self-sacrifice in his memory. Today is the last of the 12 days devoted to commemorating Lt. Col Thileepan. His martyrdom was a milestone in the freedom struggle of the Tamil people. He exposed once and for all the attitudes and methods of the IPKF forces which occupied Tamil Eelam and committed numerous atrocities, while trying to tie the Tamil people to the Sinhala yoke in the service of its own government's geopolitical aims. The IPKF's aim from the first to the last was to crush Tamil people's just aspirations, and the IPKF has become a powerful symbol of betrayal and is even used as a derisive term in the Tamil people's vocabulary. 750 TAMIL HOMES IN JAFFNA ARE OCCUPIED BY TROOPS Sinhalese armed forces in Jaffna are occupying the homes of 750 Tamil civilians. No alternative accommodation was given to the residents of these houses, who have been left to fend for themselves. A large number of civilian dwellings have also been bulldozed by occupying troops in the peninsula for so-called security reasons. Approximately 30,000 Tamils are now in make-shift camps in Jaffna. SPECIAL DIET SCHEME STARTED IN THILEEPAN'S MEMORY A supplementary diet scheme benefiting school children studying in grades 1-3 of 36 schools in the Manthai North Madhu region (Vanni) was started on the 23rd of this month, financed by the multi-purpose co-operative societies of Madhu Manthai North and Thirukeetheswaram. The scheme is being implemented in the name of the martyr, Lt. Col. Thileepan. MULTI-PURPOSE CO-OPS SEEK LEGAL REDRESS The government's arbitrary cut on rations which are legally due to displaced Tamil people has created unprecedented hardship to ordinary civilians. People need food and medicine urgently. Indiscriminate army shelling and aerial bombing means people dare not stay in one place but the heedless government is nevertheless scaling down food relief. The union of MPCS stores has convened a special meeting in which they have resolved to find a legal remedy to the Chandrika government's callous military tactics. SINHALA FORCES FIRE ON TAMIL YOUTH FOR TARGET PRACTICE A Tamil youth was recently shot at by Sinhalese soldiers as he walked along a road near an army checkpoint in Valaichchenai. S. Ravichandiran was badly injured in the unprovoked attack and is in Batticaloa hospital. Troops are in the habit of carrying out such attacks to improve their marksmanship. EXAMS TO BE HELD IN NOVEMBER The annual examinations for school children, being conducted by the Tamil Eelam education board, are scheduled for the first week of November. Candidates are advised to submit their applications on or before 30.9.97 and the director of the board has informed all schools that application forms will be sent in due course. WOMAN LOSES LEG IN ARMY LANDMINE BLAST A young Tamil lady of 22, Appucuddy Vijayaledchumy, has lost her foot and right leg below the knee after stepping accidentally on a landmine left by the Sri Lankan army in Neervely (Jaffna), where many such incidents have occurred. The occupying Sinhala military has refused requests to remove landmines from all over the peninsula. 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-09.27.97-09:55:36-991