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Saturday Review (Sri Lankan newspaper)

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Saturday Review
TypeWeekly newspaper
Owner(s)New Era Publications Limited
Founded30 January 1982 (1982-01-30)
LanguageEnglish
Ceased publicationOctober 1987
CityJaffna
CountrySri Lanka
OCLC number38072237

The Saturday Review was an English-language weekly newspaper in Sri Lanka published by New Era Publications Limited. It was founded in 1982 and was published from Jaffna. It ceased publication in 1987.

History

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The Saturday Review was founded in 1982 by K. Kanthasamy, K. C. Thangarajah and others.[1] The paper was published by a company called Kalai Nilayam and its first editor was S. Sivanayagam.[2][3][4] The first edition of the paper was published on 30 January 1982.[5][6] The paper was bought by New Era Publications Limited in August 1982.[2]

The Saturday Review was shut down by the Sri Lankan government on 1 July 1983 using the recently passed emergency law - the Emergency (Miscellaneous Provisions and Powers) Regulations 1983.[2][5] The police sealed the paper's offices the next day.[2][7] Fearing arrest, Sivanayagam escaped to Tamil Nadu, India in September 1983 with the help of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).[5][8] The bans on the Saturday Review and another paper, the Suthanthiran, were lifted on 24 January 1984 but the papers were subject to strict censorship by the government.[9] A fundamental rights petition contesting the government's ban on the Saturday Review was heard by the Supreme Court with leading lawyer S. Nadesan acting for the paper.[10][11][12] The petition was dismissed by the court.

Gamini Navaratne took over as editor of the paper in February 1984 when the newspaper was restarted.[13] As the civil war escalated newspapers published from Jaffna came under pressure from both government forces and the rebel militant groups. The Saturday Review ceased publishing in October 1987.[14] There were attempts to revive the paper in 1988 but these came to an end with the kidnap and murder of Kanthasamy in June 1988.[14]

References

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  1. ^ Arumugam, S. (1997). Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon. p. 201.
  2. ^ a b c d "VISUVALINGAM AND OTHERS v. LIYANAGE AND OTHERS". Tamil Nation.
  3. ^ "Veteran journalist Sivanayagam passes away". TamilNet. 30 November 2010.
  4. ^ "Sri Lanka: Witness To History". The Sunday Leader. 20 February 2005.
  5. ^ a b c Eelaventhan, M. K. (7 December 2010). "S. Sivanayagam". Ilankai Tamil Sangam/TamilCanadian.
  6. ^ "Saturday Review" (PDF). Tamil Times. Vol. I, no. 4. January 1982. p. 16.
  7. ^ "A.J. Kanagarathna, a pioneer journalist, passes away". TamilNet. 12 October 2006.
  8. ^ "A Courageous And Popular Journalist Passes Away". The Sunday Leader. 5 December 2010.
  9. ^ "Ban Lifted on Jaffna Publications" (PDF). Tamil Times. Vol. III, no. 4. February 1984. p. 9.
  10. ^ "VISUVALINGAM AND OTHERS v. LIYANAGE AND OTHERS". LawNet.
  11. ^ "VISUVALINGAM AND OTHERS v. LIYANAGE AND OTHERS". LawNet.
  12. ^ "VISUVALINGAM AND OTHERS v. LIYANAGE AND OTHERS". LawNet.
  13. ^ "Saturday Review Volume 2 Number 2" (PDF). Saturday Review (Sri Lankan newspaper). 25 February 1984.
  14. ^ a b "Special Report No. 10". University Teachers for Human Rights. 9 April 1998.