Aththa

''Aththa'' (, 'Truth') was a Sinhala-language daily newspaper, published from Colombo by the Communist Party of Sri Lanka between 1964 and 1995.Wiswa Warnapala, W. A.
Politics in Sri Lanka: A Collection of Essays on Personalities and Issues
'. Colombo: S. Godage & Bros, 2001. p. 177UNHCR.
Refugee Review Tribunal, Research Response Number: LKA17721, 8 December 2005
' The name was borrowed from the Russian newspaper ''Pravda''. As of 1971, it had an edition of around 41,000. It had a special Sunday edition.
Ceylon Press Directory
'. 1971. p. 10 As of the early 1970s, B.A. Siriwardena served as editor-in-chief of the newspaper, Newton Seneviratne as its news editor and Surath Ambalangoda as its features editor. As of the mid-1980s, H.G.S. Ratnaweera was the editor-in-chief of ''Aththa''.

History

''Aththa'' emerged as an important new element of Sinhala journalism.Peiris, G. H.
Studies on the Press in Sri Lanka and South Asia
'. Kandy: International Centre for Ethnic Studies, 1997. p. 91 The financial backing the publication received from the Communist Party was an important reason behind its impact. But the style of journalism and coverage of day-to-day affairs were also notably different from other contemporary publications, and won respect well beyond the party ranks. According to Mervin de Silva, Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake was a frequent reader of ''Aththa''.

The Sunday edition of ''Aththa'' in particular became known as a prominent example of vocal journalism. ''Aththa'' was known for its "vigorous writing and pithy headlines". ''Aththa'' editor H.G.S. Ratnaweera explained that the newspaper was successful because: " like many bourgeois publications with their pseudoscholarly and grandiloquent style, ''Aththa'' speaks in the simple, direct and pithy language of workers. In many schools, teachers use it as the model of modern Sinhala newspaper style."

Using eye-catching headlines and sensationalist exposés, ''Aththa'' ridiculed corruption amongst high-level politicians. When governments censored articles in ''Aththa'', the newspaper responded by leaving vast white spaces in the place of the censored texts. The blank fields would include a small commentary, saying "this news was eaten by dogs". During the time of the United Front government (in which the Communist Party participated), the wording used in a blank space on the front was "our own dogs have chewed us up". At the time, ''Aththa'' was controlled by the faction inside the Communist Party which was critical of the United Front coalition.

''Aththa'' was the sole Sinhala-language newspaper to cover the burning of Jaffna library. An ''Aththa'' photographer captured the event. Following the publication of the photograph, the government decided to shut down ''Aththa'' and Communist Party members were arrested. Soon, however, the government did a ''volte face'' and decided to blame the Left for the destruction of the library instead.

''Aththa'' suffered from pressure from governments and also faced persecution: companies were threatened with bad consequences if they advertised in the newspaper and newspaper dealers were pressured not to sell it.
World Marxist review, Vol.28, Eds. 1–6
'. Progress Books., 1985. pp. 49-50 In 1992, ''Aththa'' cartoonist Jiffrey Yoonoos was stabbed and threatened with death if he did not stop drawing caricatures of President Ranasinghe Premadasa. In the same year, following publication of a testimony regarding the killings by the pro-government 'Black Cat' paramilitary group, a lawsuit was launched against ''Aththa''. The article was based on a list of 830 people who, according to the former head of the Bureau of Special Operations, Deputy Inspector General of Police Premadasa Udugampola, had been killed by the 'Black Cats' between July and November 1989.Hyndman, Patricia, and Jeannine Guthrie.
Human rights accountability in Sri Lanka: May 31, 1992
'. New York, NY u.a: Human Rights Watch, 1992. p. 42

References

{{Media of Sri Lanka

Communist newspapers
Communist Party of Sri Lanka organs
Daily newspapers published in Sri Lanka
Defunct daily newspapers
Defunct newspapers published in Sri Lanka
Newspapers established in 1964
Publications disestablished in 1995
Sinhala-language newspapers published in Sri Lanka