''Uthayan'' ( Utayaṉ, ) is a
Tamil language
Tamil (, , , also written as ''Tamizhil'' according to linguistic pronunciation) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. It is one of the longest-surviving classical languages in the world,. "Tamil is one of ...
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
n daily
newspaper
A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...
published by New Uthayan Publication (Private) Limited, part of the Uthayan Group of Newspapers. It was founded in 1985 and is published from
Jaffna
Jaffna (, ; , ) is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka, Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a Jaffna Peninsula, peninsula of the same name. With a population o ...
. Its sister newspaper is the
Colombo
Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...
-based ''
Sudar Oli''. ''Uthayan'' was the only newspaper published from Jaffna which did not cease publication due to the
civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
. The newspaper has been attacked several times; a number of its staff have been murdered by paramilitary groups and other forces, and it regularly receives threats.
History

''Uthayan'' was founded in 1985 by
E. Saravanapavan with the first edition being published on 27 November 1985.
At that time there were two other newspapers published from Jaffna: the Tamil language ''
Eelamurasu'' and ''
Eelanadu''.
[ '' Murasoli'' began publishing from Jaffna in 1986.][
As the ]civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
escalated newspapers published from Jaffna came under pressure from both government forces and the rebel militant groups. ''Eelamurasu'' and ''Eelanadu'' were taken over by the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; , ; also known as the Tamil Tigers) was a Tamil militant organization, that was based in the northern and eastern Sri Lanka. The LTTE fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eela ...
(LTTE) in 1987 and 1994 respectively.[
In October 1995, as the Sri Lankan military launched a military offensive to recapture the Jaffna peninsula from the LTTE, virtually the entire population of the ]Valikamam
Valikamam (; ) is one of the three historic regions of Jaffna peninsula in northern Sri Lanka. The other two regions are Thenmarachchi and Vadamarachchi. Alternative spellings include Valikaamam or Valigamam.
Etymology
The name Valikamam () trans ...
region fled to other parts of the peninsula and the Vanni. ''Uthayan'' staff fled from their Jaffna offices, taking printing machine, a generator and newsprint on a truck.[ They set up a temporary office in Sarasalai, ]Thenmarachchi
Thenmarachchi is one of the three historic regions of the Jaffna peninsula in northern Sri Lanka. The other two regions are Vadamarachchi and Valikamam. Thenmarachchi is sometimes spelt Thenmarachi, Thenmaraachi or Thenmaraadchi. This area, like ...
from where they published the paper until April 1996.[ Then the paper returned to Jaffna after the military had recaptured most of the peninsula including Jaffna city.][ By 1996 the ''Uthayan'' was the only newspaper published from Jaffna.][
''Uthayan'' was shut down by the ]Sri Lankan government
The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) (; ) is a Semi-presidential republic determined by the Sri Lankan Constitution. It administers the island from both its commercial capital of Colombo and the administrative capital of Sri Jayawardenepura Kott ...
on 19 May 2000 using the recently passed draconian law – the ''Emergency (Miscellaneous Provisions and Powers) Regulation No.1 of 2000''. The Sri Lanka Army
The Sri Lanka Army (; ) is the oldest and largest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. The army was officially established as the Ceylon Army in 1949, though the army traces its roots back in 1881 when Ceylon Light Infantry Volunteers was created; ...
cut off the phone lines, locked the offices and took away the keys. The newspaper re-opened 45 days later on 4 July 2000 after the government lifted its ban.
Sub-editor N. Vithyatharan was interrogated by the police
The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...
for two hours at his offices 20 January 2001 regarding an interview with Anton Balasingham
Anton Balasingham Stanislaus (; 4 March 1938 – 14 December 2006) was a Sri Lankan journalist, rebel and chief political strategist and chief negotiator for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a separatist Tamil militant organisation in ...
, the LTTE's chief negotiator and political advisor.
After the civil war resumed the Sri Lankan military closed the A9 road
This is a list of roads designated A9.
* A009 road (Argentina), a road in the northeast of Santa Fe Province
* ''A9 highway (Australia)'' may refer to :
** A9 (Sydney), a road linking Windsor and Campbelltown
** Port River Expressway, a limi ...
which was the main road link between the Jaffna peninsula and the rest of the country. This resulted in an acute shortage of food, fuel, medicine and other supplies, including newsprint and printing ink, on the peninsula. ''Uthayan'' was forced to drastically cut its number of pages and the copies printed – it went from 20,000 copies of a 12-page paper to 7,500 copies of a 4-page paper.
Editor N. Vithyatharan was arrested by the police without a warrant on 26 February 2009 as he attended a funeral in Mount Lavinia without a warrant and allegedly beaten in custody. As international criticism of the arrest intensified the Sri Lankan government claimed Vithyatharan had been arrested in connections with the LTTE air raid on Colombo. Vithyatharan was released on 24 April 2009 after the Colombo Crimes Division informed the court that there was no evidence connecting him to the air raid. Vithyatharan alleged that he had been detained in order to prevent him highlighting the plight of the civilians in the Vanni.
Attacks
The ''Uthayan'' and its employees have been subject to numerous attacks during its existence. In 1987, the Sri Lankan security forces attacked the Navalar Road in Jaffna, where the ''Uthayan'' offices were located, using artillery. Two ''Uthayan'' employees were injured and 40 others in the area were killed. In 1990, the ''Uthayan's'' offices were hit by an air raid killing one employee and injuring five.[
A Journalist named Velupillai Thavachelvam was attacked on 29 August 1998 at his home in Sembianpattu, ]Vadamarachchi
Vadamarachchi ( Vaṭamarāṭci, ) is one of the three historic regions of the Jaffna peninsula in northern Sri Lanka. The other two regions are Thenmarachchi and Valikamam. Alternative spellings include Vadamarachi, Vadamaraachi or Vadamaraadchi. ...
. Thavachelvam had written a report critical of the local authority. The following year, two grenades were thrown into the newspaper's offices, exploding near the printing machines and injuring security guard S. Selvarajah. The Eelam People's Democratic Party
The Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) is a Sri Lankan political party and a pro-government paramilitary organization. It is led by its founder Douglas Devananda.
Background
Douglas Devananda was one of the founding members of the Eelam Re ...
(EPDP), a government backed paramilitary group, was blamed for the attack. The ''Uthayan'' had recently criticised government-backed paramilitary groups.
On 20 August 2005, two grenades were thrown into the advertising office of the ''Uthayan'' and ''Sudar Oli'' in Wellawatte
Wellawatta is a neighbourhood of Colombo, Sri Lanka. It lies immediately south of Bambalapitiya and is classified as zone 6 within the Colombo Municipal region. The town begins at the old Dutch canal just before the Savoy Cinema and extends s ...
, but failed to explode.[
Suresh Kumar (B. G. Sahayathasan) and Ranjith Kumar, two employees of the newspaper, were killed on 2 May 2006 when armed men burst into the newspaper's offices and opened fire indiscriminately.] The attack followed the newspaper publishing a cartoon mocking Douglas Devananda
Kathiravelu Nythiananda Devananda, commonly known as Douglas Devananda (), is a Sri Lankan Tamil politician, Cabinet Minister and leader of the Eelam People's Democratic Party. Originally a Sri Lanka Tamil militant who fought against the Sri L ...
, the leader of the EPDP.
A delivery driver and an agent named Sathasivam Baskaran was shot dead at the wheel of his delivery truck on 15 August 2006 at Puttur junction near Achchuveli
Achchuveli is a small town in Sri Lanka. It is located within Northern Province.
See also
*List of towns in Northern Province, Sri Lanka
Northern Province is a province of Sri Lanka, containing the Jaffna District, Kilinochchi District, Ma ...
. Baskaran was shot in an area controlled by the Sri Lankan military. Three days later, on 18 August 2006, a warehouse in Kopay
Kopay () is a Sri Lankan town about 4 km from the city of Jaffna along Point Pedro road. An agricultural town consisting mainly of vegetable farms, paddy fields and coconut gardens. The suburb Kopay has several scholars because of very strong ...
was burnt down by armed men as a curfew
A curfew is an order that imposes certain regulations during specified hours. Typically, curfews order all people affected by them to remain indoors during the evening and nighttime hours. Such an order is most often issued by public authorit ...
was in place.
Armed men entered the ''Uthayan'' offices on 7 September 2006 and ordered staff to publish a statement urging Jaffna's students to call off their strike, threatening "severe reprisals" if the statement wasn't published. A few days later, on 10 September 2006, two armed men who entered into the ''Uthayan'' offices were arrested by the policemen who were guarding the building. But they were released within hours.[
]
Journalist Selvarajah Rajivarnam, an ''Uthayan'' reporter for six months prior to his death, was shot dead in Jaffna close to a military checkpoint on 29 April 2007. The EPDP was blamed for Rajivarnam's murder. A proofreader, Vadivel Nimalarajah, was abducted on 17 November 2007 near Jaffna as he returned home after work.
A grenade was thrown into the newspaper's office in Jaffna on 24 March 2009 causing extensive damage and injuring a security guard. Same year, on 25 June, thousands of copies of the ''Uthayan'', '' Thinakkural'' and ''Valampuri'' were burnt in the street by armed men, after the papers had refused to print a statement against the LTTE.
A staff correspondent of the newspaper, S. Kavitharan, was attacked by a group of men on 28 May 2011 as he cycled to work. Kavitharan had written articles critical of the security in Jaffna and the actions of government-backed paramilitary groups whose members had previously threatened Kavitharan.[ On 29 July, the same year, ''Uthayans chief news editor Gnanasundaram Kuganathan was brutally attacked as he walked home from the office in Jaffna.] The EPDP was blamed for the attack. Between 2006 and 2010 Kuganathan lived in the ''Uthayan'' offices out of fear for his life but had recently moved back to his family home after assurances were given by the government.[
Nagesh Pratheepan and two other ''Uthayan'' distributors were attacked and newspapers torched by four men on two motorbikes on 10 January 2013 as they were distributing them in the Valvettithurai area.
The paper's office in ]Kilinochchi
Kilinochchi (; ) is the main town of Kilinochchi District, Northern Province of Sri Lanka. Kilinochchi is situated at the A9 road some south-east of Jaffna. It was the administrative center and de facto capital of the LTTE (Tamil Tigers) until ...
were attacked by a group of six masked Sinhala-speaking men on 3 April 2013. Five employees were injured, two seriously, and equipment and vehicles damaged. The newspaper blamed the security forces for the attack. The attack came after the paper published a series of articles highlighting seizure of Tamil owned land by the army. Ten days later, on 13 April 2013, three men came to the paper's office in Jaffna and threatened security guards before damaging equipment and setting the printing press
A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in whi ...
ablaze.
Commentary on attacks by notable media/personalities/entities
*''Committee to Protect Journalists
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in New York City, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journalists. The '' American Journalism ...
''
"These attacks on the offices of ''Uthayan'' have been going on for years and typify the threats faced by the Tamil press in Sri Lanka," said CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Bob Dietz.
*''Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders (RWB; ; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organisation, non-governmental organization headquartered in Paris, which focuses on safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its a ...
''
"At least five of its employees have been killed this year, two of them in an attack on the newspaper on the eve of World Press Freedom Day
The United Nations General Assembly declared May 3 to be World Press Freedom Day or just World Press Day, observed to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press and remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the righ ...
. The press that prints the Colombo edition was the target of an arson attack in September. In Jaffna, the newspaper has twice been forced to publish communiqués at gunpoint", RSF said.
*''United States Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...
''
"As we continue our free the press campaign we will highlight the case of ''Uthayan'', a Tamil language newspaper in Sri Lanka. ''Uthayan'' has seen its personnel beaten, its newspaper shipments burned, its equipment destroyed and its offices set ablaze in the past month alone. The assault on a free press in Sri Lanka extends beyond ''Uthayan''" Speaking at the US State Department's daily press briefing in Washington, the Department's Acting Deputy Spokesperson, Patrick Ventrell, expressed.
*''Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...
''
The Rajapaksa government has a long history of media harassment and attacks on journalists critical of the government, Human Rights Watch said. Publications − including electronic media − that oppose government policies have been subject to censorship, and some have been forced to close down. The leading Tamil opposition newspaper, ''Uthayan'', has faced repeated physical attacks against its journalists and property.
*''International Federation of Journalists
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is the largest global union federation of journalists' trade unions in the world. It represents more than 600,000 media workers from 187 organisations in 146 countries.
The IFJ is an associate ...
''
"The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins partners and affiliates in Sri Lanka in unequivocally condemning the repeated targeting of the Tamil newspaper ''Uthayan''.......... The effort to silence ''Uthayan'' after the country’s long civil war was formally declared over in May 2009, 'is seen as a direct attack on post-war democracy and media freedom in the country, aimed at suppressing the dissemination of important information and diverse views among the public'.
*''The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
''
"The newspaper has supported self-rule for Tamils and its staff has repeatedly faced threats and violence, the most serious in 2006 when gunmen stormed its offices and killed two staffers."
*''The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...
''
".....I also saw the bullet holes above the sofa in the office of the editor of a Tamil language newspaper in Jaffna. Days after we visited the paper, its offices were trashed and employees beaten." – Hugh Segal.
Awards and recognition
The ''Uthayan'' was nominated in the "Media" category in the 15th ''Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders (RWB; ; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organisation, non-governmental organization headquartered in Paris, which focuses on safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its a ...
-Fondation de France
The Fondation de France ("Foundation of France") is an independent private organisation, recognised as being in the public interest, and created at the instigation of Charles de Gaulle and André Malraux in an effort to stimulate and foster the g ...
Prize''. It was awarded by the prize in 2013.
The ''Uthayan'' received the Public service and Tolerance Journalism Award at a ceremony at Galle Face Hotel
The Galle Face Hotel, founded in 1864, is one of the oldest hotels east of Suez. It is located on Galle Road, Colombo. The Ceylon Hotels Corporation is now part of the Galle Face Hotel Group. . The current chairman of the hotel is Sanjeev Gardin ...
on 24 October 2008 organised by six Sri Lankan journalists associations (National Federation of Journalists, Federation of Media Employee's Trade Unions, Free Media Movement, Sri Lankan Working Journalists Association, Sri Lanka Muslim Media Forum and Sri Lanka Tamil Media Alliance).
The chief editor and staff of ''Uthayan'' won the ''Sepala Gunasena Award for Defending Press Freedom in Sri Lanka'' award at the Journalism Awards for Excellence 2008 held at Mount Lavinia Hotel
The Mount Lavinia Hotel, in Mount Lavinia, Sri Lanka, is a 275-room hotel, situated at 100 Hotel Road in Mount Lavinia. It is recognised as one of the oldest and most famous hotels in the country. It has been continuously operating as a hote ...
on 14 July 2009.
In its August 2007 report The International Press Freedom Mission to Sri Lanka describes the Uthayan as "a heroic paper". It goes on to say – "This newspaper, Jaffna’s most popular Tamil daily, has paid a heavy price for doing its job since it was founded in November 1985. Its offices were bombed by the Indian army
The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...
in the 1980s and then by Sri Lankan war planes in 1990. Its staff have been threatened by several Tamil armed groups, including the EPRLF and the EPDP, that have been fighting in Jaffna for the past 20 years, and in 1999 paramilitaries threw a grenade into its offices."[
]
References
External links
*
{{Media of Sri Lanka
Daily newspapers published in Sri Lanka
Mass media in Jaffna
Newspapers established in 1985
Tamil-language newspapers published in Sri Lanka
Uthayan Group of Newspapers
1985 establishments in Sri Lanka
Indian Peace Keeping Force