The ''Saturday Review'' was an English-language weekly newspaper in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

published by New Era Publications Limited. It was founded in 1982 and was published from

Jaffna Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th most ...

. It ceased publication in 1987.

History

The ''Saturday Review'' was founded in 1982 by K. Kanthasamy, K. C. Thangarajah and others. The paper was published by a company called Kalai Nilayam and its first editor was S. Sivanayagam. The first edition of the paper was published on 30 January 1982. The paper was bought by New Era Publications Limited in August 1982. The ''Saturday Review'' was shut down by the

Sri Lankan government The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා රජය, Śrī Lankā Rajaya; ta, இலங்கை அரசாங்கம்) is a parliamentary system determined by the Sri Lankan Constitution. It administers the is ...

on 1 July 1983 using the recently passed

emergency law A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...

- the ''Emergency (Miscellaneous Provisions and Powers) Regulations 1983''. The

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

sealed the paper's offices the next day. Fearing arrest, Sivanayagam escaped to

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in September 1983 with the help of the rebel

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...

(LTTE). 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 Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

by the government. A fundamental rights petition contesting the government's ban on the ''Saturday Review'' was heard by the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

with leading lawyer S. Nadesan acting for the paper. The petition was dismissed by the court. Gamini Navaratne took over as editor of the paper in February 1984 when the newspaper was restarted. As the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same 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 ...

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. 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.

References

{{Media of Sri Lanka 1982 establishments in Sri Lanka 1987 disestablishments in Sri Lanka Defunct English-language newspapers published in Sri Lanka Defunct weekly newspapers published in Sri Lanka Newspapers established in 1982 Publications disestablished in 1987