Sudar Oli

Sudar Oli (Tamil: சுடர் ஒளி Cuṭar Oḷi) is a Tamil language Sri Lankan daily newspaper published by Mass Media Syndicate (Private) Limited, part of the Uthayan Group of Newspapers. It was founded in 2000 and is published from Colombo. Its sister newspaper is the Jaffna based Uthayan. 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.

Sudar Oli
TypeDaily newspaper
Owner(s)Uthayan Group of Newspapers
PublisherNew Vision Media Syndicate (Private) Limited
Editor-in-chiefR. Sivarajah
EditorT. Premanath
Managing editorE. Saravanapavan
Founded10 September 2000 (2000-09-10)
Political alignmentNeutral
LanguageTamil
Headquarters85 Jayantha Mallimarachchi Mawatha, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Sister newspapersUthayan
Websitesudaroli.lk

History

Sudar Oli was founded in Colombo on 10 September 2000 as a weekly newspaper. It became a daily newspaper on 29 October 2001. Nadesapillai Vithyatharan became the paper's editor in 2002.

In July 2006 Sudar Oli and Thinakkural were forced to stop distribution in Batticaloa District and Ampara District after receiving threatening phone calls allegedly from a government backed paramilitary headed by Karuna Amman.[1] Both papers resumed distribution in the districts later but circulation had fallen.[2]

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.[3][4] 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.[5][6] 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.[7][8] Vithyatharan alleged that he had been detained in order to prevent him highlighting the plight of the civilians in the Vanni.[9][10]

Attacks

Sudar Oli and its employees have been subject to numerous attacks:

  • News photographer Yathurshan Premachchandran was attacked by activists from the nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) party on 23 August 2005 as he covered a JVP demonstration in front of Fort Railway Station, Colombo.[11][12] The JVP activists accused Premachchandran of being a member of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.[11]
  • Two grenades were thrown into the advertising office of the Sudar Oli and Uthayan in Wellawatte, Colombo on 20 August 2005, but failed to explode.[13][14][15]
  • Two grenades were thrown into the offices of the newspaper in Grandpass, Colombo on 29 August 2005, killing security guard David Selvaratnam and injuring three others.[13][16][17]
  • Two parliamentary reporters were attacked as they waited for a bus on 30 August 2005.[18][19]
  • Journalist Subramaniyam Sugirdharajan (Sugitharajah) was shot dead in Trincomalee near governor's secretariat on 24 January 2006.[20] Sugirdharajan had provided photographic evidence to the media of the murder of five students by Sri Lankan security forces.[21][22][23] The day before his death Sugirdharajan had written an article in the Sudar Oli exposing abuses committed by the Eelam People's Democratic Party, a government backed paramilitary group, in the Trincomalee area.[24]

See also

References
  1. "Sri Lanka: Tamil newspapers curtail distribution after threats". Committee to Protect Journalists. 31 July 2006.
  2. "Attacks on the Press 2006: Sri Lanka". Committee to Protect Journalists. 5 February 2007.
  3. "Prominent Tamil Editor abducted in Colombo, later claimed 'arrested'". TamilNet. 26 February 2009.
  4. "Sri Lanka: Editor Arrested and Beaten". Human Rights Watch. 1 March 2009.
  5. Mushtaq, Munza (6 December 2009). "And… The White Vans Are Back!". The Sunday Leader.
  6. "Tamil editor arrested in Sri Lanka". Committee to Protect Journalists. 26 February 2009.
  7. Jayawardene, Kishali Pinto (26 April 2009). "Calling for a change of policy in arrests and detentions". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka).
  8. "Vithiyatharan released". TamilNet. 24 April 2009.
  9. Satyapalan, Franklin R. (26 April 2009). "Fight with people with guns, not those with pens - Editor Vithiyatharan". The Island (Sri Lanka).
  10. "Colombo wanted to hide forced displacement of Tamils - Vithiyatharan". TamilNet. 25 April 2009.
  11. "Press photographer beaten up amid continuing political tension". Reporters Without Borders. 24 August 2005.
  12. "Tamil journalist in Colombo assaulted by JVP, arrested under ER". TamilNet. 23 August 2005.
  13. "Sudar Oli ATTACKED". Committee to Protect Journalists. 30 August 2005.
  14. "Advertising office of Colombo Tamil daily attacked". TamilNet. 20 August 2005.
  15. "World Press Freedom Day bloodied by Uthayan attack". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). 7 May 2006.
  16. "Watchman badly hurt in grenade attack on Tamil daily". Reporters Without Borders. 30 August 2005.
  17. "Colombo Tamil daily bombed, one dead, three injured". TamilNet. 29 August 2005.
  18. "CPJ condemns attacks on Tamil media". Committee to Protect Journalists. 6 September 2005.
  19. "Jaffna journalists hold demonstration against attack on Tamil media". TamilNet. 1 September 2005.
  20. "Tamil journalist shot dead in Trincomalee". TamilNet. 24 January 2006.
  21. "Black January And Counter Moves by the Government". The Sunday Leader. 29 January 2012.
  22. "Subramaniyam Sugitharajah". Committee to Protect Journalists.
  23. Perera, Jehan (30 January 2012). "No problem solving without first accepting problems do exist". The Island, Sri Lanka.
  24. "Tamil journalist gunned down in Trincomalee after covering paramilitary abuses". Reporters Without Borders. 24 January 2006. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
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