Ban on Jaffna paper lifted

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 July 2000, 21:25 GMT]
The Sri Lankan government lifted the ban on the Jaffna Tamil daily Uthayan Monday, a spokesman for the newspaper told TamilNet. The paper was sealed by the Sri Lankan army on 19 May under the emergency regulations. The Uthayan will resume publication tomorrow the spokesman said.

The management of the Uthayan made an appeal to the government to lift the ban soon after the paper's editorial and press were sealed by the army, explaining the difficulties it faced in submitting copies to the censor. The matter was also taken up with the deputy minister for media by the Sri Lanka Tamil Media Alliance.

On 30 June, the Supreme Court ruled that the ban imposed on pro-opposition English language Weekly, Sunday Leader, and its sister Sinhala language Irida Peramuna, was illegal and ordered the state to pay one hundred thousand rupees as costs to the Petitioner, within eight weeks.

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