Vietnam papers suspended over bank note reporting
HANOI - The government has suspended two newspapers for a month over critical reporting of the central bank's printing of new polymer bank notes, the Vietnam News Agency reported on Saturday.
It said the Ministry of Culture and Information suspended a newspaper run by the Supreme Court and another publication "for violating Press Law and not complying with the government's instruction."
Newspapers in Communist-run Vietnam are all state-controlled, but they compete with one another and increasingly run articles criticizing government agencies and officials, particularly about corruption.
The media played a major role in exposing a multi-million dollar corruption scandal that led to the ouster of a cabinet minister in April, but rights groups say a law introduced in July placed further restrictions on media.
The official news agency said the two most popular newspapers Tuoi Tre (Youth) and Thanh Nien (Young People), were among several the ministry was considering "strict disciplinary measures" against for reporting on variations in size and mistakes on 10,000 dong (62 U.S. cents) bank notes.
The two publications suspended were the court's twice-weekly Cong Ly (Justice) paper and Thoi Dai (Times) weekly of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations, an umbrella group that helps foreign Organizations work in Vietnam.
An official at the Cong Ly newspaper said, "We have just received the information but it is not clear when it would be effective."
Reuters - October 21, 2006.
Vietnam suspends newspapers over bank note coverage
HANOI - Vietnam has suspended the operations of two newspapers for a month after they reported problems surrounding the introduction of new plastic currency notes, state media has said.
The ministry of culture and information has suspended the weekly Thoi Dai (Time) and bi-weekly Cong Ly (Justice) newspapers for "serious violation of the press law", said the online news site VietnamNet.
The ministry was also considering sanctions against six other newspapers, including the most popular dailies, Thanh Nien and Tuoi Tre, and some individuals "involved in printing similar wrongful information," reports said.
In recent weeks, the State Bank of Vietnam has come under strong press criticism over alleged glitches and inconsistencies in the new notes and questions on whether senior officials' relatives profited from printing them.
Vietnam, a one-party state, allows no independent media and controls all print, broadcast and online publications.
The press has been increasingly aggressive this year in reporting government corruption, but a new media law introduced in July has increased penalties for a range of vaguely defined journalistic offences.
The law threatens to punish journalists who "twist historical reality, deny revolutionary achievements, attack the nation, its great men and national heroes (and) slander and attack the prestige of services and organisations."
The Paris-based group the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights said the new law "imposes strict new controls on Vietnamese journalists, severely curbing freedom of expression and the scope of investigative journalism."
Agence France Presse - October 20, 2006.
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