Private newspapers shut down

Two private newspapers have been shut down since Friday following a decision by the country's attorney general, news organisations reported. Attorney General Caetano Inthcama ordered the closure of the two papers, 'Diario de Bissau' and 'Gazeta de Noticias', because they threaten national security, Lusa reported him as saying. Intchama also accused them of operating without a license, the Portuguese online news provider reported. Guinea-Bissau's private media have criticised the closure, stating that it violates press freedom. RDP, Portugal's national radio, reported Joao de Barros, the director of 'Diario de Bissau', as saying that Intchama's decision was an attempt to gag the press to create a climate of intimidation. The press is not the only sector to have come under the scrutiny of the authorities recently in Guinea-Bissau. Since his election in January 2000, President Kumba Yala has come into conflict with members of his own party, other political actors and members of the judiciary. Earlier this month the authorities denied rumours that sections of the military were preparing to overthrow the government.