Government boycotts newspaper

The Namibian government slapped an advertising boycott on the 'Namibian', claiming the newspaper was too critical of its policies, the daily newspaper reported on Friday. The decision to ban advertising was taken at a cabinet meeting in December and some government departments had as recently as this month been reminded to heed the cabinet decision "with immediate effect", the report said. Government representative Mocks Shivute confirmed the ban on Thursday, but said he had not seen a recent "action letter" indicating the ban was now operational. A local media freedom organisation said the ban amounted to "economic sanctions" aimed at stifling freedom of the press. The 'Namibian' reported that it was in possession of copies of circulars from various ministries giving the go-ahead for the move.