Tonga Government bans newspaper

Tonga's Government has issued a banning order against the country's only independent newspaper, the Times of Tonga, says publisher Kalafi Moala.

The twice-weekly Tongan language newspaper is printed and published in New Zealand and flown to Tonga for sale.

The newspaper, which has recently campaigned against Government corruption and a recent decision by King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV to build a cigarette factory, received a letter from the Chief Commissioner of Revenue, Siosiua'Utoikamanu, banning its import.

The letter cites the Customs and Excise Act to say that Taimi'o Tonga was "a prohibited import into the Kingdom of Tonga". No reason for the ban has been given.