Advertising: Ban on foreign language ads in Myanmar

State censors have prohibited nongovernment newspapers and magazines in Myanmar from carrying advertisements in all foreign languages except English, according to an editor of a weekly journal

The ban was issued a week after the English-language Myanmar Times carried an advertisement by a Denmark-based satirical art group with a hidden message calling the country's military ruler general Than Shwe a "Killer."

According to the Press Scrutiny Board, publishers and editors must take responsibility for the authenticity and identity of any advertising company placing advertisements, which "must not tarnish the dignity and honor of an individual, harm national unity or cause misunderstanding among nationalities".