Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Tonga government grants licences to six newspapers

Posted at 19:45 on 08 February, 2004 UTC

Tonga’s Department of Communications has announced that six newspapers have been granted licences to publish in the country.

They include the Catholic Church’s Taumu’a Lelei, the government’s weekly Tonga Chronicle and the privately owned Tonga Star

The Department has declined applications from three other media groups on the grounds that they do not meet the provisions and requirements of two laws, the Media Operators Act and the Newspaper Act, introduced late last year

The Department says several other applications are still in the process of ensuring their compliance with the law, and these together with late applications, are being processed.