An international watchdog for Press freedom has highlighted the move by the Government of Bermuda to cut advertising revenue to The Royal Gazette.

Reporters Without Borders — Reporters Sans Frontieres – defends journalists around the world from persecution and fights censorship undermining Press freedom.

The non-profit organisation appeals to authorities "to put pressure on governments which do not respect the right to inform and to be informed".

Representatives also meet with the authorities of the country concerned and launch publicity campaigns "to inform people and try to give countries which do not respect this basic right a bad name in the eyes of international institutions, the media and governments that have ties with them".

On Friday, a story appeared on Reporters Without Borders' website which said: "The government of Bermuda has cancelled its advertising contracts with The Royal Gazette, the country's only daily newspaper, and has ordered all state entities to cancel their subscriptions to the newspaper on the grounds of cost reduction and the need to redirect government advertising to the electronic media.

"In a letter to Reporters Without Borders, the newspaper has called the move 'arbitrary' and politically motivated, claiming that it is the only print media to have had its state advertising withdrawn. The Royal Gazette launched a campaign in January for the adoption of a freedom of information law. Its relations with the government have been tense ever since the Progressive Labour Party, currently led by Prime Minister Ewart Brown, became the ruling party in 1998."

Reporters Without Borders was founded in 1985 and has consultant status at the United Nations.

The Internet article follows an earlier report last week that The Inter American Press Association has written to Premier Dr. Ewart Brown, urging Government not to use official advertising as a "weapon of reprisal" against The Royal Gazette.

The IAPA wrote: "Discrimination in the placement of advertising severely restricts freedom of the press."

Cabinet scrapped Government's advertising and subscription deals with this newspaper last month, claiming it was a cost-saving measure. However, it continues to place adverts with other media.

Bill Zuill, editor of The Royal Gazette, has asked Government to reveal the methodology used to curtail print advertising in favour of electronic and broadcast media. An editorial in this newspaper has suggested the cutback is a payback for our A Right to Know: Giving People Power campaign to get public access to information (PATI) legislation for Bermuda.

However, Dr. Brown has said The Royal Gazette received almost $800,000 in Government spending during the last fiscal year and it was "more penetrative" to advertise online, because more than 80 percent of residents have Internet access.

In a letter to the Premier, IAPA president Earl Maucker and Gonzalo Marroquin, chairman of the IAPA's committee on freedom of the press and information, said Government "should allocate its resources with complete transparency and employ purely technical criteria" regarding decisions on the spending of public funds.

"Following the public announcements made by your government there has been no indication of the kind of methodology used in the placement of official advertising," Mr. Maucker and Mr. Marroquin said.

"In view of this, and of the fact that discrimination in the placement of that advertising severely restricts freedom of the press, we would respectfully ask you to review the action taken by your government against The Royal Gazette and other media in your country."

The story has already made news in the Caribbean, appearing on the Caribbean Net News website, and Guyana's daily newspaper the Stabroek News.

To view the stories, log onto the websites at: www.rsf.org; www.sipiapa.org; www.caribbeannetnews.com and www.stabroeknews.com.