Vietnam paper banned

By Nga Pham BBC Vietnamese service

The paper was especially popular with young students

The Vietnamese Ministry for Culture and Information has announced the suspension of the Sinh Vien Vietnam (Vietnamese Students) newspaper for its "multiple grave editorial mistakes".

Do Quy Doan, head of the press department at the ministry, said the paper has violated the press code by publishing a number of articles of "crude and too liberal" content.

Sinh Vien Vietnam is to be closed for three months before the ministry will decide whether to allow it to reopen, he said.

The ministry has also called for punishments of those responsible for the violation.

Serious offence

Sources inside the country say it is likely that the weekly paper's editor-in-chief "will have to go".

'How to take a good nude picture' is certainly a headline one cannot find in a conventional newspaper

One of the reasons behind the suspension is a computerised photo the paper published last year to illustrate a story on personal financing.

It featured a banknote being flushed down the toilet.

Unfortunately, the image of the late president Ho Chi Minh is visible on the banknote.

Misusing the leadership's images is regarded as one of the most serious offences in communist Vietnam.

Another picture published recently was of some ethnic ancient statues - nude males with their sexual organs exposed.

Reader 'surprise'

Authorities have also complained about the crude and "too liberal" content of the newspaper, which has, since it was revamped a couple years ago, become more commercial and Western-style.

"How to take a good nude picture" is certainly a headline one cannot find in a conventional newspaper.

But in Sinh Vien Vietnam, readers could encounter similar tips, as well as follow the latest gossip on celebrities and sport stars.

And that is why the weekly has become popular, especially among the young people.

"Sinh Vien Vietnam is interesting and has really good pictures," Thai Quang Hung, a student in Hanoi, says.

"There is nothing that I don't like about it. I'm very surprised that they decided to suspend the paper."