News In Brief

On election eve, Chile imposes press censorship

On the eve of Tuesday's scheduled anti-government protest, Chile's military government issued a decree restricting press freedom with the apparent aim of limiting coverage of the protests.

The decree, signed by President Augusto Pinochet, orders all media not to highlight matters, deeds, or behavior which induce, promote, or favor in any form the disturbance of public order.

A second decree issued later ordered four opposition magazines - Hoy, Cauce, Anasis, and Apsi - to make each issue available for government inspection 24 hours before publication, journalists from the magazines said. They said it was the first time this form of prior censorship had been applied in recent years.

Under the state of emergency reimposed last Friday, the government has the power to restrict freedom of movement, assembly, and information.