'An instruction from the authorities': Full statement given by Telenor

Al Jazeera, yesterday published a report on the involvement of the military intelligence agency, DGFI, in instructing large telecommunication and consumer product companies from advertising in the country's two largest and most popular independent newspapers.

You can read the article here.

Telenor, the Norwegian parent company of Grameen Phone provided a statement to Al Jazeera, only part of which was reported in the article. Below is the full statement. It was sent by Tor Odland, VP, Head of Communications, Telenor Group in Asia

"Grameenphone, a company majority owned by Telenor Group, has along with several other large corporations, received an instruction from the authorities to stop advertisements in two leading newspapers in Bangladesh. As a result, Grameenphone has been unable to effectively maintain commercial communication with its customers via these newspapers. A significant number of steps have already been taken by Telenor and Grameenphone to limit the overall impact. This includes initiating a dialogue with the industry, investors, media partners and the authorities. These efforts will continue with the aim of resuming normal commercial activities with the newspapers as soon as possible."