The "Myanmar Thit" monthly magazine's latest issue has been delayed as it was forced to submit another cover design after the Burmese censor board rejected the earlier design featuring the portrait of former UN Secretary General U Thant, sources in the Rangoon-based media said.

The said magazine's issue was planned to commemorate the birth centenary of U Thant. However, despite the publisher's compliance with the Press Scrutiny Board's demand that the late Burmese statesman's portrait be replaced, the new cover design is yet to be approved even though it had been submitted a week ago.

"We cannot publish yet the latest issue of our magazine. We called up the censor board today but they told us that they are still inspecting our new design," magazine editor-in-chief Ko Phone Thet Paing told Mizzima.

In the new cover design, the magazine replaced U Thant's portrait with his quotation, "Regardless of how much differences exist among the uncivilized citizens, a civilized Asian has no differences and inequalities with any civilized European and American", and the UN logo.

The censor board also rejected two articles written by U Thant and a speech delivered by Mahatma Gandhi on the late Burmese statesman.

Only six out of a total of 15 poems submitted for this issue were approved for publication. The censor board, however, forced the local Burmese media to publish their propaganda news stating that "Nine NLD youths were detained for staging a protest under the influence and misguidance by U Win Tin and U Khin Maung Swe".

U Win Tin and U Khin Maung Swe are two veteran politicians and executive committee members of Burma's main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD).