Sian Powell, Jakarta – Indonesia's apparent crackdown on free speech increased yesterday when President Megawati Sukarnoputri abruptly ended a background briefing for Australian editors yesterday after they had asked her about the imminent expulsion of terrorism analyst Sidney Jones.

Before leaving the meeting, Ms Megawati defended Indonesia's right to take whatever action was necessary for its own protection. Jakarta is sensitive about the Jones case, which has attracted worldwide attention and increased fears of a crackdown on all critical voices.

Ms Jones, Southeast Asia director of the International Crisis Group, a globally recognised conflict policy institute, and her colleague Australian Francesa Lawe-Davies, were ordered by the immigration department on Tuesday to leave Indonesia immediately.

The sudden directive ended months of fruitless negotiation between ICG and the Indonesian Government, and apparently stemmed from Jakarta's unhappiness with certain ICG reports, particularly those on conflicts in Aceh and Papua, but including the seminal ICG reports on the terrorism network Jemaah Islamiah.

Deporting Ms Jones presaged a return to the dark days of former strongman Suharto's New Order, ICG Indonesian board chairman Mulya Todung Lubis said at a press conference in Jakarta.

"If it happens to ICG, it could happen to anyone," he said. "I keep telling the media the New Order is coming back, and this is precisely the sort of thing that took place in the Suharto years."

Former Australian foreign minister Gareth Evans, the ICG president, said the group had been working with Indonesians to try to understand the sources of conflict in the country for four years, and it wanted to carry on its work. "To shoot the messenger doesn't say much for the state of political liberty in Indonesia under the Megawati Government," he said.

There are fears the crackdown on ICG could mark the beginning of a clampdown on all organisations seen as critical of the Government. Army chief General Ryamizard Ryacudu, alluded last year to "thousands" of foreign spies working in Indonesia in the guise of non-government organisation workers. Ms Jones said the head of the national intelligence agency, General AM Hendropriyono, believed ICG and as many as 19 other organisations were potential threats to the presidential elections.

Australian academic Max Lane, who writes for The Jakarta Post, reportedly has been noted by General Hendropriyono as a security threat; another academic who has worked at an Australian university was deported earlier this year, and an Australian activist said he now feared complaints had been made about him and his work permit would not be renewed.

Ms Jones said she and Ms Lawe-Davies would be leaving the country in the next few days.