Jakarta – Indonesian journalists are mounting a campaign to dissuade new president Megawati Sukarnoputri from re-opening the Information Ministry, closed by her reformist predecessor Abdurrahman Wahid in 1999, local media reports said on Saturday.

The Jakarta Post said dozens of journalists staged a rally in front of the old information ministry building in central Jakarta on Friday. They decried the rumoured move as an attempt to reimpose controls on the freedom of the press.

Under the 32-year rule of former president Suharto, the information ministry closed down critical newspapers and magazines including the leading national news weekly Tempo. Tempo publisher Fikri Jufri told AFP on Saturday that he thought it was possible that Ms Megawati might change the plan if the opposition among the press was strong enough.