Plan to revive information ministry opposed
JAKARTA (JP): Dozens of journalists staged a rally in front Merdeka Selatan Palace on Friday urging President Megawati Soekarnoputri to abandon reported plans to revive the Ministry of Information which was dissolved by her predecessor in 1999.
Grouped under the Indonesian Press Community (KPI), the protesters unfurled posters and banners charging that the purported plan would only result in government control of the press and freedom of expression.
"This eagerness to reinstate the ministry is an effort to control freedom of the press, as had been done by the then ministry of information during the New Order era," said Santoso, a senior member of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI).
The journalists went to the palace to convey their concern to Megawati who still uses the vice presidential office despite her appointment as the country's new president. However, they could not meet with her as she was on a two-day visit to Bandung and South Sulawesi.
The plan to reestablish the information ministry was reportedly revealed by chairman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) faction at the House of Representatives (DPR) Arifin Panigoro.
Arifin said the ministry should be reestablished to meet the challenge of information technology, as well as to convey government policy.
The plan was reportedly accepted by five major political parties, including the former ruling Golkar Party.
Several names had been mentioned as likely candidates for the information minister post, including Golkar politician Marwah Daud Ibrahim.
"We strongly reject any attempt to revive the Ministry of Information and any effort to regulate information," the journalists remarked.
Soon after his election in October 1999, then president Abdurrahman Wahid abolished the Ministry of Information and Ministry of Social Services.
The decision won domestic and international praise as the Ministry of Information was seen as an instrument by the Soeharto government to censor political criticism against his rule.
The ministry was responsible for banning newspapers and magazines, including Tempo weekly in 1994.
It also obliged journalists to join the Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI) as the sole organization for press people.
Besides AJI, The Indonesian Journalist Associations of Reform (PWI Reformasi), Institute for the Studies on Free Flow of Information (ISAI) and the Press and Broadcasting Society (MPPI) also joined Friday's rally.
The journalists arrived mostly from radio stations and the print media.
In Yogyakarta, the local branch of AJI also expressed its objection to the plan.
In a written statement signed by its chairman Raihul Fadjri, the organization said Arifin's statement was a result of blunt ignorance towards people's right to information.
"The government's policies do not need to be publicized by a ministry of information. During Gus Dur's government, they could flow into the public domain without the existence of a ministry of information," the statement said. (jun/swa)