Destruction Of The Walls Of The Former Fort Of The Kartasura Palace, Mayor Of Gibran: Wants To Touch, Wants To Speed, Must Report!

Mayor of Surakarta Gibran Rakabuming Raka. (Between)

SURAKARTA - Surakarta Mayor, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, regretted the case of the destruction of cultural heritage objects, aka the fort walls of the Kartasura Palace in Sukoharjo Regency, Central Java.

"It's very unfortunate", said Gibran, quoted from the Surakarta News YouTube channel, Monday, April 25.

Giran said that repairs to changes to cultural heritage buildings cannot be carried out without permission from the authorities. He insists everything is within the rules.

The rules are listed in Law no. 11 of 2010. The law explains that cultural heritage in the form of objects, buildings, structures, sites, and areas needs to be managed by the government and local governments by increasing community participation to protect, develop, and utilize cultural heritage.

"All cultural heritage buildings have been recorded, if you want to touch them, they want to renovate, you want to press a little, you have to report. You can't change the shape, change the color, let alone dismantle it directly, you can't", explained Gibran.

Previously, the Regent of Sukoharjo, Etik Suryani, had also directly inspected the location of the destruction of the fort walls, which were relics of the Kartasura Palace. The Kartasura Palace is known to be the forerunner of the Surakarta Kasunanan Palace.

The Regent of Ethics admitted that he was disappointed because the building was classified as a cultural heritage disaster. He said that his party had asked for cases of destruction including land ownership regulations, in this case, to be investigated and resolved.

Regarding the budgeting for the maintenance of cultural heritage buildings in the Sukoharjo area, the Regent of Ethics will explain further after meeting with the relevant Director-General and all stakeholders.

"In the future, after we get a recommendation. We sit together and we will discuss it later because the budget is not small. Even though it is still COVID-19, yes, the budget reposition is still there, so to focus on this BJB we have not focused on it. Later when there is a point In a meeting with the Director-General, God willing, we will discuss it", he said.

As previously reported, the fort walls of the Kartasura Palace, located in Krapyak Kulon Village, Kartasura Village, Kartasura District, Sukoharjo, were damaged on Thursday, April 21.

According to local government records, the fort walls of the Kartasura Palace are included in the cultural heritage protected by the Education and Culture Office of Sukoharjo.