New center to promote batik in Yogyakarta

Yogyakarta municipality has announced a plan to build a batik promotion center in the city, Mayor Herry Zudianto said on Friday.

It will be built on Jl. Malioboro near the Gedung Agung Presidential Palace. "The center will include a room for making and selling batik.

"This commemorative center will emphasize not only our gratitude for the world's recognition of batik, but also that batik is Indonesia's cultural heritage," Herry said.

He said the monument will also aim at developing batik production centers in Yogyakarta.

"It is hoped the monument will create inspiration to revitalize and develop batik *production* kampongs in the tourist city," he added.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) officially declared Indonesia's batik as a world heritage during a ceremony in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Friday.

Indonesia had competed against other batik producing countries, like Malaysia, to be included in UNESCO world heritage list.

"When I was in Kinabalu, Malaysia, the mayor told me that Indonesia's batik was too beautiful in comparison with their kind of batik," Herry claimed.

Yogyakarta's Sekar Jaga Batik Union leader Larasati Suliantoro Sulaiman said Indonesian batik, particularly Javanese products, carried "deeply philosophical values", as worn by kings and common people.

Thus, wearing batik signifies "respecting and recognizing human rights", she added.

Earlier that day, hundreds of civil servants in Yogyakarta rallied for a parade, wearing batik. The city administration ordered all civil servants to wear batik from Oct. 1 to Oct. 3, 2009.