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Governor is reported to police over fort damage
Activists from the Somba Opu Forum reported South Sulawesi Governor Syahrul Yasin Limpo and PT Mirah Megah Wisata director Zainal Tayeb to the police over the destruction of the Somba Opu fort
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ctivists from the Somba Opu Forum reported South Sulawesi Governor Syahrul Yasin Limpo and PT Mirah Megah Wisata director Zainal Tayeb to the police over the destruction of the Somba Opu fort.
Syahrul and Zainal, who runs the company that began constructing a theme park on the site of the Somba Opu fort in November, were reported on Friday because they had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU)to build the Gowa Discovery Park on the protected site.
The MoU was signed between the South Sulawesi provincial administration, as represented by Syahrul, and Zainal’s company.
The community help service section of the South Sulawesi Police received the report of the damages and will transfer the case to the crime unit.
The report was made because of the alleged destruction of the historic site at Somba Opu village, Barombong district, in Gowa regency.
The destruction is alleged to have occurred while PT Mirah Megah Wisata was constructing the Gowa Discovery Park on the remains of the 16th and 17th century Gowa kingdom’s fort.
The Gowa Discovery Park will have three attractions — a waterboom, a bird park and a flower and tree park.
Somba Opu Forum members Khalik said the destruction of the site violated a number of laws as well as articles in the Criminal Code.
“The excavation and landfill carried out by the project owner using heavy machinery has destroyed existing artefacts at the site,” Khalik said.
Aside from that, the erection of a permanent building on the historic site also violates the law because the law states that a historic site has to be free from permanent structures,
he said.
In addition to reporting the case to the police, the forum will also report the situation to the representative office of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
“We will be sending a written complaint to UNESCO,” Muhammad Nawir, another member of the forum, said.
The Somba Opu Forum’s members are archeologists, historians, cultural observers, artists, social observers and students.
The forum was established to advocate for the Somba Opu fort and against its destruction.
