T

he Surakarta municipality, after losing a case at the Central Java High Court related to a land dispute in the Sriwedari area, has opted to fight for the management rights of the public facility and heritage site that has been under its management for decades.

The Central Java High Court decision in early October was quite shocking for the Surakarta municipality. In November 2011, the Surakarta District Court had rejected the lawsuit from the heir to the property and stated that the Sriwedari land dispute case was legally binding because it had been tried in court in the past 40 years and the 10-hectare plot had been state property for that period of time.

The municipality regards the public facilities, located in the Sriwedari area, to be more beneficial if they remained under the Surakarta municipality management.

“We will not stop until a ruling that is binding has been reached,” said Surakarta Mayor FX Hadi
Rudyatmo.

According to Rudyatmo, despite accepting a ruling from the Supreme Court over an appeal filed by the Surakarta municipality regarding the Central Java High Court’s decision, he expressed hope that at least four of the cultural heritage sites remain under the management of the Surakarta municipality.

The four sites are the R. Maladi Stadium (Sriwedari Stadium), Segaran Sriwedari swimming pool, Radya Pustaka Museum and Sriwedari Opera House. If the Sriwedari area were to be won by the heir to Wirjodiningrat, a powerful figure in Surakarta, the municipality could only hold on to the Cultural Heritage Law.

The coordinator of the heir to Wirjodiningrat, Gunadi, declined to comment too much on the desire to manage the four cultural heritage sites on Sriwedari land. Gunadi said he preferred to wait for the result of the legal process.

“Currently, the legal process is ongoing and as a good citizen, I prefer to abide by the law, including the outcome of the appeal later,” said Gunadi.