City insists Kartini has to go

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Despite strong opposition by heritage activists, the Jakarta administration is adamant it will replace a Kartini statue that has graced Surapati Park in Central Jakarta for 43 years with a statue of national hero Diponegoro.

Kartini, born in 1879 in Jepara, Central Jakarta, fought for equal rights for women, while Diponegoro, born in 1785, fought for independence from Dutch colonialists from 1825 to 1830.

A reliable source at the City Culture and Museum Agency said on Monday that the decision to remove the historical Kartini statue was made by Governor Sutiyoso.

He said that Sutiyoso had ignored a recommendation by the City Restoration Assessment Team, a team tasked to assess the restoration of historical sites, who advised the administration not to remove the Kartini statue.

"The team did not agree with the removal of the Kartini statue, considering its significant historical value," the source told The Jakarta Post on the condition of anonymity.

The statue will be moved to the under-construction Srikandi Park, also in Central Jakarta, some two kilometers west of its current location.

The source said that the removal of the Kartini statue and the construction of the Diponegoro statue would begin next month.

Currently, 2.5-meter high fencing around the statue has notices on it advising that the Diponegoro statue will be erected on the site.

The Kartini statue was a gift from the Japanese government. Erected in Surapati Park in 1962, it has served as a symbol of Indonesian-Japanese friendship.

The city administration has given two reasons for moving the Kartini statue, namely that it is too small and faces Jl. Diponegoro.

But Muhardjito, a member of the City Restoration Assessment Team, said his team had rejected the administration's plan to move the statue because it violated the principle of historical authenticity.

"We were invited to discuss the removal plan, but were of the opinion that the statue should not be moved," he was quoted by detik.com as saying on Monday.

Meanwhile, the Cultural Conservation Studies Circle (LSPB) said in a statement that the organization could not agree with the administration's plan to remove Kartini's statue whatever the reason.

"Founding president Sukarno decided to place the statue in the park as a symbol of the nation's respect to the fighter of women's rights," the organization said.