East Java Secretary Regrets Vandalism of Grahadi State Building

Surabaya (ANTARA) - East Java Regional Secretary Adhy Karyono has expressed regret over the vandalism of the Grahadi State Building during a demonstration titled #IndonesiaSekarat in Surabaya on Friday night. “This is very regrettable. We were in the process of completing repairs to Grahadi, which also caught fire a year ago, but now a similar incident has happened again,” said Adhy Karyono while inspecting the Grahadi State Building. According to him, security forces had tried to control the situation to prevent the action from escalating further. He added that the East Java Provincial Government continues to strive to restore and repair the historic building so that it can function optimally again. “If there is damage to a state building like this, it is certainly a loss for all citizens. This is a symbol of the East Java Provincial Government,” he said. Previously, a demonstration in front of the Grahadi State Building turned chaotic on Friday night. The crowd, predominantly dressed in black, threw bottles, stones, and other objects at officers. In addition, some of the mob damaged the fence of the Grahadi State Building, which was undergoing renovations after a fire last year. The action, which initially involved conveying aspirations, heated up after the mob burned a pile of rubbish on Jalan Gubernur Suryo, leading to increased security in the area. The Surabaya Metropolitan Police subsequently dispersed the crowd after some participants were suspected of damaging the fence and throwing objects, which was deemed to endanger the safety of the public and the demonstrators themselves.