Execution of Former Hotel Sultan Eviction Turns Chaotic, Officers Deploy Water Cannon

The execution of the eviction of the former Hotel Sultan building in the Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) complex, Jakarta, on Thursday briefly turned chaotic, leading officers to deploy a high-pressure water cannon to disperse demonstrators rejecting the process. Based on monitoring at the location, the unrest occurred after the Central Jakarta District Court bailiff read out the eviction execution ruling. A number of demonstrators, claiming to represent former Hotel Sultan employees and indigenous communities, staged a rejection of the execution. The situation began to heat up when a group of people inside the former Hotel Sultan building area started throwing bottles and stones at officers. This action triggered tension between the demonstrators and the authorities guarding the location. Several individuals and officers pushed against each other amid efforts to secure the execution. As conditions became increasingly unconducive, officers deployed a water cannon vehicle to repel the crowd that remained at the site. The crowd was eventually pushed back after the water spraying was carried out by officers. The execution of Block 15 of the former Hotel Sultan on Thursday implements Central Jakarta District Court Decision Number 208/Pdt.G/2025/PN.Jkt.Pst and Central Jakarta District Court Determination Number 1/Pdt.Eks/2026/PN.Jkt.Pst concerning the land and building of the former Hotel Sultan located within the HPL area Number 4/Gelora, a state asset under the Ministry of State Secretariat cq PPKGBK. The land was acquired and compensated by the government from 1959 to 1962 for the implementation of the IV Asian Games, and the government is said to have never sold, released, or transferred rights to the land to PT Indobuildco. PT Indobuildco once held a Right to Build (HGB) on the state-owned Right to Manage (HPL) land, but the HGB was not a title of ownership and its term had expired. Meanwhile, the execution on the ground was led by the court bailiff, with support from the Gelora Bung Karno Complex Management Centre (PPKGBK), government elements, legal counsel, and security forces. The situation at the location was observed to be tense due to a demonstration rejecting the execution of the former Hotel Sultan, carried out in the name of employees and indigenous people. Police and GBK area security personnel appeared to remain on guard to ensure the situation stayed conducive.