'Jathilan' artists march to palace

'Jathilan' artists march to palace

YOGYAKARTA: Some 1,000 members of the newly formed
Association of People's Traditional Art (PKTK) staged a rally at
Yogyakarta Palace to express their support for the continuation
of the province's status as a special region.

Dressed in traditional dance Jathilan costume, they
marched some three kilometers from Tugu to the palace to meet
Sultan Hamengkubuwono X.

During the march to the palace, the association members
performed the Jathilan dance.

Representatives of the association were received by GPH
Yudhaningrat, the younger brother of Hamengkubuwono X as the
sultan was not in the palace.

"Yogyakarta's special status has its roots in the country's
history. We should not ignore our own history," the association's
coordinator Tommon Hawi said in the meeting.

The status was granted by first president Soekarno as it had
remained a sovereign kingdom when the country declared its
independence in 1945. (44)