Megawati visits father's grave

JAKARTA: President Megawati Soekarnoputri visited on Thursday the grave of her father, the late president Sukarno, in Blitar regency, East Java.

Along with her husband, Taufik Kiemas, and their children, M Ramadhana and Puan Maharani, Megawati laid flowers on the grave. A 45-minute prayer followed.

The first family's visit to the grave was closed to journalists.

It was a private visit, Blitar Mayor Djarot Syaiful Hidayat explained to reporters.

"The visit is nothing out of the usual," he said.

Megawati visited her father's grave three months ago, several days after the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) named her as president, replacing Abdurrahman Wahid.

Making a devotional visit to the graves of family members is a tradition in predominantly Muslim Indonesia, prior to the fasting month of Ramadhan.--Antara