Pakoeboewono heirs locked in bitter conflict

Blontank Poer, The Jakarta Post, Surakarta

The body of Pakoeboewono XII, the late sultan of Surakarta, was laid out in a mosque on the premises of the Surakarta Palace on June 11. Hundreds of residents gathered at the mosque to pray and pay their last respects to the sultan, who died at the age of 79. Relatives of the sultan gathered in a corner of the mosque, while journalists waited in another corner, waiting for details about the passing of the sultan, particularly on who will rule the Surakarta sultanate. Grief could be felt in the air.

Suddenly, Prince Edy Wirabhumi, a son-in-law of the sultan and spokesman of the sultanate, signaled that there would be a press conference.

At the press conference, held in a building on the palace grounds, the prince devoted much of the conference to the change of power following the sultan's death. According to him, Prince Hangabehi had been chosen by the sultan as his successor, based on a testament written by Pakoeboewono XII.

The testament marked the beginning of a power struggle in Surakarta Palace.

Prince Dipokusumo, one of the late sultan's sons, abruptly expressed concern over the testament, the contents of which was revealed shortly after the sultan's death, which gave the impression that there was one party in the palace who was hungry for power. "It is improper for Javanese to announce a successor while people are still mourning the person's death," said Dipokusumo.

Prince Hadiprabowo of the same camp as Dipokusumo accused Edy of producing a fake testament. "The testament is fake because it lacks the official palace seal," said Hadiprabowo.

The testament controversy has created further conflict among rivals within Surakarta Palace.

Pakoeboewono had six consorts and 35 children. In Surakarta Palace tradition, the oldest son of the consort of the sultan will automatically become the sultan when the sultan dies, but a sultan does have the authority to pick his own successor.

The issue has resulted in bitter conflict among two rival camps in the palace.

One camp is led by Princess Koes Moertiyah, who is a legislator from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI- P). Supported by 10 brothers and sisters, mostly the daughters and sons of the sultan's second consort Pradaningrum, Moertiyah has expressed support for Prince Hangabehi.

The prince was installed as the sultan of Surakarta on June 24 on the grounds that he was the oldest son of the Surakarta Palace family.

But another camp, headed by Prince Dipokusumo, rejected the inauguration of Hangabehi, saying that the inauguration should have been held with the consent and approval of all family members of the sultan, because the sultan never expressed his preference on who was to be the crown prince of Surakarta Palace.

The second group is supported by family members from the remaining five consorts of the sultan.

"We uphold old traditions, but the public is hoping for a capable and credible leader," said Dipokusumo, who is the leader of the palace's administrative affairs body.

A series of talks has been held by the two rival camps, but proved fruitless.

The dispute escalated on Monday, when three bodies within the palace -- the palace's administrative affairs body, senior members of Pakoeboewono XII's sons and senior members of the Pakoeboewono XII's daughters -- installed Prince Tejowulan as the crown prince. Shortly after he was installed as the crown prince, Tejowulan declared himself the sultan of Surakarta.

However, the crowning ceremony was not held on the premises of Surakarta Palace. Instead it was held at the residence of Mooryati Soedibyo, a noted businesswoman and granddaughter of Pakoeboewono X, because the palace doors had been closed by Hangabehi's supporters.

The situation became tense after Moertiyah accused Tejowulan, an active military colonel, of making political maneuvers ahead of the presidential election runoff on Sept. 20.

Moertiyah, a supporter of Megawati Soekarnoputri, said Tejowulan would campaign for Megawati's rival Gen. (ret) Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono after Tejowulan was installed as the sultan.

Tejowulan quickly denied the accusation.

"I am ready to serve the people as a sultan in order to restore the prestige of Surakarta Palace, which has been tarnished by irresponsible people," said Tejowulan.

The conflict is far from over. The Moertiyah camp is planning to inaugurate Hangabehi as the sultan on Sept. 10 to publicly proclaim Hangabehi the true sultan of Surakarta. The camp has ask the police to safeguard the assets of Surakarta Palace from the Tejowulan camp, which they have accused of trying to remove property from the palace grounds.

However, Tejowulan claims that he went to the palace to save the assets from the Moertiyah camp.

"They (the Moertiyah and Hangabehi camp) have repeatedly sold palace assets. We have to save the remaining assets," said Tejowulan.

Separately, Surakarta Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Lutfi Lubhianto said that he would intervene in the conflict only if there was a danger of it disrupting public order. "We will stay neutral," he said.