Surakarta royals avoid succession talks

Surakarta royals avoid succession talks

Sri Wahyuni and Blontank Poer, Surakarta/Yogyakarta

Thousands of people poured into Surakarta Palace to pay their
last respects to traditional ruler Paku Buwono XII on Sunday
while the royal family refrained from discussing the succession.

National red-and-white flags flew at half-mast across the
Central Java town in a show of grief following the death of the
sultan on Friday.

Mourners included President Megawati Soekarnoputri, Army Chief
of Staff Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu and a number of Cabinet ministers
who visited the royal family on Saturday. Golkar Party
presidential candidate Wiranto and leader Akbar Tandjung paid
homage to the sultan on Friday.

It was business as usual at Klewer traditional market, located
close to the palace, but some buyers from outside the town said
they went shopping only after paying their last respects to Paku
Buwono XII, who died aged 79.

"I often buy goods in the market, but today I spared some time
to pay homage to the sultan," said Suryanto from the provincial
capital, Semarang.

The royal family has allowed the general public to pay their
last respects to the sultan, whose body was laid out at Parasedya
Sasana Sewaka hall.

During a meeting on Saturday evening, the family avoided any
discussion on the succession.

"Such talks will be held after the period of mourning," leader
of the royal family Prince Hadi Prabowo said.

"We prefer to focus on preparations for the sultan's funeral.
The announcement about the successor will be made 40 days after
the sultan's death."

Paku Buwono XII, who rose to the throne on June 12, 1945, did
not nominate any of his six concubines as queen; therefore there
was no crown prince.

"Each of his sons stands an equal chance of succeeding the
sultan," Prince Haryomataram, a son of the late Paku Buwono X,
said.

Paku Buwono XII will be buried at the Astana Girimulya royal
cemetery in Imogiri, some 20 kilometers southeast of the
neighboring town, Yogyakarta, on Monday.

According to a royal employee at the cemetery, the sultan's
body would moved from Surakarta Palace at around 8 a.m. on Monday
in a special carriage before being taken to Imogori in a motor
vehicle.

Before the funeral, the sultan's body will be laid out at
Kotagede Grand Mosque, Kotagede, Yogyakarta, for prayers. Further
prayers will be performed when the remains of the sultan are
taken to the mosque inside the cemetery compound.

Paku Buwono XII will be buried next to the graves of his
father Paku Buwono XI and grandfather Paku Buwono X.

"This will be a special ritual," said the palace
official.

The last sultan to be buried in the royal cemetery was former
vice president Hamengku Buwono IX, the father of Yogyakarta
governor Hamengku Buwono X, who died in October 1988.

Imogiri royal cemetery is divided into eight different
sections; each is allocated to the noble families of both the
Yogyakarta and Surakarta palaces. The sections are for Kasultanan
Agung, Paku Buwono, Kasuwarga Yogyakarta, Besiyaran Yogyakarta,
Saptorenggo Yogyakarta, Kasuwarga Surakarta, Kapingsangan
Surakarta and Girimulyo Surakarta.