Thousands line up as sultan buried

Thousands line up as sultan buried

Blontank Poer, Surakarta

Thousands of people gathered at this royal city on Monday to
witness the burial procession of Hadiningrat Ingkang Sinuhun
Kangjeng Susuhunan Pakubuwono XII, the traditional ruler of the
Surakarta Palace.

Lines of people on both sides of the road stretched for two
kilometers behind the horse-drawn carriage that transported the
sultan's body from the palace for burial.

Sinuhun, as he was known to those close to him, passed away on
Friday morning at the age of 79 after spending a week in the
intensive care unit at Dr. Oen Hospital.

Almost all of his 36 children and 60 grandchildren attended
the burial ceremony, which was led by Diponegoro Military
Commander Maj. Gen. Soenarso.

Also in attendance were the Golkar Party's presidential
candidate, Wiranto, Golkar leader Akbar Tandjung, National
Awakening Party (PKB) leader Alwi Shihab and Yogyakarta's Sultan
Hamengkubowono.

Sinuhun was buried in the Mataram family cemetery in Imogiri,
Yogyakarta, some 90 kilometers northeast of Surakarta. The
Imogiri cemetery was built thousands of years ago exclusively for
the sultans of Java.

Servants from the Surakarta Palace and other mourners wept as
Sinuhun's coffin left the palace, led by KGPH Hadi Prabowo.

The number of mourners wishing to pay their last respects to
Surakarta's traditional ruler swelled as the coffin, wrapped in
an Indonesian flag, approached the cemetery at about 1:40 p.m.

The procession began at about 9 a.m. in traditional Javanese
style, after which the Diponegoro military commander led the
procession in a military tribute.

The tomb of Sinuhun is adjacent to the tombs of his father
Pakubuwono XI and grandfather Pakubuwono X.

Pakubuwono XII's official title was "Sunan Surakarta", or
"ruler of Surakarta Palace", rather than "sultan". He was given
the name Raden Mas Goeritno.

He ascended to the throne on June 12, 1945. In the early days
of the country's independence, he was nicknamed Pangeran Mardiko,
which means "freedom prince".

Pakubuwono XII was the grandson of Surakarta's famed Sultan
Pakubuwono X, the powerful leader who challenged the rule of the
Dutch colonial government in the early 1900s and was given the
title "the king of all Java".

The Surakarta sultanate lost much of its power in the
aftermath of World War II and Indonesian independence in 1945.
Two royal families now share the mostly ceremonial office in
Surakarta.

Sinuhun received numerous independence awards from the
government and was also bestowed the titular rank of lieutenant
general (not major general as reported earlier) by the Indonesian
Army.

Following the May 1998 riots, during which much of Surakarta
was engulfed in flames, Sinuhun joined various community groups
in fostering peace and opened the palace for peace campaigns.

He was honored for his work by the Sir Chinmoy International
Institute, a charity foundation based in New York.

The award was bestowed on him for his accomplishments as a
cultural monarch actively involved in efforts to promote world
peace.

Sinuhun never married but took six concubines, with whom he
had 36 children. Two of his children have passed away.