Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta, widely known as Soekarno - Hatta Duumvirate, read proclamation text of the Indonesia independence on August 17, 1945 at Soekarno'home previously existed in the area of the monument. Soekarno was later appointed as the first President of the Republic of Indonesia and Mohammad Hatta as the first Vice-President.
The complex, where the monument Soekarno - Hatta Jakarta reside, is a very open and vast park, with a wide entrance and no secured fence at all. Distance from the side of the road up to edge of central area of the compound is about 25 meters, and from the edge of the central area to the statue of Soekarno - Hatta is also about 25 meters.
Entrance to the monument Soekarno - Hatta Jakarta is rather wide dan spacious, as wide as 5 meters covered with ceramic forming an arrow. General conditions of the complex are still in relatively good shapes. There were no guards, and no entrance fee to get into the compound. The distance from where I was standing to the sculpture is 50 meters.
Area around Soekarno - Hatta Monument was indeed made similar to a city park or a green open space with lush trees and flower plants. In the central area of the park, the statue of Soekarno - Hatta stood side by side, a little far apart, separated by the inauguration inscription and the proclamation text inscription.
The main structure at Soekarno - Hatta Monument is Soekarno's statue which is located on the left side holding the proclamation text, and sculpture of Mohammad Hatta on the right with his hands folded behind his back. Behind the two statues there are 17 pillars which symbolize the date when the proclamation text was read.
In the complex of Soekarno - Hatta monument, on the right side of the two proclaimer statues, there is a small size memorial monument that was erected a year after independence day to appreciate the role of Indonesian women warrior. It's a pity because the area is so open, the area in front of the statues is often used as children's playground.
An inscription made of copper contains proclamation text at the Soekarno - Hatta Monument, using Japanese calendar year system, similar to the year of 1945 AD. The shape of the inscription mimics paper that had been crushed to a rumpled. At the right back of the photo are some of the children who were tinkering around the monument.
The inscription located between the two sculpture figures was made to mark the inauguration of the Soekarno - Hatta Monument, signed by President Soeharto on August 16, 1980. Although it was Soeharto who ousted Sukarno from power, but it seems he's still trying to honor him, including to name the national airport as Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.
Inside Soekarno-Hatta Monument complex there's also Lightning Monument or Proclamation Monument, erected on the place where the text of the proclamation was first read. The monument was inaugurated on August 17, 1972. The Lightning Monument contains text about the inauguration date. The location where the Lightning monument established was previously the home of Bung Karno, but it was destroyed upon his request.
The inscription on the Lightning Monument uses old style spelling, reads "Disinilah dibatjakan Proklamasi Kemerdekaan Indonesia pada tanggal 17 Agustus 1945 djam 10.00 pagi oleh Bung Karno dan Bung Hatta". Reading the text of the proclamation was of course only performed by Sukarno, while Hatta stood watching next to him.
To the right of the entrance there is a guard house, that I thought was a museum to complement Soekarno - Hatta Monument. It would be nice if the house is indeed used as a historical museum and a small cafe with a viewing deck toward the monument. My last visit to the monument was when there's a food bazaar and we walked there after watching a movie at Megaria Theater.
Soekarno-Hatta Monument
Address: Jalan Proklamasi, Menteng-Cikini, Central Jakarta. GPS Location: -6.202677, 106.846333, Waze. Peta . Destinations in Jakarta . Hotel di Central JakartaLabel: Central Jakarta, Jakarta, Monument, Travel
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