Jakarta. Clashes broke out on Thursday between security personnel and protesters as court bailiffs moved to take possession of Jakarta’s Sultan Hotel, a landmark property at the center of a long-running legal dispute over state-owned land in the capital’s Senayan district.

Security forces arrived at the site in the morning to execute a court order requiring the return of the property to the state following a ruling by the Central Jakarta District Court.

Tensions escalated when protesters rejected the arrival of court officials, who were escorted by a joint force of police and military personnel. Although representatives of the demonstrators and the police initially held talks, the discussions failed to produce an agreement.

Shortly afterward, police advanced toward the hotel lobby and were met with a barrage of rocks, glass bottles, and plastic traffic cones thrown by protesters.

Authorities responded by deploying water cannons to disperse the crowd. The force of the water jets broke up the protest line, sending demonstrators retreating into the hotel building.

Earlier this week, a group calling itself the Civil Coalition for the Defense of Indigenous Entrepreneurs staged a separate protest outside the Central Jakarta District Court, demanding the cancellation of the planned seizure of the hotel.

The coalition’s coordinator, Alhmas Qamarullah, argued that ownership of the Sultan Hotel remains disputed and should not yet be subject to enforcement measures.

The confrontation marked the latest chapter in a years-long legal battle over the Sultan Hotel complex, which occupies a prime location in Senayan, one of Indonesia’s most valuable urban districts and home to the country’s largest integrated sports and events complex.

Last year, the Central Jakarta District Court ruled in favor of the government, ordering property developer and hotel operator Indobuildco to vacate the site.

The court rejected Indobuildco’s lawsuit and upheld an earlier decision that the hotel’s land-use rights had expired in 2023. The judges concluded that the state was entitled to reclaim the land and ordered the company to relinquish control of the property.

“This ruling is immediately executable, meaning it can be enforced even if the losing party submits an appeal,” court spokesperson Sunoto said after the verdict on Dec. 1, 2025.

The court also ordered Indobuildco to pay approximately $45.4 million in unpaid land-use royalties covering the period from 2007 to 2023.

In its judgment, the court ruled that the company no longer had a legal right to occupy the land after the expiration of its building-use rights and found it liable for failing to pay royalties for 16 years.

Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning Minister Nusron Wahid has previously stated that the Sultan Hotel has been operating illegally since 2023 because the land-use concession was not renewed.

Indobuildco was initially granted rights in 1971 to develop part of the Senayan area for a 30-year period. The concession was extended in 2002 for an additional 20 years.

The Sultan Hotel, which has more than 1,100 rooms, opened in 1976 as the Hotel Hilton before being rebranded three decades later under the Singgasana Group. The company also developed residential properties within the same area.

Government efforts to reclaim the land began in early 2023 after the concession expired and was not renewed, triggering legal action by Indobuildco. The courts have since consistently ruled in favor of the state, paving the way for Thursday’s enforcement operation.

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