Immigration told to stop non-govt sponsored pilgrims<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Immigration has been ordered to prevent people
\nfrom departing for Saudi Arabia if they are not government-
\nsponsored Haj pilgrims.<\/p>\n
Some 14,000 people are believed to have made arrangements for
\nthe pilgrimage with unlicensed tour operators in Indonesia and
\nSingapore and the Saudi government has warned the Indonesian
\ngovernment that these people may be deported on arrival.<\/p>\n
Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher said yesterday
\nthat he had asked for the Ministry of Justice's cooperation in
\npreventing these people from leaving the country.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Justice oversees the Directorate General of
\nImmigration.<\/p>\n
A record 157,000 pilgrims this year are traveling under
\nspecial issue brown passports to distinguish them from the green
\npassports of ordinary travelers.<\/p>\n
In the past, the so called \"green passport\" pilgrims were
\ntolerated because their numbers were small and the number of
\nIndonesian pilgrims traveling under the government program was
\nalso still below the maximum of 170,000 set by the Saudi
\ngovernment for Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Non-official pilgrims have become a flourishing business for
\ninnovative tour operators who provide the package cheaper than
\nthe Rp 6.9 million charged by the government. They also offer
\nadditional perks, such as combining their trip with visits to
\nEurope.<\/p>\n
The government program uses planes chartered by the national
\ncarrier Garuda Indonesia. The tour operators use scheduled
\nflights.<\/p>\n
This year the number of Indonesian pilgrims has nearly hit
\nquota, stretching the facilities provided by the Saudi
\nauthorities for Indonesians.<\/p>\n
Riyadh last week pressed Indonesia to control green passport
\npilgrims and warned that they might be subject to deportation on
\narrival.<\/p>\n
It was not immediately clear how the 14,000 pilgrims had
\nobtained visas from the Saudi embassies.<\/p>\n
Tarmizi said the government was concerned with ensuring that
\nthe available quota goes to people who travel under the
\ngovernment's pilgrimage program.<\/p>\n
He also recalled that many green passport pilgrims last year
\nmet with some problems because some of the facilities normally
\naccorded to pilgrims were denied to them.<\/p>\n
Green passport<\/p>\n
The order to prevent green passport pilgrims from leaving the
\ncountry was taken to spare them from being deported by the Saudi
\nauthorities, he said.<\/p>\n
He said many of them had booked their tours with illegal
\noperators out of ignorance.<\/p>\n
Tarmizi made his comments yesterday after a meeting with
\nMinister of Information Harmoko, who will be this year's
\nAmirul Haj, the head of the Indonesian haj contingent.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a former legislator questioned the basis of the
\nSaudi threat to deport the green passport pilgrims, saying that
\nthe move may be unwise, the Antara news agency reported.<\/p>\n
T.H.M. Saleh said many of these pilgrims may be Indonesians
\nwho are working or studying overseas and will be making the trip
\ndirect from there.<\/p>\n
\"What about these people. Would they also be deported?\" asked
\nSaleh, formerly representative of the United Development Party
\nfaction. \"Where would they be deported, since they did not come
\nfrom Indonesia?\" (01)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/immigration-told-to-stop-non-govt-sponsored-pilgrims-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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