No Indonesians died in stampede in Mina: Harmoko<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The advise of the kiai, or the wise men, may
\nhave spared many Indonesians from being caught in this week's
\nstampede during the haj pilgrimage, which is reported to have
\nleft hundreds of people dead.<\/p>\n
Minister of Information Harmoko, the chief of the Indonesian
\ndelegation to the pilgrimage, said yesterday that no Indonesians
\nwere among the victims of the tragedy, which occurred during the
\nstoning the devil ritual in Mina near Mecca.<\/p>\n
Harmoko, who returned aboard the first flight bringing
\nIndonesian pilgrims home, said that the kiai had strongly advised
\nIndonesians against conducting the ritual at the peak hours
\nbetween 1 and 2 p.m.<\/p>\n
"They followed the advice and threw the stones in the morning
\nor late afternoon," he said.<\/p>\n
The tragedy brought memories of a similar stampede four years
\nago in Mina, when more than 1,400 people were killed, including
\nnearly 650 Indonesian pilgrims. The incident threatened to sour
\nrelations between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n
Harmoko said one estimate put the death toll at 252. Almost
\nall were African pilgrims.<\/p>\n
The Saudi government has not publicly announced the death
\ntoll, but blamed the incident on the pilgrims for failing to keep
\norder, according to international news agencies.<\/p>\n
Harmoko said the commotion may have broken out because too
\nmany pilgrims had crowded into a small area where they said
\nprayers and threw pebbles at three piles of rocks representing
\nthe devils.<\/p>\n
Most of them had insisted on performing the ritual in the
\nafternoon, which is considered to be the most rewarding time, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Minister of Religious Affair Tarmizi Taher, who greeted
\nHarmoko at the airport, said the tragedy was essentially caused
\nby human error.<\/p>\n
It was a consequence of the larger numbers of participants
\nduring the great haj on Friday, the Moslem holy day.<\/p>\n
This year's haj pilgrimage hit the record of four million
\nparticipants in the three-day event in Mecca, which follows the
\nfeast of the sacrifice, or Idul Adha, on May 20. The previous
\nestimate put attendance at five million people. Last year, Mecca
\nwas flooded by 2.5 million pilgrims.<\/p>\n
Over-crowding<\/p>\n
An official of the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Jakarta shared
\nTarmizi and Harmoko's opinions that the accident was triggered by
\nover-crowding.<\/p>\n
Diplomats in Saudi Arabia have said the final death toll and
\nthe identities of scores of pilgrims killed in Monday's stampede
\nmight not be known for several days, according to Reuters.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Religious Affairs yesterday reported that a
\ntotal of 301 Indonesian pilgrims have died in Saudi Arabia during
\nthis year's pilgrimage. Last year, a total of 394 pilgrims died.<\/p>\n
Harmoko yesterday denied reports in some Indonesian newspapers
\nthat said as many as 12,000 Indonesian pilgrims failed to perform
\nwukuf (staying overnight) in the Arafah compound, near Mecca,
\nwhich is one of the main rituals of the pilgrimage.<\/p>\n
"All Indonesian pilgrims were able to complete the haj
\nrituals, including wukuf in Arafah," he stated.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, home to the world's biggest Moslem population, sent
\n164,000 pilgrims to the haj, up from 123,000 in 1993.<\/p>\n
Tarmizi predicted that next year, Indonesian pilgrims might
\nexceed 200,000. "If the increase is 30 percent like this year,
\nnext year will see the total soar to 216,000 pilgrims."<\/p>\n
He said that Indonesia would seek for a higher quota from
\nSaudi Arabia and stressed that given the good relationship
\nbetween the two countries, the quota will not be a problem.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Religious Affairs said yesterday around 2,500
\npilgrims have returned to Jakarta, Surabaya and Medan. In Ujung
\nPandang, the first group of returnees is scheduled to arrive
\ntoday.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian pilgrims will be flown in aboard more than 250
\nflights. The last plane is due on June 24. (11)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/no-indonesians-died-in-stampede-in-mina-harmoko-1447899208",
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