Tarmizi and Saudi envoy clear up `misunderstanding'<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher met
\nwith Saudi Arabia envoy Abdullah Abdurrahman Alim in an apparent
\nmove to resolve the rift that has grown between the two men in
\nthe past week over Indonesia's administration of haj pilgrims.<\/p>\n
\"We've cleared up the misunderstanding between us,\" Tarmizi
\ntold reporters after the meeting at his office.<\/p>\n
\"The two parties agreed that the misunderstanding occurred
\nbecause each had different information,\" he said stressing that
\nthey agreed that good relations between the two countries had not
\nbeen harme, the Antara news agency reported.<\/p>\n
Ambassador Abdullah last week called a press conference to
\ndeny Tarmizi's claim that the Saudi authorities had been
\narresting Indonesian haj pilgrims traveling on ordinary green
\npassports.<\/p>\n
This prompted the minister to counter the denial, stressing
\nthat his information came from the Indonesian ambassador to Saudi
\nArabia, who in turn received his information from the Saudi
\nauthorities.<\/p>\n
There were also claims and counterclaims about the presence of
\n14,000 green passport pilgrims, and Tarmizi again cited that the
\nfigure originated with the Saudi's.<\/p>\n
A number of politicians joined in the fray by calling on the
\nminister to resign from his post, but the controversy ebbed after
\nTarmizi said that he had his facts rights.<\/p>\n
Asked by reporters about the situation about the 14,000
\npilgrims, Tarmizi shrugged off the question. \"This is a sensitive
\nissue. Let's say the misunderstanding has now been cleared.\"<\/p>\n
\"The main thing now is to ensure that the people can perform
\ntheir pilgrimage without any problem,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Tarmizi said the government would try to ensure that every
\npilgrim could leave for Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n
Threat<\/p>\n
Tarmizi had suggested that the presence of the 14,000 green
\npassport pilgrims was a threat to the passage of some 158,000
\npilgrims traveling on the government-sponsored program, because
\nIndonesia has been allocated a quota of 160,000 pilgrims by the
\nSaudi government.<\/p>\n
Officials have said the green passport pilgrims will be issued
\nspecial permission from the Ministry of Religious Affairs for as
\nlong as the quota permits.<\/p>\n
The problems surfaced chiefly because of the unexpected huge
\njump in the number of Indonesians joining in the government-
\nsponsored pilgrimage, from 123,000 last year to 158,000.<\/p>\n
Tarmizi said during earlier negotiations with the Saudi
\nauthorities regarding the quota, he asked for 160,000 in
\naccordance with the rule of one pilgrim for every 1,000 Moslems
\nin a population.<\/p>\n
Indonesia was not subjected to a quota previously because the
\nnumber of pilgrims barely reached the maximum limit permitted by
\nthe Saudi government, he said.<\/p>\n
Given the growing interest in the haj, Indonesia may ask for a
\nquota of 200,000 in 1995, he added.<\/p>\n
To avoid a repetition of this year's problem, the government
\nalso plans to regulate green passport pilgrims, the minister
\nsaid. (emb)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/tarmizi-and-saudi-envoy-clear-up-misunderstanding-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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