Haj visas possible for green passport-holders: Ambassador

Haj visas possible for green passport-holders: Ambassador

JAKARTA (JP): Saudi Arabian Ambassador Abdullah Abdurrahman
Alim said on Wednesday that with the approval of the Indonesian
government his embassy would grant visas to Indonesian haj
pilgrims using ordinary green passports rather than the special
haj passport.

Speaking to reporters after meeting with President B.J.
Habibie at Merdeka Palace, Abdullah said his office stopped
issuing visas for green passport-holders when the previous
minister of religious affairs, Tarmizi Taher, decreed that
Indonesians could go on the haj pilgrimage only with the special
haj passport.

"If the Indonesian government, in this case the Ministry of
Religious Affairs, allows the haj pilgrimage on green passports,
then we have no reason to prohibit it," he said.

Abdullah was responding to questions about the possibility of
the embassy granting visas to people who were able to raise
enough money to go on the pilgrimage only after the official
registration period ended in January.

The crisis-hit Indonesia is sending around 70,000 pilgrims to
Saudi Arabia this year, a drastic drop from last year's 200,000.
The first batch of pilgrims left for Saudi Arabia late February.

In past years, many Indonesians bypassed the government and
went on the pilgrimage on their own using their green passports.

Abdullah conveyed to Habibie congratulations from King Fahd
bin Abdul Aziz for "successfully leading the country". (prb/swe)