New concern in Jakarta over reports of stampede in Mecca
JAKARTA (JP): Preliminary reports from Saudi Arabia suggesting that there were no Indonesians among the hundreds believed to have died in a stampede during the haj pilgrimage may not be accurate, officials here said.
Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher told reporters on Tuesday that he could not ascertain for sure that there were no Indonesians among the victims of the Monday's stampede in Mecca.
At least two of the victims were reported to be wearing sarongs, which are only worn by pilgrims from Indonesia and Malaysia.
Malaysian officials have ascertained that they are not Malaysians, Tarmizi said. He added that Indonesian officials on location are still checking their identities.
The Saudi authorities have not issued any statement on the actual number of victims but various independent reports, including one from a reporter of Kompas daily, said that up to 200 people may have been killed during a ritual to stone the devil in Mina, near the holy city of Mecca.
According to Agence France Presse, Saudi authorities report that the pilgrims were trampled to death on Monday. The report also said that Mecca hospitals were unable to give a precise toll because many of the casualties were taken out of the city.
The reports brought memories of a similar stampede four years ago, also in Mina, in which more than 1,400 people were killed, including nearly 650 Indonesian pilgrims. At that time, the incident threatened to sour relations between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.
An Indonesian official in Saudi Arabia said yesterday no Indonesian pilgrims had been killed in this week's stampede. The official, Hasyim, told The Jakarta Post by phone from Riyadh last night that the victims were mostly Africans.
Different versions
Tarmizi said he had no knowledge of the exact number of victims. "There are many different versions. Some say 200. Others say much less than that. It's not clear," said Tarmizi.
The minister said the number of pilgrims taking part this year has swollen to a record five million people, twice the number of last year.
The number of Indonesian pilgrims itself soared to a record 165,000 from 123,000 last year.
There were reports of logistic problems during the course of the pilgrimage and of Indonesian pilgrims being left stranded without buses or having to spend the night outside their assigned tents because they were already filled past capacity.
As the first flights bringing back Indonesian pilgrims were leaving Jeddah yesterday, the Ministry of Religious Affairs reported that a total of 236 Indonesians have died in Saudi Arabia during the course of pilgrimage, mostly of old age, heat stroke, and various illnesses. Last year, a total of 394 Indonesian pilgrims died.
Nineteen planes carrying the first returnees are scheduled to arrive today. Minister of Information Harmoko, who is the Amirul Haj (chief of the Indonesian haj delegation), will be on the first plane to arrive at the Halim Perdanakusuma airport this morning.
Altogether, 19 planes leased by the government for the haj operation will be making a total of 250 flights to bring the Indonesian pilgrims home between today until June 24.
Saudi Arabia has spent billions of dollars on projects to improve the safety of the haj and make the pilgrimage more comfortable. It has also imposed quotas on Moslem countries to limit the number of pilgrims and ease overcrowding.
The pilgrimage to Mecca, which all Moslems are expected to perform once during their lives if they can afford it, officially began on May 20 this year but pilgrims began arriving several weeks beforehand. (11)