No Indonesians died in stampede in Mina: Harmoko
JAKARTA (JP): The advise of the kiai, or the wise men, may have spared many Indonesians from being caught in this week's stampede during the haj pilgrimage, which is reported to have left hundreds of people dead.
Minister of Information Harmoko, the chief of the Indonesian delegation to the pilgrimage, said yesterday that no Indonesians were among the victims of the tragedy, which occurred during the stoning the devil ritual in Mina near Mecca.
Harmoko, who returned aboard the first flight bringing Indonesian pilgrims home, said that the kiai had strongly advised Indonesians against conducting the ritual at the peak hours between 1 and 2 p.m.
"They followed the advice and threw the stones in the morning or late afternoon," he said.
The tragedy brought memories of a similar stampede four years ago in Mina, when more than 1,400 people were killed, including nearly 650 Indonesian pilgrims. The incident threatened to sour relations between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.
Harmoko said one estimate put the death toll at 252. Almost all were African pilgrims.
The Saudi government has not publicly announced the death toll, but blamed the incident on the pilgrims for failing to keep order, according to international news agencies.
Harmoko said the commotion may have broken out because too many pilgrims had crowded into a small area where they said prayers and threw pebbles at three piles of rocks representing the devils.
Most of them had insisted on performing the ritual in the afternoon, which is considered to be the most rewarding time, he said.
Minister of Religious Affair Tarmizi Taher, who greeted Harmoko at the airport, said the tragedy was essentially caused by human error.
It was a consequence of the larger numbers of participants during the great haj on Friday, the Moslem holy day.
This year's haj pilgrimage hit the record of four million participants in the three-day event in Mecca, which follows the feast of the sacrifice, or Idul Adha, on May 20. The previous estimate put attendance at five million people. Last year, Mecca was flooded by 2.5 million pilgrims.
Over-crowding
An official of the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Jakarta shared Tarmizi and Harmoko's opinions that the accident was triggered by over-crowding.
Diplomats in Saudi Arabia have said the final death toll and the identities of scores of pilgrims killed in Monday's stampede might not be known for several days, according to Reuters.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs yesterday reported that a total of 301 Indonesian pilgrims have died in Saudi Arabia during this year's pilgrimage. Last year, a total of 394 pilgrims died.
Harmoko yesterday denied reports in some Indonesian newspapers that said as many as 12,000 Indonesian pilgrims failed to perform wukuf (staying overnight) in the Arafah compound, near Mecca, which is one of the main rituals of the pilgrimage.
"All Indonesian pilgrims were able to complete the haj rituals, including wukuf in Arafah," he stated.
Indonesia, home to the world's biggest Moslem population, sent 164,000 pilgrims to the haj, up from 123,000 in 1993.
Tarmizi predicted that next year, Indonesian pilgrims might exceed 200,000. "If the increase is 30 percent like this year, next year will see the total soar to 216,000 pilgrims."
He said that Indonesia would seek for a higher quota from Saudi Arabia and stressed that given the good relationship between the two countries, the quota will not be a problem.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs said yesterday around 2,500 pilgrims have returned to Jakarta, Surabaya and Medan. In Ujung Pandang, the first group of returnees is scheduled to arrive today.
The Indonesian pilgrims will be flown in aboard more than 250 flights. The last plane is due on June 24. (11)