No Indonesians died in stampede in Mina: Harmoko
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)