Saudi Arabia denies deportation plans
JAKARTA (JP): Saudi Arabia Ambassador Abdullah Abdulrahman Alim gave assurances yesterday that his government will not arrest or deport Indonesians planning to perform the haj pilgrimage, whether they have been officially approved or not.
"I want to calm the people and dispel any lingering doubts. The Saudi Arabia Kingdom has never and will not deport any pilgrims," Abdullah told reporters. "There has never been any arrest of Indonesian pilgrims or refusal to enter Saudi Arabia so long as they have a proper visa."
The ambassador made the remark amidst suggestions, by Indonesian officials, that Riyadh was clamping down on Indonesians who are making the haj pilgrimage this year through unlicensed tour operators.
An estimated 14,000 Indonesians are believed to have booked their tour this way, boosting the number of Indonesian pilgrims to over 170,000 including the 157,000 who are traveling on the government-sponsored tour.
The privately-organized pilgrims are traveling on ordinary green passports. Those traveling under the government program are issued special brown passports.
Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher on his return from Riyadh last week said the Saudi authorities have asked the Indonesian government to bring the green passport pilgrims under control because the size of the Indonesian contingent may exceed the quota of 160,000 pilgrims allocated to Indonesia.
Tarmizi claimed these green passport pilgrims could face arrest and deportations on arrival.
On Monday, the minister asked immigration to stop any Indonesian bound for Saudi Arabia who was not traveling on a brown passports.
His request was put into effect immediately.
Nearly 200 Indonesians, who mostly intend to work in Saudi Arabia, were prevented from leaving the country on Monday night. A Garuda Indonesia plane which was to carry them was canceled.
Twenty-seven other Indonesians who were about to board an Air Jordan plane on the same night, and a number of others who were booked on Saudia airline were also told that they could not leave the country.
Director General of Immigration Roni Sikap Sinuraya explained yesterday that his staff was under strict orders to stop anyone leaving for Saudi Arabia unless they had obtained a recommendation from the Ministry of Religious Affairs.
Minister Tarmizi yesterday called another press conference to explain the latest turn of events.
He said that he had given the green light to some of those travelers by yesterday afternoon after ascertaining that they were genuine workers.
Ambassador Abdullah during a separate meeting with reporters said that his embassy has never rejected a visa application by an Indonesian as long as the requirements of holding a return ticket and proof of sufficient funds was met.
The embassy never distinguishes the color of passports and the only criteria it uses during the haj season is the quota of 160,000 pilgrims, he said. "Our government cannot reject anyone from entering the country when they have the haj visa," said the ambassador.
"Our task is in issuing the visa," he said. "Whether or not these pilgrims eventually leave Indonesia is the affair of the Indonesian government," he said.
Tarmizi admitted yesterday that the government was concerned that the official Indonesian quota might be taken up by non- government pilgrims, denying those traveling under the government-sponsored programs.
He said the government had asked that the Saudi embassy in Singapore stop issuing haj visas to Indonesian passport holders, because it is believed that some 10,000 of the green passport pilgrims are applying their visas there.
The ambassador also told reporters that there is a regulation that citizens of Indonesia can obtain visas only from the embassy in Jakarta. He added that it is impossible for Indonesians to get a haj visa in Singapore.
He said that exceptions are made for Indonesians studying overseas or Indonesian diplomats. They would be issued visas to perform the pilgrimage and they would not affect the Indonesian quota, he added. (01)