Soeharto heads for Mecca on minor haj

Soeharto heads for Mecca on minor haj

PARAMARIBO, Suriname (JP): President Soeharto, First Lady Tien
Soeharto and several family members will begin their umrah, or
minor pilgrimage today, during a stopover in Saudi Arabia.

The President and his entourage left Paramaribo, Suriname,
yesterday afternoon, local time, on their way home from a lengthy
trip, which started on Oct. 15 and has taken them to Colombia and
the United States.

"I will perform the umrah," President Soeharto was quoted by
the Antara news agency as saying.

Soeharto and his wife performed the haj, the major pilgrimage,
in 1991.

On a separate occasion, Minister/State Secretariat Moerdiono
told the press that the head of state and his family planned to
perform the ritual as a way to express their gratitude to God in
relation to the country's 50th anniversary this year.

All of the other Moslem members of the entourage will also
perform the ritual, Moerdiono said.

President Soeharto arrived in Paramaribo Friday evening for a
state visit aimed at improving bilateral relations.

At Johan Adolf Pengel international airport here, the
President was given a red carpet welcome by Suriname President
Runaldo Ronald Venetiaan, vice president Jules R. Ajodhia, and
Foreign Minister Subhas C. Mungra and their spouses.

Suriname has a population of 425,000 people, comprised of
Indo-Pakistanis (37 percent), Suriname Creole (31.1 percent),
Javanese (14.2 percent), Bush Negro (8.5 percent), Amerindian
(3.1 percent), Chinese (2.8 percent), Dutch 1.4 percent and
others (1.7 percent).

The Javanese were brought to Suriname in the first half of
this century by the Dutch, who then ruled both Indonesia and
Suriname.

Only half an hour after arrival, Soeharto and his delegates
attended a state banquet hosted by Venetiaan at the Torarica
Hotel, where a cultural dance was performed.

Yesterday morning local time, President and Mrs. Soeharto
visited a cultural center, called Sana Budaya, and held a meeting
with Surinamese of Javanese descent at a sports hall. Soeharto
spoke in the Javanese language to the people at that gathering.

Antara reported that Soeharto faltered several times in his
speech and asked for Moerdiono's assistance in finding the right
Javanese words. "What's the Javanese for `asking'?" he asked.

Most of the Surinamese speak in a style of Javanese which is
described here as ngoko, or the language usually used by the
lower layers of Javanese society, mixed with a local dialect.
Soeharto was using the style of Javanese usually spoken by middle
class people, Antara reported.

Soeharto called on the people of Javanese descent in Suriname
to strive to develop their country. (riz/swe)