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)