Visa outrage

Visa outrage

In her letter published on May 3, 1996, your reader Myra Sidharta of Jakarta quite rightly rebuked the visa section of the British Embassy despite the uninformed response by Ambassador Graham S. Burton. In his response he says, "But we take a relaxed view of this regulation for Indonesian applicants, who have always been model visitors to our country". His last two sentences are a complete lie, namely "We ask to see evidence of funds only from first time travelers who plan to spend more than one month in the UK. This would not have applied to your reader".

I would ask your reader Myra Sidharta to accept my apologies for the actions of the British Embassy visa section as they do not have the guts to tell the truth in this matter.

I have just completed a series of frustrating correspondences with the ambassador quoting several cases where exactly the same criteria was applied to my colleagues and their respective wives and fiancees, including my own. I have even sent a copy of everything to the UK Foreign Office in London as I feel very strongly about this matter.

I asked that the ambassador apologize for his response through the channels of The Jakarta Post. He chose instead to continue the lie.

I offer copies of my correspondence with the British Embassy for anyone who is interested. You can then see the way complaints are handled by them.

I would suggest that anyone aggrieved by the UK regulations on visas to visit UK to complain to their own government and even to your president.

IVOR R. COURT

Bandung, West Java