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