MINA, 11 February 2003 — Deputy Minister of Haj Hatem Hasan Qadi yesterday denied a report carried by Anatolia news agency that Saudi authorities did not arrange tents for 40,000 Turkish pilgrims in Mina.
“This report is totally false,” he told Arab News. “The Saudi government has made all arrangements for the welfare of all pilgrims,” he added.
Qadi said the Turkish pilgrims will be transported to Mount Arafat today for the standing ritual, using the rapid transport system, which has been found effective over the past years.
The Turkish news agency quoted an official from the Turkish Union of Travel Agencies, which was organizing the pilgrimage of 45,000 Turks, as saying in Makkah that they were trying to resolve the problem.
Turkish pilgrims in Mina also blasted the Anatolia agency report and said it was aimed at tarnishing the Kingdom’s image. They thanked the Saudi government for its services to pilgrims.
Abdullah Alauddin, chairman of the Tawafa Organization for Pilgrims from Turkey, Europe, America and Australia, said his organization serves about 110,000 Turkish pilgrims.
Haj Minister Iyad Madani, meanwhile, met with the Turkish Haj mission on Sunday and told them that the Saudi government treats all pilgrims equally. “Turkish pilgrims have been provided with adequate tents in Mina like other pilgrims,” Al-Madinah quoted the minister as saying.
