1.
Your Majesty, let’s start
with the terrorism that
threatens people’s security,
especially in this region.
Please allow me to be frank.
You announced after the
attacks on Amman last November that you would
draft a new, firm security
strategy to deal with
terrorism. Frankly, there are
fears that standing up to
terrorism would be a pretext
for restricting freedoms in a
country where you regularly
proclaim that the sky is the
limit for freedom.
First,
it is important to stress that
terrorism does not threaten
one country or region alone.
It is a danger that threatens
any country in the world, and
we should not allow terrorism
to change our way of life or
affect public freedoms or
citizens’ right to live in
security, freedom and dignity.
As I’ve said in the past, we
in
Jordan will not allow terrorists to
transform our democratic
country into a police state.
Terror cannot be fought with
only straightforward security
measures, but with a
comprehensive strategy to
foster a culture of dialogue
that rejects violence and
[denounces] the exploitation
of democracy or religion to
justify terrorist acts. Jordan
has started to draft such a
strategy and put in place an
anti-terrorism law. This law
will not be at the expense of
democracy or public freedoms.
2.
Your answer is reassuring,
Your Majesty. For there were
fears that the Jordanian state
would turn into a police state
but I understand from Your
Majesty that there are those
who support and agree with
acts of terrorism, especially
those in Jordan who adhere to
takfiri thought and view
terrorists such as Zarqawi,
Ben Laden and Zawahiri and
others as heroes?
Not
just in Jordan, in many countries. There are
some writers in the press and
some satellite stations and
some preachers in mosques who
promote a culture of violence
who justify terrorism or
portray these crimes as heroic
or as being a sort of jihad.
It is important to remind
everyone that the terrorists
who kill people in Islam’s
name and in defense of Muslims
have killed more Muslims than
non-Muslims, or the ones they
consider to be enemies of
Islam. Therefore, we need to
put an end to those who
promote the culture of
violence and those who justify
terrorism, because those who
justify it are terrorists’
partner in crime. I am sure
that the majority of our
people are united against
terrorists.
3.
Yes, maybe so, especially
after the latest
Amman
tragedy targeting a Jordanian
wedding. I will go beyond this
tragic issue as many
Jordanians have and move to
another hot issue,
Iraq, which is witnessing
political organization. Your
Majesty, what is your
evaluation of the situation in
Iraq
now?
Hopefully,
the developments in Iraq
over the past days concerning
agreement on a president and
prime minister and president
of the Iraqi National Assembly
are positive signs and a step
towards building institutions
in the Iraqi state and the
empowerment of the Iraqi
people to achieve sovereignty
throughout Iraqi territory. We
also hope that this government
will represent all sectors of
the Iraqi people, and will not
be dominated by one sect or
group in order to ensure
security and stability and a
free, dignified life for all
Iraqis, in which any
differences, sectarian, ethnic
or political, are alleviated.
4.
From Your Majesty’s wishes
to Iraq and Iraqis, let’s go
on to your efforts in another
hot area,
Palestine. Your Majesty what is your
forecast for the peace process
after Hamas’ victory in
Palestinian elections and its
formation of a government and
the formation of the Israeli
government under Ehud
Olmert’s leadership?
It
is necessary for everyone to
realize that the
Middle East
peace process is not tied to
parties as much as it is to
governments and states. It is
also the right of people of
the region and future
generations to live in peace
and stability. [The
realization of this right] is
an international demand
articulated in UN resolutions
and international legitimacy.
The peace process today has
become hostage to the agenda
of the new Israeli government
and the new Palestinian
government’s program. All
the peace supporters in the
region are required to work to
maintain the momentum of the
peace process and build upon
what has been achieved in
order not to lose an historic
opportunity – one that may
be the last for a peace
settlement and the emergence
of a Palestinian state.
5.
The Palestinian state is an
historic opportunity, and I
recall a previous meeting I
had with President Hosni
Mubarak where he said that the
Palestinian cause is that of
lost opportunities. Your
Majesty, will there really be
a Palestinian state,
especially if you consider
that the peace process is
almost at a standstill, with
no serious steps since the
withdrawal from Gaza and
Hamas’ electoral victory,
which led to the international
community’s decision to
pressure Hamas by refusing to
deal with it. The question
today is: isn’t Hamas’
presence in government the
choice of the Palestinian
people?
First,
the world has to respect the
choice of the Palestinian
people and their right to
choose their leadership. We in
Jordan
are keen to support
Palestinians until they
achieve their rights and a
Palestinian state is
established. We will deal with
the new Palestinian government
according to our national
policy. We hope that the
Palestinians, especially
Hamas, will apply the utmost
realism in dealing with all
that concerns the Palestinian
cause, bearing in mind the
position of the world around
us and the many new realities
that cannot be ignored or
changed. Everyone must bear in
mind that the window of
opportunity for a settlement
is two years, and I fear that
if this short time passes
without reaching a settlement,
the Palestinians will have
nothing left over which to
negotiate. I also urge the
Middle East Quartet to
reactivate the Roadmap to push
the peace process forward so
we do not lose this
opportunity and everyone
returns to the point we
started years ago.
6.
Just two years? If the
two-year period expires
without reaching an agreement
that realizes a Palestinian
state (with a reminder that
2005 was the date for
statehood which never
happened). Will
Jordan
have a role in the West Bank
and what is the form of the
future relationship between
Jordan
and Palestine, presuming that the state
never materializes?
First,
I must stress that
Jordan
has no special agenda and no
ambitions in the West Bank. Despite the fact that many
Palestinians in West Bank
towns and villages are aware
of and appreciate the huge
sacrifices that
Jordan
made in order to preserve the
West Bank
and Palestinian rights, there
nevertheless remains a whole
generation of Palestinians who
were raised under occupation
after 1967. They may not be
aware of Jordan’s real role
or what it has done for the
Palestinian cause, since many
of this generation were
frequently influenced by
certain Palestinian
organizations and some Arab
regimes that made unwarranted
accusations against Jordan,
cast doubt on the sincerity of
its policies and blamed Jordan
for actions that undermined
the Palestinian cause when
those actions were actually
done by some Arab regimes and
some Palestinians.
7.
Your Majesty, you speak of
unjust accusations against
Jordan and skepticism about its role.
Why don’t you discuss this
issue frankly with the
Palestinians and agree on the
form of this relationship in
case a Palestinian state never
emerges?
This
is a very sensitive and
extremely complicated issue.
If we were to raise this issue
now,
Jordan
will be accused of having an
agenda or ambitions in the West Bank. If we were to leave it
solely up to the Palestinians,
Jordan will likewise be accused of
not doing enough to help the
Palestinians. The only way out
of this dilemma is for a
Palestinian state to be
established on Palestinian
soil. After that we can see
what will be.
8.
But Your Majesty, the
faltering peace process is
harmful to Jordan, or at least
that is the opinion of some
people. Is it true that Jordan
would be harmed by a lack of
progress? And what is Jordan’s role in final status
negotiations? At the same
time, the
Jordanian-Palestinian
relationship… a strange
thing… Keraki-Hebron
marriage, Nabulsi-Salti,
strange combinations that have
a unique unity.
We
in
Jordan
are the closest to
Palestine and the Palestinian people.
The economic, social and
political interests of both
peoples are intertwined. Many
Jordanian families have
relatives and friends in the
West Bank. That’s why everything that
happens in the
Palestinian Territories
affects Jordan. Frankly, Jordan
is concerned about what is
happening with regards to
Jerusalem and the settlements, which is
why the establishment of a
viable Palestinian state is
our primary objective, as well
as a necessity and legitimate
right of the Palestinians. As
for final status negotiations,
Jordan
should have a role on the
issues of
Jerusalem, refugees, water and borders.
9.
Your Majesty, let’s move to
domestic issues, particularly
reform and development. Is Jordan
serious about reform? Some are
of the opinion that reform is
a program that is meant to
appease the US
and Western countries? Not
just in
Jordan, but also in Saudi Arabia,
Egypt
and
Morocco. Is reform being promoted
just to appease the US?
Jordan started the process of
development and progress
several years ago. During the
past six years, I have become
more convinced that our future
vision for
Jordan
should have a regulatory
framework identifying plans,
programs and objectives that
we want to achieve during the
next ten years. The National
Agenda has several components,
including organizing political
life, institutionalizing the
development process,
addressing the problems of
poverty and unemployment with
solutions. But implementing
the agenda also requires the
faith, conviction and support
of the legislative authority
through the enactment of
legislation that fosters the
reform process.
10.
We’ve become accustomed to
addressing Your Majesty, Abu
Hussein, frankly. Months ago
there was an impression that
you’d begun to abandon the
reformists and have returned
to the old guard. Is this
true?
I
reject the categorization of
people into reformists and old
guard. These classifications
are inaccurate, and I don’t
know where the press got them
from. For, all Jordanians
agree on the necessity of
reform and development. They
may differ on the best way to
do that and on how reforms
should be prioritized. But as
for the objectives, there are
no differences, and I
naturally listen to all points
of view, because I am for all
Jordanians, no matter their
views on reform. It is
important for everyone to
realize that development needs
concerted and continuous
efforts, and the involvement
of the largest number of
people possible. In Jordan, there are those who believe
that political reform can be
realized simply by changing
the elections law. That is not
true. Political development
cannot exist without national
parties with political,
economic and social programs
and a wide public support
base. First and foremost,
political parties should not
be subject to guidance or
connections or finances from
outside the borders of this
country. To be more frank, the
problem is not the one-man,
one-vote electoral system; the
problem is that we need foster
the culture of democracy so
that people would know that
neither democracy nor
political development are
complete without a mature
national parties system.
11.
Some time ago, in the 1960s,
people refrained from joining
parties based on their
experiences in the 1950s. This
persists today, and the base
of “rejectionists” has
expanded, and I’m not
talking here about the Muslim
Brotherhood, but about the
vast majority of Jordanians
who do not join political
parties…
People
are hesitant to join parties
because of the negative image
they acquired in the 1950s and
1960s when they were directed
and financed from abroad
persists today. Some of those
parties used to seek to change
the identity of this country.
These parties still exist and
have not abandoned their
agendas or their external
links. The new Jordanian
parties are unknown to
citizens beyond the names of
the individuals running those
parties. So they are just
names to some people or
slogans without content. That
is why citizens hesitate to
join parties, whether old or
new. I ask here why these
small Jordanian parties
don’t join together to form
a larger party with a majority
that stands in the middle
between left and right. I am
confident that such a party
will have a wide popular base.
12.
In the event that Parliament
convenes for an extraordinary
session, what in your opinion,
would be the legislation that
should be given priority in
discussion and endorsement?
We
are now at a new stage of our
national march. This stage
requires a number of laws that
must be completed quickly. For
example, the anti-corruption
commission law, political
parties law, the
municipalities law, the
anti-terrorism law, the
national ombudsman law – all
require the presence of the
Lower House of Parliament to
enact these, along with
others, quickly.
13.
Your Majesty, you have made
significant changes at the
Royal Court and the government. Now we
have the government of Dr.
Ma’arouf Al Bakhit. Your
Majesty speaks of important
legislation: the
anti-terrorism law, the
anti-corruption law. Will you
consider dissolving Parliament
if the Lower House does not
finalize these laws? I ask
this question in light of
previous instances since 1989
in which the Lower House was
dissolved before completing
the legislation on its agenda.
The
deputies realize the need for
these laws, and [know that]
any delay in finalizing them
would pose an obstacle to our
national march. I believe that
the deputies are up to the
responsibilities and the
challenges that we have to
face. In my national
responsibility and commitment
to achieve dignified life for
each citizen in this country,
I will not accept any
obstacles to be placed in the
way of our national march.
14.
Your Majesty, I would have
liked not to bring up the
issue of Hamas bringing
weapons into Jordan, because I
know that there is a habit of
not discussing this issue in
the media and instead leaving
it to the relevant
authorities. Allow me as a
journalist to ask, because
there are some who doubt the
government’s story about
Hamas’ violations, including
bringing in and storing
weapons in Jordan and planning to target vital
Jordanian institutions and
personalities. [Those who
doubt the story] believe that
this is a government ruse in
order to not receive the
foreign minister of the Hamas
government.
When
Jordanian security services
arrested the terrorist Sajeda,
there were some who doubted
the [truth]. This doubt
probably exposes support and
sympathy for those who commit
such violations or for these
terrorist operations or
whoever stands behind them. In
any case, we have given all
the information to the
Palestinian president, and it
has been agreed that a
Palestinian political and
security delegation will be
dispatched to Jordan
to follow up on this issue and
disclose this information and
details to everyone.
15.
My final question… The rise
in fuel prices in
Jordan and around the world has
affected everyone. Even our
working trips in Al
Arabiya’s Amman
bureau are being meticulously
regulated. The
Kingdom
of
Saudi Arabia
has offered oil grants to
Jordan. Is the renewal of this
grant, at least until the end
of this year, under
consideration? Are there any
contacts with the Saudis?
There
has been some discussion of
this issue, and you know the
custodian of the two Holy
Mosques, King Abdullah, and
our brothers in the
kingdom
of Saudi Arabia
have never been anything but
generous, God grant them
prosperity.
