Arab summer in Amman

Jordan remains politically and socially stable

By JERUSALEM REPORT CORRESPONDENT
Jordanian protest march (photo credit: Muhammad Hamed/Reuters)
Jordanian protest march
(photo credit: Muhammad Hamed/Reuters)
AS THE ARAB SPRING continues on into summer, the Kingdom of Jordan has remained socially and politically stable. Although there have been widespread demonstrations throughout Jordan’s main cities, authorities have managed to keep a lid on the public tension and dissatisfaction without resorting to violent repression.
The fact that Jordanians enjoy relative political freedoms in comparison to the other Arab states is certainly a factor in the nonviolent nature of the demonstrations, which have consistently called for reform and anti-corruption measures rather than revolution. Yet authorities attribute the relative calm to their immediate and effective responses to public unrest. When the protests first spread from the other Arab states to Jordan in March this year, Abdullah II, King of Jordan, unlike other Arab leaders, did not attempt to squelch the demonstrations. Instead, he began touring the kingdom and meeting with the public, emphasizing what he sees as his government’s response to the public demands and he has continued to do so. Most recently, Abdullah told the press that the reform process is progressing as scheduled in line with a road map and a well-defined agenda.
Furthermore, the government has reshuffled its cabinet and a committee established in May has already proposed laws for election reform and improved functioning of political parties.
Indeed, Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit suggests that the Jordanians’ response to its citizens’ demands could thus work as a model for the entire region, to be implemented in at least some of the other Arab states.
Yet the demonstrations continue and despite Bakhit’s declarations, not all of Jordan’s six million citizens are satisfied with the government’s efforts. Political groups, including the opposition Muslim brotherhood movement and the Islamic Action Front (IAF), the most significant opposition Islamic group, remain dissatisfied with the pace of change and reform.
Although the protests did quiet down in tone and in number during June and early July, in late July, thousands of demonstrators, organized by the Islamic groups, gathered at the Al-Husseini Mosque in downtown Amman. Waving Jordanian flags and carrying banners calling for democratization and political reform, the demonstrators marched towards the city’s Nakheel Square, near the Greater Amman municipal offices. Media reports put the number of demonstrators at 3,000, although the organizers insist that the numbers were closer to 10,000 and, whatever the actual number, the crowd was clearly the largest in weeks.
As dozens of policemen and local and international reporters looked on, the demonstrators also condemned a police assault on protesters and the media at a rally that had taken place in Amman two weeks earlier.
“We have been hearing about political reform efforts. But on the ground we are not seeing anything,” says Zaid Btoush, waving a banner calling for the downfall of the government. “The government is betting on time. They are stalling thinking that we will get bored and the demonstrations will fade away.”
IN JULY, IN WHAT APPEARED TO be an attempt to mollify the crowds, Bakhit reshuffled his government for the first time since he came to office in February this year, bringing in, to the surprise of the opposition, nine new ministers.
The new government was approved by royal decree on July 2, giving Bakhit a renewed mandate to govern.
But in addition to the new blood, Bakhit, to the dismay of the reformists, turned to some old hands, including officials with conservative track records. It is thus unlikely that these changes will make any difference, especially after the Lower house voted down a bill on June 27 calling for Bahkit’s impeachment and voted only to indict former tourism minister, Osama Dabbas, both over what is commonly referred to here as the “Casino Case.”
The “Casino Case” refers to corruption surrounding a 2007 deal with a British investor who was interested in building a casino on the shores of the Dead Sea; some 17 former cabinet members were implicated in the deal and four were forced to resign.
The case took place during Bakhit’s first term and was exposed by the local media.
The decision to acquit Bakhit led to angry public reactions and generated a public debate on corruption among the elite.
There are also other prominent corruption issues. In May, Minister of Justice Hussein Mjalli and Minister of Health Yassin Hosban were forced to resign when convicted business tycoon Khaled Shaheen fled the country, after being released from jail under pretext of medical treatment. Mjalli’s resignation left the Cabinet without its main legal adviser ahead of an extraordinary session set to discuss 21 pieces of legislation, ranging from the formation of a teachers association to amendments to the Penal Code. These two positions remained empty until the reshuffle when they were filled by newcomers.
Minister for Media Affairs and Communications, Taher Al Odwan, also resigned in June in protest against government plans to introduce new changes to the Press and Publications Law, which, Odwan said in his resignation statement, will undermine freedom of the press.
Bakhit’s reshuffle came only one day after small crowds of citizens took to the streets in six governorates calling for the government’s resignation in a so-called “Day of Shame.”
Bakhit has held several press conferences over the past few months in an attempt to explain his government’s anti corruption measures, including efforts to bring the escaped Shahin to justice and measures taken to speed up the political reform process, but few believe that these changes will bring any difference to the government’s performance. Islamic Action Front (IAF), the political arm of the Muslim brotherhood movement, Hamzeh Mansour contends that the reshuffle merely affirms that the government is not serious about reform.
“The Prime Minister is temporarily buying time and attempting to prolong his term in office. But this will not work in his favor because the people are determined to continue their pursuit towards a positive political change in the country,” declares Mansour in a statement issued in reaction to the reshuffle.
He adds that the Muslim Brotherhood movement will continue its political and social activities in coordination with other opposition movements in the kingdom in order to sustain pressure on the government, especially with regard to the corruption.
“The country is in need of honest people with integrity who have the citizens’ confidence in order to march towards comprehensive reform with popular support,” Mansour declares.
“This reshuffle is stillborn and untenable,” Ahmad Oweidi Abbadi tells The Report.
Abbadi is a former MP, who had been jailed for two years in 2007, after being accused of slander for posting on the Internet a condemnation of King Abdallah’s corrupt government in an open letter addressed to US Senator Harry Reid. “It has brought nothing new; only assurances of refusing reform that will lead to fundamental change,” Abbadi says, emphasizing that the anti-corruption measures the government has announced have not brought any substantial change and that the corrupt are “influential and beyond the reach of the authorities.”
But former minister of Information Saleh Qallab, a columnist for Al-Rai Daily, argues, “Although we are heading towards reform at a slow pace, we are going in the right direction and with time and patience we will make it with the King’s wisdom and broad vision that emphasizes the interests of the country and the people.”
Referring to the impeachment and indictment vote, Saed Ouran, protesting in late July, tells The Report, “This vote was a moment of shame for Parliament, shame on the government, and a shame for the Jordanian people. Before, we wanted to fight corruption and end poverty. After this political theater, people want to change the system of government.”
None of the protests are directed towards the King, who is largely considered outside of the realm of criticism and serves as a form of social and political safety valve. Jordan remains a tribal society, and the monarchy serves as the glue that unites the country and prevents its dissolution into warring tribes and separate states. Furthermore, the Hashemite monarchy, aware of the inter-ethnic tensions, has always remained close to the public and has rarely resorted to repressive measures.
IN LATE APRIL, KING ABDULLAH formed a committee tasked with revisiting the constitution and accorded the committee “carte blanche” to propose amendments that serve the political reforms in the kingdom.
Then, in May, responding to demands by the Muslim Brotherhood, Bakhit established a national dialogue committee, tasked with reviewing laws governing political life in the kingdom. In July, the committee presented its conclusions, which focus primarily on two laws, one regarding elections and the functioning of political parties and the other regarding election procedures. The committee also called for the establishment of a constitutional court and improvement of the educational system.
At the press conference presenting these conclusions in late July, committee chairman, Senate President Taher Masri, declared that the recommendations highlight the importance of respecting human rights, empowering the rule of law and creating equal opportunity. He promised that these recommendations will combat corruption and boost transparency while maintaining the independence of the three branches of government, freedom of expression and freedom of the press.
Masri further said that the law pertaining to political parties will enrich political pluralism and empower citizens to engage in partisan life and decision-making, and thus become key players in the reform process.
The committee also recommended the establishment of an independent panel, composed of 13 prominent members of society, including seven retired judges, appointed by royal decree, to oversee elections instead of the Interior Ministry, which is currently charged with the task.
The proposed legislation also increases the number of parliamentary seats from 110 to 130. And according to the committee’s recommendations, the current system of “virtual districts,” which divides main districts into geographically unidentified smaller ones, will be disbanded, with the exception of the large cities of Amman, Zarqa and Irbid, which will be divided according to population density. Quotas for Christians, Circassians and Chechens, in addition to a women’s quota, are set for each governorate.
The government has promised to finalize drafts to these laws in a short time and to forward them to parliament for further discussion and the expected eventual endorsement.
Officials contend that once the laws and recommendations proposed by the National Dialogue Committee have been endorsed by the Parliament, the Jordanian regime will have responded to the opposition’s and the publics’ demands for reform.
BUT THE OPPOSITION CONTINues to argue that the government is merely buying time and betting that the demonstrations will lose momentum.
Says Btoush, the young demonstrator, “Our opposition to the outcomes of both committees is based on the fact that the members of these two panels were appointed by the government and did not represent all walks of life of society.”
Addressing the late-July demonstration, Mansour declared, “We are here to raise our voices in the face of corruption and the oppressive mentality of policy-makers. We want to see reform decisions implemented on the ground and not only in ink on paper.
The outcomes of the so-called National Dialogue Committee did not meet the minimum limits of the public demands.”
Ahmad Shannak, head of the National Constitutional Party has declared that the government is merely shelving the recommendations of the national dialogue committee regarding political parties and the election laws, and that this “adds to the citizens’ frustration and gives an indication of the government’s lack of seriousness to proceed with the reform process as pledged to the people.
“The political situation in the country is very shaky,” Shannak says, “and calls for a national salvation government capable of reflecting the public’s demands in actions and taking the country out of its current crisis.”
He further stresses that the government is not capable of meeting these challenges, and should therefore resign and open the way for change.
Marwan Faouri, a member of the political bureau of the Islamic Centrist Party believes that change must be structural and prompt. “The government has to prove its commitment to reform by actions and bold decisions. The reform process is going at a slow pace, frustrating all segments of society.
Even when it comes to anti-corruption measures, the government has not succeeded in a single corruption case so far. None of the cases being investigated by the relevant authorities has resulted in serious action.
This only increases public grumbling and leads to more tension.” •