BREAKING NEWS

King Abdullah of Jordan heralds pride in Arab Spring

By JPOST.COM STAFF

MAY 26, 2013 01:23

Jordanian King Abdullah II on Saturday named the Arab Spring as the “voice of our century.”

He called it a reason to stand proud, but not to stand still in its efforts for reform, democracy and peace, Al-Arabiya TV reported.

Opening the World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa at the King Hussein Convention Center on the Dead Sea, 40 km. southwest of Amman, on Saturday, on Jordanian Independence Day, he said reform was an ongoing process across the region.

“The Arab Spring and its call for human dignity has become the voice of our century,” Abdullah said. “This is a reason to stand proud, but we cannot stand still. Reform, democracy and peace are always a work in progress.”

Commenting on the crisis in Syria, the king said that he expects the number of refugees entering Jordan to double by the end of the year.

“Our Jordanian population is now hosting 10 percent of its size in Syrian refugees,” he said.

“In Syria, a political solution is urgently needed to stop that country’s dangerous fragmentation, and to resolve the dire refugee crisis,” he added.

“Increased humanitarian assistance from the global community is vital. But what’s ultimately needed is an immediate end to the violence, so all the Syrian people can rebuild their country.”

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