Tuesday, March 29, 2011

AMMAN: The prime minister of Jordan said Monday people have the right to free speech and that the government will set aside special areas for protests, in an apparent bid to ease tensions after bloody clashes last week.

“The freedom of speech and freedom of assembly are constitutional rights as long as they are peaceful, civilized and do not harm people,” Prime Minister Maaruf Bakhit said in a statement carried by the state-run Petra news agency.
“The government, which is keen on preserving these rights, will allocate certain places for demonstrations, to protect protesters and avoid obstructing the lives of others.”
One protester died and 160 people were wounded Friday when police broke up a pro-reform protest camp in Amman following a stone attack by loyalists against young demonstrators.

Also Monday, a judicial official said 25 protesters blamed for instigating Friday’s clashes have been released. The official said the 25 included pro- and anti-government protesters.
Hundreds of loyalists marched in several neighborhoods of the capital Saturday, carrying pictures of King Abdullah II as well as firearms and swords, chanting slogans against “all those who undermine the stability” of the regime and the country.

“Carrying firearms, bats, stones and sharp tools as well as attempts to prevent peaceful demonstrations are condemned. They harm Jordan’s image and reform drive,” Bakhit said. “The security apparatuses must firmly stop anyone who tries to break the law and threaten the lives and safety of citizens.”
“I call on all political parties, civil society institutions and youths to avoid proposals of sedition, including traps posted online,” he said. He was apparently referring to calls to limit the king’s powers to pave the way for a constitutional monarchy.

Bakhit’s remarks came after the king said Sunday “the most important thing now is our national unity, which must not be touched.”

He called on 15 members of a government-appointed commission for dialogue who quit after Friday’s clashes to reconsider their decisions.

The bloody clashes have exacerbated the confidence crisis between Amman and the Islamist opposition.
Bakhit has accused the Islamists of trying to spread “chaos” and “taking orders from the Muslim brothers in Egypt and Syria.” Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood has rejected the “lies,” with its leader Hammam Said insisting they “have the right to consult with our brothers in Damascus about the Palestinian cause” and that “we do not take orders or instructions from anybody.”

But the link between the two countries’ Islamists is indisputable. “There is no doubt about the strong relations between the two branches of Muslim Brotherhood in Syria and Jordan,” a former Jordanian official of the 1980s told AFP. “The breakdown in relations between the government and Islamist movement, and the current tension in Syria can be worrisome for Jordan.”

Syria’s Islamists sought refuge in Jordan in 1982 after a massacre in the north city of Hama.
“There is geographical proximity but also ties and bonds between families in northern Jordan and southern Syria, in particular Daraa,” said the former official.
Mohammad Momani, political science professor at the Yarmuk University, said the “geographical proximity is undoubtedly disturbing.”

“Its impact is unpredictable, but the political setting in Syria is completely different from Jordan,” he said.
“What happened [Friday] created a feeling that our personal safety is questioned. But what is dangerous is that it injected division within the society,” said Mohammad Masri, a researcher at the University of Jordan’s Center for Strategic Studies. – AFP, AP