A Future Jordan - نحن الأردن

Analysis: Jordan in crisis over power BY SANA ABDALLAH - Jordanian East Bankers Vs. Jordanians of Palestinian origion

Analysis: Jordan in crisis over power
By Sana Abdallah
UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL

Amman, Jordan, May. 25 (UPI) -- As Jordan marks its 59th independence day Wednesday, it faces a deep crisis between the government of Prime Minister Adnan Badran and a large minority in parliament that has threatened to withhold confidence.

The formation of Badran's government last month did not so much divide the country as it resurfaced the unspoken sensitivities between East Bank Jordanians and Jordanians of Palestinian origin, with the first group using the so-called threat of absorbing or settling the Palestinians as an excuse for what it sees as the second gaining too much power.

At issue is that Badran, a veteran academic, brought an unprecedented number of Jordanians of Palestinian origin into his Cabinet, while ignoring representatives from major tribes in southern Jordan. Around 12 of the 26-member government are Palestinians.

When he formed the government after King Abdullah designated him in early April, the new prime minister insisted he wanted a team that was capable of carrying out the monarch's instructions in speeding up administrative, political and economic reforms. Regional considerations were not on his agenda, as they clearly were not in the king's.

That was hard to swallow for around 48 parliamentarians, mostly pro-establishment, so-called "centrists," in the 110-seat lower house. These "new opposition" legislators, mostly elected on tribal basis and who have traditionally endorsed government laws and policies, quickly said they might not give Badran's government a vote of confidence.

In a memorandum, they specified opposition to the form, rather than the agenda, of the Cabinet, based on the fact that it had ignored representatives from certain areas in Jordan. They also objected to the economic team, most of whose members were ministers in the previous government of former Prime Minister Faisal al-Fayez.

They complained the economic team, which the king believes would speed up reforms, had failed not only in improving the standard of living in the country, but increased taxation and hiked prices of commodities. The legislators also accused these ministers of not responding to parliament demands on a fair distribution of funds from foreign assistance.

The legislators have been mostly protesting against renaming Bassem Awadallah as finance minister after he had resigned as planning minister two months earlier following a series of complaints and accusations that he was too "autonomous" in his decisions on where foreign assistance was going.

Others saw the campaign against Awadallah, 41, as being motivated by the fact that he does not hail from a prominent Jordanian tribe, but from a Palestinian family.

The "new opposition" made no mention of what appears to be really bothering them: The inclusion of so many Palestinians, who continue to make up more than half of Jordan's 5.4 million population, in the economic and political decision-making hierarchy. As one commentator put it in the independent al-Ghad daily this week, these very same parliamentarians had no problem with al-Fayez's former Cabinet when it excluded some of the regions in Jordan, mainly because it had a "tribal" base. The writer explained that these parliamentarians were opposed to the individuals in this new government, rather than policies that interest the general public.

While these MP's never came right out to complain about the number of Palestinians in Badran's government, they have privately complained in their so-called political salons the issue of "absorbing" or "settling" the Palestinians. In other words, giving the Palestinians more political power at the expense of the "tribes," who have traditionally been the players in the executive branch while the Palestinians have constituted the business and private sector community.

The parliamentary uproar stems from the view that the new government team is set to "absorb" the Palestinians, thus giving up their right to return to homes they were forced to flee in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war when the Jewish state was established. The legislators see this being done as a result of pressure from Washington, a close Jordanian ally and main donor.

Analysts privately say that by bringing in so many Palestinians in positions of power, these pro-establishment MP's are very nervous about changing the status quo, citing the right-wing Israeli threat of making Jordan the "alternative Palestinian homeland."

What added to their worries that this scheme was being implemented is an interior ministry decision that removed travel restrictions on Palestinians coming to Jordan from the West Bank as of Wednesday. The ministry decided that West Bank Palestinians no longer had to obtain the "no-objection" paper to enter the country, which was imposed at the start of the second Palestinian intifada in September 2000 for fear the people would leave their towns for safety and livelihood in Jordan; thus, leaving their property for the Israelis to confiscate.

King Abdullah has made clear his support for his government team. He told the London-based al-Hayat daily last week that he gave no importance to the origins of the ministers, something he might not have realized shakes the very foundations of the socio-political status quo in his kingdom.

"When they were chosen, I don't believe their origins were not taken into consideration," the king said. "It is not right to look at individuals as having come at the expense of others."

Abdullah, whose wife Queen Rania is of Palestinian origin, insisted it was the government's program, not the individuals that should be judged and stressed that "all in Jordan should benefit" from reforms that he said was a "choice not linked to individuals." He also said that reform and "political and economic participation" of all in the country would not divide the kingdom and saw no link between reform and "settlement" (of Palestinians).

While King Abdullah's firm and clear declared support to his new government may embarrass the traditional legislators into accepting Badran's team and not withhold confidence if there is a vote, they might not make the executive branch's work easy if they are not given something else in return to silence them.

Although parliament is in recess and expected to convene in an extraordinary session in September, the king, who sets date and agenda for extraordinary sessions, is unlikely to include a confidence vote in the agenda to avoid spending too much time on the issue and to deal with legislation.

But Badran recently told the independent al-Arab al-Yawm local daily he intended to seek a vote of confidence in an apparent attempt to obtain legitimacy for reform programs he has in store.

Analysts say the parliamentary uproar has highlighted a defective and controversial general elections law that brought a conservative, tribal majority that is hindering the king's vision for deep-rooted reforms. Such reforms necessarily mean a significant shift in the way the country has been run in the past 50-plus years, giving Jordanians of Palestinian origin political power in the decision-making process that could be at the expense of the traditional East Bankers losing that political grip.

Achieving reforms that include such a shift has not been an easy task in the past six years since King Abdullah assumed the Hashemite throne. It is not likely to be a smooth ride now.

posted by Ashraf Zeitoon @ 3:40 AM