Stop calling for reform BY FAHED AL FANEK..... Mr. Fanek, Wake Up and Smell the Coffee
Stop calling for reform
Fahed Fanek
Monday, December 19, 2005
THE JORDAN TIMES
My Comments are in
BlueIt is meaningless and counterproductive to continue working overtime to advocate reform in this country. As a matter of fact, I am not aware of anybody who is against reform as such - Yes, there are so many people who are against reform, any kind of reform. These are people with vested interests that will be undermined by any change or reform whether political or economical. The problem in this respect is that we don't agree on the sort of reform we are after. A good example is the call for a modern law on elections, which can mean different things to different people.
Many observers are suspicious, for good reason, that possible hidden agendas are advanced under the guise of reform while the real purpose is to undermine the very bases of our state as we know it - For God's sake, come one and be realistic
So far, most, if not all, the reactions drawn by the output of the National Agenda were on the negative side. Only one person, its chairman, was trying hard to promote its findings and recommendations.
It is obvious that there is no consensus developing over the agenda. No majority is taking its side. Even the members of the Royal Committee, which drafted the agenda, are keeping their distance and maintaining silence, not to mention the major differences among the members who could not reconcile and only agreed on the bare minimum requirement that does not satisfy many real reformers -
I am sure that he is not one of those people...
The Royal Committee came up with a set of controversial recommendations which overshadowed
the good and agreed reforms -
This must be a first, Mr. pessimism especially when it comes to the National Agenda, states for the first time ever that the the National Agenda came up with good reforms. Part of the recommendations were outright harmful, such as the dismantling of the Press Association, slashing the cost of government staff as a rate of the gross domestic product in half, claiming that Jordan can, in a few years, do without foreign grants and undertaking to reverse the deficit in the budget after grants into a surplus before grants. Such
false and unattainable objectives may urge donor countries not to continue supporting Jordan financially if, as the committee claims, it can stand on its own without foreign aid or any kind of budget support -
Mr. Economy is of the view that we should continue to beg for money from everyone instead of getting our act together....So far, there is a lot of talk about the need to reform,
but no actual reform is taking place -
This is the only stance where I agree with what Mr. Economy !!!, as if the call for reform were meant only for international consumption. This gives a bad impression. The result is the belief that many things in the country are wrong and must be corrected, but no correction is happening.
Talking about reform becomes a substitute for reform. Observers abroad were given the impression that things in Jordan are so bad that they need immediate reform, but reform is not going to happen due to lack of political will - this is also right....
Such impression made a prominent professor of politics at an American university criticise Jordan for failure to reform.
He described the reform programme in the country as fake, mere talk, and said that the Jordanian press drew its knives to kill the National Agenda which, he thought, is the long-awaited instrument for reform.He is talking here about Marc Lynch, who is an Associate Professor at the Political Science Department at Williams College. Lynch wrote a piece for the Carnegie Endowment for Peace in Washington on the National Agenda, which can be viewed through the link belowhttp://www.carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=17679&prog=zgp&proj=zdrl,zme#kniveshttp://abuaardvark.typepad.com/abuaardvark/jordan/index.htmlWe should not allow the image of the country to be unnecessarily tarnished. We owe it to ourselves to shed light on the reforms that took place and the outstanding results achieved over the past several years. There must be a good reason why Jordan is ahead of other countries in the same class of economic development, as shown by international indices - Mr. Economy is dillusional. We have been regressing on so many fronts, primerally political and other countries are regions are ahead of us in so many ways. he should have read the latest Economist Intelligence Unit report on the dynamics of democracy in the region...
I shall dwell a little bit on the economic side.
As far as economic reform is concerned, we have a clean bill of health issued by the International Monetary Fund. IMF experts certified that Jordan completed successfully the reform programme, has graduated from the adjustment and stabilisation programme, and is no more in need of IMF guidance. As far as privatisation is concerned, almost 80 per cent of the programme has already been implemented successfully. Due to security, stability and economic reform, the economy was able to attract direct foreign investments and register a record growth rate of 7.5 per cent this year. Foreign trade is up 25 per cent, another indication of a free market economy.
Jordan scored better than Egypt and Morocco in the human development index produced by the United Nations Development Programme, in the government effectiveness, as measured by the World Bank index, in transparency, as measured by the index of Transparency International, and in competitiveness, as measured by the index of World Economic Forum.
We are reforming effectively, achieving, in the process, tangible and measurable results. Reform in Jordan is not a matter of talking.
Those who talk about reform do not mean it. They are actually tarnishing the image of the country and giving the wrong impression that we need radical reforms but fail to do them - Those who talk about the need for reform are true Jordanian patriots, who have the wellbeing of teh country and it's citizens in their hearts. The country has never faced such challanges, locally, regionally and internationally and reforming our country is the only way to strengthen and solidify our identity to face the numerous challanges ahead.People who talk about reform are reformers at heart and aren't, in any way possible, aiming to tarnish the image of the country. The Image of the country is tarnished by people like Mr. Economy, whose sole purpose is to send a message that we are living in UTOPIA and nothing needs to be changed....Mr. Fanek, Wake up and smell the coffee ....
A Very alarming article by Dore Gold - Growing al-Qaida threat to Jordan worries Israel
You can check this very alarming article from UPI on Growing al-Qaida threat to Jordan worries Israel, on my other blog
http://jordanandpeaceprocess.blogspot.com/The Article goes on to say that
"But now there is a danger of this activity becoming more widespread," Gold stresses. "Jordanian security officials have estimated that recently 500 Jordanians have been arrested for links with al-Qaida. Indeed, according to a report in the London Sunday Times, Jordanian security sources believed that the Iraqi suicide bombers who attacked in Amman received help from Jordanian soldiers. If the report is true, it means that Zarqawi's network had penetrated the Jordanian defense establishment in a manner reminiscent of al-Qaida's recruitment of members of the Saudi National Guard."
Plan delineates regions, sets representation - By Francesa Swalha on the Decentralisation plan for Jordna
Plan delineates regions, sets representation
By Francesca Sawalha
04/12/2005
The Jordan Times
AMMAN —
A Royal committee is proposing to divide the Kingdom into three development regions, each with an elected council, to jump-start decentralisation, enhance public participation in decision-making and ensure more efficiency in local government. The proposal, submitted to His Majesty King Abdullah 10 days ago,
also conceives of a return to fully elected municipal councils, reversing a 2003 decision granting the Council of Ministers the right to appoint the mayor and half the members of each council.Each named region is to include four existing governorates: The northern Yarmouk region will include the governorates of Irbid, Ajloun, Mafraq and Jerash, and have the city of Irbid as its capital; the central Raghadan region will include the Amman, Balqa, Zarqa and Madaba governorates — but exclude the Greater Amman Municipality — and have its capital in Salt; the southern Muta region will comprise the governorates of Karak, Maan, Tafileh and the Aqaba Special Economic Zone (ASEZ), with Karak as capital. This last region is also slated to comprise a "Petra region" with a special statute, modelled on the ASEZ.
The proposal suggests to exclude the Greater Amman Municipality and its two million inhabitants from the long awaited reform because "being the capital city, Amman is shared by all Jordanians," Royal committee member Maha Khatib told The Jordan Times. "Plus, Amman is [home to] the central government and it is quite well developed in terms of services and infrastructure. We need to drive development efforts towards the other regions," Khatib explained.
In a televised address to the nation in January, King Abdullah announced
an administrative reform for the creation of "development areas, or regions," each with a "directly elected council to work hand-in-hand with elected municipal councils to set development priorities and draw up plans and programmes." The King emphasised that
the ultimate goal of the reform was to reverse the top-to-bottom approach typical of liberalisation efforts so far: "Political development should start at the grassroots level, then move up to decision-making centres, and not vice-versa."He also listed the functions of the proposed regional councils: "Affairs related to public facilities, investment priorities, capital expenditures and services, and oversee the performance of official bodies in all areas."The committee appointed by the King a few days after his address included three former PMs (Fayez Tarawneh, Abdur-Ra'uf S. Rawabdeh and Zeid Rifai), seven former ministers (Aqel Biltaji, Marwan Hmoud, Awad Khleifat, Rajai Dajani, Nayef Qadi, Hisham Tal and Abdul Hadi Majali), MP Mamdouh Abbadi and Khatib, who is director general of the Jordan River Foundation.
The proposal, presented to the King on November 23, definitely dispels rumours of a fourth, central region supposedly intended to pave the way for a Jordanian role in the West Bank — rumours already denied by top officials over the past several months.
The Royal committee appears to have put particular emphasis on the issue of representation and participation, detailing formulae for the elections of both municipal and regional councils. Municipal councils would be elected under the one-person, one-vote system. Each municipality will elect a minimum of seven and a maximum of 30 council members, ideally with one representative per 10,000 inhabitants. In addition to elected mayors, who will play a purely political role, the proposal foresees each municipal council having an appointed CEO to manage day-to-day business. "
One cannot expect an appointed mayor to have the necessary expertise in terms of management, finance, or engineering to run day-to-day business," Khatib explained.
As for regional councils, they are expected to comprise 10 elected representatives for each governorate. Each governorate will comprise 10 voting districts, each electing one representative under the one-person, one-vote system. Each regional council is envisaged to elect its head, deputy head and two assistants. An appointed commissioner, with ministerial rank, would liaise between the regional councils and central government.The Royal committee suggests that
regional councils be in charge of "defining the developmental identity of each region," reviewing and approving socio-economic plans and supervising regional projects. National development projects would remain in the portfolio of the central government, but regional councils would be asked to step in to coordinate some of the efforts and ensure implementation of certain components.
Budgetary and taxation issues have been cited by experts over the past months as critical factors in the success of the regional administrative reform. Analysts have been arguing whether the proposed regions should be given substantial taxation responsibilities, and be allowed to use tax revenues for capital and development expenditures. Though seemingly fair, such a system would condemn poor regions to remain poor, or become even poorer, in a country where 60 per cent of the GDP is generated in the Greater Amman area. According to Khatib,
the Royal committee solved the problem by referring to existing legislation, under which only the central government can exercise taxation functions. Each region would therefore be assigned a budget from the central state budget, subjected as all other parts of the state budget to Parliament's endorsement.
On the Edge - Threats to Jordanian Reform FROM HARVARD INTERNATIONAL REVIEW
On the Edge - Threats to Jordanian ReformFrom the ‘Energy - Fuel for Thought’
Volume 26, Issue 4
Winter 2005
HARVARD INTERNATIONAL REVIEW
Matthew Sullivan is a staff writer at the Harvard International Review.On many levels, Jordan continues to stand among Arab-Muslim countries as the best hope for facilitating peace and genuine democratic reform in the Middle East. Ten years ago, Jordan’s King Hussein and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin signed a landmark peace treaty second only to Israel’s 1979 accord with Egypt. King Abdullah, Hussein’s successor, has overseen five years of moderate political and economic reforms and
has distinguished himself among Arab leaders as the most consistent, liberal advocate of reform.Today, committed reformers, Muslim Brotherhood members, and several women all hold seats in Jordan’s parliament. Yet in light of the stalled US-led “Road Map” and ongoing violence under the occupation of Iraq,
hope for accelerated democratization in Jordan is waning. Indeed, external events and domestic pressures are encumbering Jordan’s ability to serve as the region’s leading voice for peace and model for reform.The Jordanian monarchy’s difficult relations with the majority Palestinian population have been exacerbated by developments since 2000. The construction of a security fence in the West Bank and the Israeli plan for unilateral withdrawal from Gaza have produced discontent. Critics have decried Abdullah’s calls for the Palestinian Authority to complete institutional restructuring and to articulate more specific demands of Israel that could serve as a point of departure for renewed negotiations. The al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade issued a statement condemning Abdullah for betrayal of the Palestinian cause and many Jordanian Palestinians share this sentiment.
While King Abdullah’s marriage to a Palestinian woman with familial ties to the West Bank and his appointment of Palestinians to ministerial positions reflect a desire for inclusion, tensions are likely to remain high so long as the Israeli-Palestinian situation does not improve.
Second, Jordan’s tactical support for the war in Iraq and assistance since the fall of Baghdad have raised the possibility of a violent response from Islamic militants. In a reversal of King Hussein’s support of Iraq in the 1991 Gulf War, Abdullah permitted territorial access to US Special Forces in 2003 and has helped with the training of Iraqi police and soldiers. The shift sparked a new cycle of outspoken criticism and Jordan, like other coalition members, has been the target of Islamic terrorism. Last spring, Jordanian police claimed to have disrupted a plot to employ chemical weapons against governmental and US targets in Amman. The details of the effort appear consistent with Al Qaeda operations, which use armored trucks and large quantities of explosives, and Jordanian authorities believe that Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi, a militia leader in neighboring Iraq, was behind the plan.
Deviation from reform efforts reflects a need perceived by Jordanian officials to counteract such opposition and enhance security. Jordan’s most recent major governmental shakeup came in October 2003. At that time,
the number of cabinet ministers was cut by a quarter, a new appointment system for municipal councils was enacted, and Feisal al-Fayez, a former royal court official with a reputation for compliance, was selected as prime minister. While the restructuring was billed as a means to infuse talent and limit tribal influence from government, many believed its primary motivation was a greater empowerment of Abdullah. The arrest of more than three dozen Islamic leaders on September 9, 2004, signaled that the Interior Ministry’s surveillance efforts would extend inside mosque walls, and one cleric spent three days in prison after refusing to sign a statement promising to temper his criticisms. It is unclear, however, whether any of the arrested leaders had ties to violent opposition groups.
The near future will hold further challenges for Abdullah and Jordanian reformers. Iraq, Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza remain vulnerable to escalating conflict, and several government officials have expressed fears that Israeli policy in the West Bank will produce an influx of Palestinians into Jordan. The United States has been forced to distance itself from reform efforts so as to avoid contaminating the cause with a US label.
Indeed, the greatest challenge for Abdullah and other Jordanian leaders is to defeat its increasingly violent opponents while creating a reform process and peace initiatives with an Arab face. Speaking last May as host of the World Economic Forum, Abdullah called for democratic reform, yet added that “for reform to succeed, it must emerge from within our societies and not through external influence.”
While Abdullah’s task is great, the price of stagnation, repression, and violence is greater and demands a continuation of Jordanian initiative and knowledge.
Caught between Iraq and a hard place BY SIMON TISDALL - THE GUARDIAN
Caught between Iraq and a hard place
Simon Tisdall
Tuesday November 29, 2005
THE GUARDIAN
Jordan's 9/11 - the al-Qaida suicide bomb attacks on three Amman hotels on November 9 that killed 63 people - is still sending shockwaves across the kingdom. A new cabinet charged with waging "all-out war" against terrorism was appointed at the weekend. But Jordan's pro-western King Abdullah also insisted that his controversial reform programme, known as the "national agenda", must go forward.
This is a tall order for a country struggling to keep its head above water in a sea of instability. Jordan is caught between Iraq and a hard place - Israel-Palestine. Autocratic neighbours Syria and Saudi Arabia are poor paradigms for democratic change. In addition to its large population of Palestinian origin, up to 400,000 Iraqis have flooded in since 2003. And its close alliance with the US is domestically divisive.
The new prime minister, Marouf al-Bakhit, a former military intelligence chief, said reform and stability were compatible. "My government will maintain the balance between freedom and security," he promised. But
Mr Bakhit appeared cautious about the national agenda. "We will assess it ... and translate feasible recommendations into draft laws that in turn will go through the proper constitutional channels," he told Jordanian television.
Jordan's moderate Islamists, who want electoral reform and greater political freedoms, suggest a proposed anti-terror law could play into the militants' hands. "There is a need for vigilance but not for a tougher security grip that will only fuel extremism," the Islamic Action party, the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, said last week.
Despite revulsion at the Amman attacks and condemnation of their author, the Jordanian-born Iraqi insurgency leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, there are fears that home-grown militancy apeing al-Qaida could grow without effective action to tackle poverty, unemployment and exclusion.The Muslim Brotherhood presented its own "comprehensive national reform" plan last month, calling for increased political pluralism and enhanced powers for parliament. But Bedouin conservatives, a key royal constituency, are wary of the democratic liberalisation that the US wants for Jordan and other Arab states. Jordan's pro-western establishment and business elites favour IMF-guided market reforms. But they too fear the rising power of non-violent, politicised Islam.
The king's efforts were in trouble long before November 9, said Professor Marc Lynch in the Carnegie Arab Reform Bulletin. "
After six years in power, King Abdullah had little to show for his frequent speeches about reform. His tenure had been characterised by a steady decline in freedoms ... Opinion polls reveal widespread alienation, with 80% in one survey [saying] they did not feel safe criticising the government in public," he said.
That made action on the national agenda even more important now, said the independent International Crisis Group last week. "To minimise the risk of future terror attacks that feed on simmering public dissatisfaction, Jordan should implement long-promised political reforms ... The regime should drive a wedge between jihadi and non-jihadi Islamists by promoting a tolerant vision of Islam," it said.
"
The public's lack of representation and shortage of economic opportunities has fed a romanticised notion of jihad," said the ICG's Robert Malley. "
The November attacks are a preview of what's to come unless the government gets serious about reform."
While King Abdullah appears to understand all this, internal resistance remains formidable, and may have stiffened since the bombings. And the potential of supra-national threats to discourage real change was dramatically illustrated during a weekend trial of al-Qaida suspects in Amman.
"Terrorism is a badge of honour on our chests until Judgment Day," one of the defendants shouted. "
We're pursuing jihad until we uproot you, exterminate your state, until the rule of the king vanishes ... Allah is our Lord. You have none. America is your God."
