Democratic Palestine : 37 (ص 23)
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- Democratic Palestine : 37 (ص 23)
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describing the genuineness of these
changes; nor should we consider the
long, bitter experience of the past as
the only criterion for evaluating these
developments. In this discussion, no
one has a monopoly on the absolute
truth. These developments are still
new, and there must be an intensive
and profound debate so that the vari-
ous nationalist forces can crystallize a
sound view for themselves and for the
masses.
Limits of the democratic margin
An unprecedented margin of demo-
cracy has been achieved in Jordan. It
has affected almost all aspects of life in
a relatively deep way. It has
threatened, in many cases, the abso-
lute dominance of the _ executive
authority in general and the intelli-
gence service in particular. It is impos-
sible to note all the particulars which
have resulted from the revival of
democratic life in Jordan. Here we will
refer to the most important decisions
and measures:
1. The various political and social
forces and trends agree that the par-
liamentary elections were honest,
despite the fallacy of the 1986 election
law on which they were based.
(Among other faults, this law is secta-
rian, stipulating representation by
minority or religious groups; the
number of deputies elected from each
region is not proportional to the popu-
lation of that region.)
2. Many representatives of the
nationalist and democratic forces, as
well as other opponents of the regime,
won the people’s confidence and were
elected to parliament, despite the ban
on political parties other than the Mus-
lim Brotherhood.
3. The release of all political
detainees, i.e., those who had not
been brought to trial, the return of
confiscated passports; and the govern-
ment’s recognition of the citizens’ free-
dom of movement.
4. The extensive and bold discussion
of the cabinet’s statement when it was
presented to the parliament by Prime
Minister Mudar Badran. The govern-
ment won the parliament’s confidence
Democratic Palestine, February 1990
only after declaring the suspension of
martial law, and promising to abolish it
completely within four to six months,
as well as to reconsider the 1935
defense law and the release of all polit-
ical prisoners.
5. Overturning the decision of the
martial courts to dissolve the elected
administrative boards of three Jorda-
nian newspapers (Al Rai, Al Destour
and Sawt Al Shaab).
6. Abrogation of the martial court
decision to dissolve the Jordanian
Writers’ League.
7. Stripping the martial courts of
their authority to rule on the validity
of many laws, such as the anti-com-
munism law and the law on affiliation
to banned parties; the cases related to
such laws will be heard in civil courts.
The anti-communism law was_ sub-
sequently repealed.
8. Establishing an investigation com-
mittee to examine the reasons for the
economic crisis and punish those
responsible. (However, there has been
no change in the economic policy.)
These are the main features of the
new democratic life in Jordan, from
the November 8th parliamentary elec-
tions till the discussion of the cabinet’s
statement in early January. These
democratic measures indicate that Jor-
dan is entering a period of democracy,
especially as compared to the previous
situation, or to the status quo in much
of the third world and the Arab world
in particular. A significant margin of
democracy has been achieved. It will,
however, remain narrow as long as the
ban remains on political parties and
freedom of the press; the martial and
emergency laws are not _ totally
repealed; all political prisoners are not
released; and the required measures
have not been taken to facilitate the
return of thousands of exiled Jordanian
citizens. One must also bear in mind
that the democratization process thus
far has relied on an election law that is
both unfair and insufficient. The elec-
tions were held under the shadow of
martial law and the total ban on polit-
ical parties. This deprived the political
forces, save for the Muslim Brother-
hood, of their right to field their can-
didates openly. These deficiencies raise
doubts not only about the motivation
for the democratic measures, but also
about their future, and the seriousness
of the Jordanian authorities’ expressed
intention to continue this process.
Motives and background
A scrupulous examination of the
political and economic conditions pre-
vailing in or affecting Jordan in the last
few years, reveals five main factors
which led to the current situation:
First: The intifada in the occupied
territories, which tangibly reasserted
the Palestinian quest for indepen-
dence, and, on the other hand, the
growing Likud extremism. The King’s
decision to sever ties with the Palesti-
nian West Bank signified a retreat for
the so-called Jordanian option for
resolving the Palestinian question. At
the same time, this step revealed King
Hussein’s fears of the growing
extremist tendency in the Likud, which
claims that Jordan is the proper site
for any future Palestinian state. The
king tried to counteract this claim with
a series of «Jordanization» measures
after severing ties with the West Bank.
The parliamentary elections were part
of the monarch’s efforts to block the
Likud plan for resettling the Palesti-
nians in Jordan.
Second: The Jordanian national
movement also played a role. Though
this movement was not able to really
threaten the regime, its militants kept
the issue of democracy alive and
exposed the reactionary policy of the
monarchy, internally and vis-a-vis the
Arab-Zionist conflict.
Third: Jordan’s economic crisis wor-
sened, with foreign debts reaching
about ten billion dollars. At the same
time, there was a near cut-off of Arab
financial aid to Jordan, due to the US-
Arab reactionary opposition to the
king’s severing ties with the West
Bank. Thus, Hussein was left alone to
face the crisis. He therefore began to
reorganize the internal front, hoping to
draw the political opposition into the
battle to resolve the crisis.
Fourth: The unprecedented mass
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