Democratic Palestine : 38 (ص 24)
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- Democratic Palestine : 38 (ص 24)
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time with the issue of Soviet Jewish immigration to Pales-
tine. Naturally, I and all the other MP’s dropped the discus-
sion about the former and invested the allotted time to dis-
cuss the latter.
How would you describe the coordination among
the nationalist forces within the parliament?
There is full cooperation among us on the major issues,
such as democratic freedoms, economic issues and the Pales-
tinian uprising. We disagree sometimes on minor issues, but
only when these are raised suddenly. Obviously, during a
session, we don’t have time to coordinate before we’re given
the chance to speak. We have resolved this problem recently
by sitting next to each other; we have also agreed that we
will adopt the viewpoint of those of us who know the most
about the topic. However, there should be even better coor-
dination among the democratic forces. We must be more
active and take initiative within the parliament.
What is the role of the Islamic forces in the par-
liament? Do you feel they’re an obstacle to the
democratic process?
So far we haven’t disagreed with the Islamic forces on
any of the issues discussed. Of course we expect points of
disagreement in the future, but currently we’re working
toward better cooperation in the interest of democracy and
the country. We’re not looking for a confrontation and even
if we run into problems, we want to try to contain them.
There have been statements by Jordanian offi-
cials about drawing up a charter for reorganizing
political activities in Jordan. The king spoke
about a charter to define Jordan’s political,
economic and social policy. What is this charter
and how is it related to the constitution which
can now function after the suspension of martial
law?
We have neither seen anything in writing about this
charter, nor officially heard anything about it. They just say
that it will not be an alternative to the constitution. Unless
this charter is an appendix or further defines the constitu-
tion, we will strongly reject it. Some officials stated that the
purpose of the charter is to organize party-political work in
Jordan, but this is only one point of view. Meanwhile, the
parliament is ignoring this issue until it is officially proposed
for discussion in the parliament. As far as holding a popular
referendum on the charter, as some have suggested, I
believe that the parliament represents the people and there-
fore it should have a major role in approving or disapprov-
ing the charter.
Do you believe that the government will fulfill its
promise in regards to the abolition of martial law
within six months, since this was the condition on
which the parliament passed a motion of confi-
dence in the government?
24
WI
Inevitably, the government will, or else it should be
ready for a fierce battle. Recently, the government
abolished the anti-communism law, and I believe that it will
not hesitate in the next stage to abolish martial law.
How did the democratic process reflect itself vis-
a-vis the Palestinian uprising?
At the parliamentary level, during the first session, the
democratic forces put forth a proposal to discuss means of
supporting the uprising. Currently we are working to com-
plete the process of forming popular committees for this
purpose in every district. We are pressuring the government
to open the Jordanian market to the the products of the
West Bank and Gaza Strip, and to facilitate exporting their
goods to the outside world through Jordan. Some positive
measures have been taken to deal with the residents of the
West Bank in Jordan, who were treated badly after ties
were severed with the West Bank. Moreover, there were
dozens of marches and forums that were held to commemo-
rate the second anniversary of the uprising.
What has the parliament done in regard to the
immigration of the Soviet Jews to Palestine?
Recently, the parliament decided to devote one of its
sessions to discussing this threat and how to confront it. This
means that the parliament should not only think of its polit-
ical role regarding this issue but also of changing Jordan’s
strategy regarding the defense and building of the national
economy, etc. The parliament also sent letters of appeal to
the Soviet leadership, the US administration and the Arab
regimes.
How do you view future relations between the
Palestinian organizations and the regime in Jor-
dan?
In my view, the reasons for the historical conflict with
the regime no longer exist - mainly the issue of representa-
tion (of the Palestinians). Other problems will not be solved
through alienation and enmity. Dialogue is necessary and
possible, now that the main problem has been resolved. @
Mubarak Caters to Israel
Recently, the Egyptian authorities handed over 10
Palestinian captives to the Israeli authorities. These 10 per-
sons, whose names were not released, were allegedly in-
volved in the attack on the Israeli bus near Ismailia on Feb-
ruary 5th. This act occurred on Egyptian soil. Logically, if
the Egyptian government considers it a crime, the 10 should
have been charged and tried in Egyptian courts. Instead,
they were simply handed over to Israel, despite its record of
torture, arbitrary detention and lack of due process for
Palestinians. The action of the Egyptian government flies in
the face of all judicial logic, not to mention Mubarak’s much
proclaimed support for the Palestinian cause. One can only
surmise this occurred as the result of a political decision
aimed to cultivate favor with Israel and the US.
Democratic Palestine, March-April 1990 - هو جزء من
- Democratic Palestine : 38
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- أبريل ١٩٩٠
- المنشئ
- الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين
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