Democratic Palestine : 45 (ص 23)
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- Democratic Palestine : 45 (ص 23)
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Amman demonstration for cancellation of death sentences in Kuwait
labor, health, youth, and trade, industry and supply. Among
the independents in the new cabinet, there are several other
progressive nationalists, while the rest of the ministers are
liberal in tendency, among them some notably pro—US
personages. The changed composition of the cabinet was
described as «tantamount to a coup d’etat in Jordanian
contemporary politics» by some observers, while others noted:
«The political elements in the Masri government are
pro — establishment liberals with a heavy twist of pan— Arab
and leftist trends, in comparison to the last Badran government
which was pro-—establishment with a noted presence of
conservatives and Muslim fundamentalists» (Jordan Times,
June 20 — 21st).
There are several reasons why Jordan’s political
establishment opted for this type of government at this stage.
Taher Masri is the first Palestinian ever to serve as Jordan’s
prime minister and he has close relations with the PLO
leadership. Many took his appointment as a sign that the
regime is preparing the groundwork for a_ joint
Jordanian— Palestinian delegation in order to enter
negotiations with Israel.
Related to the internal scene, the new government’s
composition is a clear sign that the regime has reinforced its
conviction that continuing the democratization process is key
in developing the country. In his letter of designation to Masri,
King Hussein listed national unity as the first of a number of
principles on which Jordan’s strength and progress must be
based. This letter normally sets out priorities for the
government; in it the king termed democracy «one of the most
important pillars of national security» — a clear departure
from the state’s former reliance on the intelligence services to
preserve the status quo.
The stress on modern development, democracy and unity
explains why the Muslim Brotherhood was excluded from
government in this round. While failing to launch any
forward — thinking policies in the ministries they controlled,
such as agriculture, the Brotherhood also fomented social
division.
On June 12th, just before Badran’s government resigned,
5,000 parents and educators presented him with a petition
protesting the policies of Education Minister Akaileh of the
Brotherhood, who had decreed that fathers could not attend
certain of their daughters’ activities at school, nor mothers visit
their sons’ schools. Other acts which the petitioners were
protesting included: the dismissal of 14 ministry officials,
Democratic Palestine, August 1991
attempts to ban certain books and coeducation, limiting the
freedom of schools to close on Christian holidays and sabotage
of Jordan’s educational reform plan. The parents and
educators raised the banner of the right to choose, which is
more in line with the establishment’s new bent towards
development and social peace, via democracy, than are the
Brotherhood’s restrictive and reactionary ideas.
In his letter of designation to Masri, King Hussein also
introduced two concepts which should give the progressive
forces an Official point of departure in connecting
democratization to social justice. Among the government’s top
priorities he listed «correcting the internal and external
imbalances in our economy» and «achieving a fair distribution
of national income between all segments of society ...»
Moreover, the king’s stress on the Palestinian cause not only as
a foreign policy issue, but among the principles for developing
the society in Jordan, continued the trend of the National
Charter to equalize between all citizens of the country, be they
of Palestinian or Jordanian origin. This reflects the fact that
the establishment in Jordan has finally come to terms,
politically speaking, with the fact that the Palestinian
community in Jordan represents a dynamic social and
economic force which is needed for the country’s future
development. Thus, the PLO and all Palestinian
revolutionaries are presented with the challenge of
simultaneously participating in the democratization process
and defending the Palestinian cause as that of a people with
special interests due to their dispossession from their
homeland.
On another level, the inclusion of JANDA in the new
cabinet can also be viewed as a political challenge, or even a
trap. In the current situation, the Jordanian regime needs the
left and nationalist forces as a legitimizer of its policies and to
evolve genuine national unity. Moreover, the chief concern in
Jordan is the economic crisis, which virtually all admit to be
irresolvable even if the government truly seeks a solution. On
the one hand, the progressive forces have gained an
unprecedented platform for addressing the people and
influencing policy. On the other, if they fail to mount any
constructive initiatives from their new posts, their mass
following will suffer and they can easily be put aside in the
future if the establishment finds their presence in government
inconvenient. These apparently domestic issues also intersect
with Jordan’s relations to the rest of the world, where many of
Jordan’s old allies among Arab reaction and capitalist
countries are surely not overjoyed by the new cabinet.
However, the present situation, where Jordan is being treated
with arrogant hostility by the US, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait,
mitigates for continued democratization, independent decision
— making, social cohesion and close Palestinian — Jordanian
relations.
Making democracy a material reality
On this background, it is interesting to note the progressive
parties’ answers about how they plan to work in the wake of the
adoption of the National Charter.
Abdel Rahman Al Majali explained that the JCP embarked
on a review of some of its ideological and organizational
positions some time ago. «This process is closely connected
with international developments and especially the changes
that swept the socialist camp and the Soviet Union. Our review
is also based on the democratic, political changes in Jordan and
our preparations to transform the party from underground to
public existence. These realities have nothing to do with the
charter as such, which is a general framework for life in Jordan
with its various trends; it does not intervene in political groups’ >
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- Democratic Palestine : 45
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