Ammon News - AMMONNEWS – A group of independent national figures issued a statement on Satuday warning of that the current trends in Jordan and practices of previous governments pose a grave danger to the Hashemite kingdom.
The statement was issued following a meeting held at Faris Thaher Al Fayez's residence, in which the national figures discussed national hot topics and addressed the statement to King Abdullah II
"People without freedom are a people without an identity, and a people with freedom and justice are a people without dignity. Political reform is now an urgent matter that cannot be delayed, holding the corrupt and thieves accountable and freezing their assets, prohibiting them from traveling are all part and parcel of political reform."
"What took place in Tunisia and and Egypt only the free may understand, and whoever does not comprehend it, let them enjoy their state of enslavement. We pray for the souls of the martyrs in Tunisia and Egypt, those who died as a result of oppression and corruption. We also pray for the souls of Jordan's martyrs, who died as a result of torture and oppression. We support the liberation of Arab peoples and all forms of peaceful resistance against oppression, corruption, slavery, and stubbornness throughout the Arab world."
The statement stressed that there is no alternative to democratic alternation of power, releasing public freedoms, true political reform, a cease of oppression, and announcing public pardon "because the Jordanian people seeks - before security and livelihood - freedom, dignity, democracy, justice, equal opportunities, human rights, a cease on corruption, oppression and stubbornness and retribution to all who have been wronged by way of oppression, imprisonment, and torture."
"If poverty humiliates people, then hunger drives them and pressure leads them to explode. Consensus creates miracles but division destroys achievements. We place in the hands of His Majesty the King an honest, frank, and open advice by calling a spade a spade, this statement is from people of this nation who care for its well being and who are not associated with any personal or foreign agenda. Their concern is their nation and people, the security of the country and the people."
The statement said that the signatories reject the method and standards of appointing governments.
"What Jordan is going through in terms of particular historic, sudden, and radical changes, are the result of accumulation of policies that have been practiced for long by Arab regimes against the Arab peoples including corruption, obstinacy, tyranny, injustice and oppression, torture and insult to personal and national dignity, silencing and plundering of national resources and capabilities of its people."
The statement added that in light of such policies in Jordan, the kingdom will sooner or later be faced by the same "flood of Tunisia and Egypt." "A look into what happened in Tunisia and Egypt reveals that suppression of freedom and movement, looting of national funds, and interference of Leila Trabelsi and Suzanne Mubarak in power, corruption, and their sponsorship of such policies and insult to dignity is the main engine along with other engines that ignited the people."
The statement blasted that similar practices are evident in Jordan in that certain figures and power centers are plundering the country and people and spread division between members of the one Jordanian people. "Such figures build centers of power to their advantage in a manner that contradicts what Jordanians and the hashemites have agreed upon in the principles of governance, and which constitute a threat to the nation, the structure of the kingdom, the political system, and the institution of the throne. We reject the misappropriation of aid and the people's money to improve their image abroad at the expense of the country and the people."
Signatories on the statement stressed that after deliberating on current developments and in light of the dangerous and imminent conditions facing Jordan, "which may be ignited as they did in Egypt and Tunisia without prior warning and afar from the ability of international intelligence agencies' expectations," they address the advice to the people and the king that "if reform proposals are not fulfilled, and the contents of this statement are not considered, then what happened in Tunisia and Egypt, and what will happen in other Arab countries, will occur here."
"The communications revolution, satellite channels, and internet have surpassed the ability of regimes and nations to rein in on networking, activism, demonstrations and exchange of information between mankind, supported by a sense of injustice, oppression, repression, and silencing of voices and freedom of the peoples, including the Jordanian people."
"The peoples are now the ones who are moving, where the movement of soldiers and tanks are useless, and the hands of people bare of money, weapons, and their empty stomachs that have been looted by corrupt regimes, are invincible in the face of the system's weapons, decisions, aircrafts and tanks, its hooliganism and the support of Zionism for it.. this is what we saw in Egypt and Tunisia and it is what will recur in other nations. The immunity enjoyed by His Majesty the king may not be extended. [...], in an effort to preserve the constitution and prestige of the nation and continuity of the monarchy."
The main points of the statements include 1) rejection of - and warning about - the systematic and programmed marginalization of the will of the Jordanian people and the looting of its wealth and funds. Disapproval of continuing to follow the policy of assigning governance positions and sovereignty, and leadership positions through inheritance of such positions. Rejection of measures to spread division between Jordanians, regardless of their origins. Rejection and warning about the policy of exclusion, marginalization, discrimination and deprivation of people from their basic rights. Demand for equal opportunities, freedom of expression. Rejection of bullying practices supported by foreign entities, and rejection of accusing nationalists of being agents or working with the Zionists. "It is this founded strength by foreign support which led to weakening the nation, the system, political parties, governments, and destroyed the people."
The statement warned against the schemes to make Jordan susceptible to the Mossad, Zionists, Freemasons, the corrupt and agents. "We reject the policy of combining power and money, it is either governance or business. We refuse to bow down to the World Bank, its conditions, programs, and approach of Zionnist colonial globalization."
2) The statement stressed that the make-up of Jordan is not an historic or geographic accident, and not the childbirth of Sykes-Picot agreement, referencing that Jordanian tribes accepted the principality of Prince Abdullah I and granted him and the Hashemites legitimacy to govern the land, under the principles of equal participation, not to be governed by others for them "by the hands of corrupt oppressors."
"It is the political system's measures to cast us aside and marginalize us, and patronizing the bands of corrupt groups.. is what caused the agreement between the two parties to be afflicted by disorder, defect, and color blindness."
3) The statement expressed "condemnation and rejection that the political system in Jordan is surrounded by groups of business and strategic partners, the corrupt, plunderers, and exploitative figures.. at the expense of the agreement, contract, and trust between us and the Hashemites. Those have gathered excessive wealth from the blood and suffering of the people, and looted what is extended to Jordan of aid and foreign grants."
4) Rejection of the methodology of cultural and linguistic westernization, diffusion of national identity and overwhelming it with the movement of illegitimate and questionable naturalization that serves Zionist aims, selling of national institutions, and absence of truthful information: "Where have these funds gone and who looted them?" Rejection of the policies that encourage indecency, widespread of hundreds of nightclubs..... rejection of favoring foreign languages at the expense of the Arabic language in correspondences, speeches and conferences. Rejection of excessive splendor of personal birthday parties at the expense of the national treasury and the poor, the excessive unnecessary and expensive travels at the expense of the treasury. We demand accountability and monitoring of all expenses.
5) We believe that Jordan is suffering from a crisis of governance and a crisis of governments at once, a crisis of corruption and corruptibility, a crisis of failure, oppression, and national character assassination, oppression, torture, accusations and forging of the people's will, a crisis of abhorrent class struggle that is the making of the political system, a crisis of creating divisions between components of society, a crisis of depriving the people of its rights, plurality and duality of conflicting points of reference in the institution of the monarchy, each with its people, programs, goals, and power centers that violate the constitution, a crisis of looting the capabilities of the nation and its people at the expense of the hungry, the widows, and orphans of Jordanian cities, villages, Badia and refugee camps. A Crisis of the rising national debt, which has reached astronomical numbers at a cosmic speed, reaching nearly JD 16 billion after it was only JD 6 billion in 1999, a matter that requires investigation and transparency of the fate of the nation and people's funds.
6) Demand for a general amnesty (pardon), formulation of a new and modern election law in consultation with all the political Jordanian forces, release of press freedoms, and freedoms of expression and national criticism, forming a national salvation government of national figures known for their integrity and courage, dissolving the Upper and Lower house of Parliament and the ministerial cabinet, conducting fair and transparent elections under judicial supervision, allowing all currents to run for elections, ceasing the policy of character assassination of Jordanian national and integrate figures. The statement stressed that the Jordanian tribes are the center of balance and security in the country. It rejected the marginalization of Jordanian armed forces, in favor of security and gendarmerie forces, noting that the increased numbers of gendarmerie forces, as was the multitudes of army forces in Tunisia and Egypt have not stopped the revolution there.
7) Calling on King Abdullah to order the return of the treasury's lands from a personal family back to the national treasury, rejecting the sale of lands to non-Jordanians, companies, and questionable entities and agencies, and calling for public announcement and exposing of the exchange of lands and citizenship, repealing such sales, rejecting privatization, and so-called strategic partners, freezing forced displacement of Palestinians from Jerusalem and occupied Palestinian territories in the pretext of citizenship and humanitarianism, ceasing naturalization of Iraqis under the pretext of investment, launching a criminal investigation into transactions given to sell passports from 1999 until 2011. Calling for a complete cease on torture in prisons, jails, and detention centers in Jordan - which is still going on in full swing - and making such centers accessible to Human Rights organizations at any time.
8) The statement expressed support to the economic statement issued by the Military Veterans, calling for opening inquiries in these corruption and embezzlement files. Demanding open debate, access to media and debate of the government, Prime Minister, and spokespersons. Demand of thorough explanation of expenditure of US and European grants and aid.. Demand of what was practiced by Jordan Dubai Capital Corporation, the loss of Aqaba, Potash, Phosphates and Uranium resources, burying of nuclear waste in the country, sale of Dead Sea lands, the Dead Sea Casino deal scandal, rigging of 2007 parliamentary and municipality elections, torture and imprisonment of the innocent.
9) Categorical rejection of privatization and sale of public property, holding all those who looted public funds accountable, "no one may be granted immunity regardless of their status or rank." Demand investigation of indebtedness, "what happened to our money and who looted it." A thorough and public investigation into corruption.
The statement concluded with a demand for real dignity, freedom, justice, human rights, equality, freedom of expression, democracy and equal opportunities. The signatories rejected any restrictions on criticism, that no one is immune from accountability, "real political reform, not just consumable public rhetoric." And finally demanded a cease on patronizing the figures of the Oslo Agreement, and proponents of the "Alternative Homeland" scheme, but rather opening a dialogue with nationalist Palestinians and Palestinian resistance, represented by Hamas.
* Edited by Banan Malkawi from the original statement in Arabic
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