ammonnews.net

By Madeleine Mezagopian

The Arab World, including Jordan, this week lived the memory of far past, past and recent sacrifices. The resurrection of Jesus the Christ was remembered and celebrated after Christians bid farewell to fifty days of fasting, praying and charity and received Easter while joining all mothers in Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Egypt in their mourning for their loss of loved ones praying the precious tears of these mothers will purify and contribute in the salvation of their nations and lands.

Further, this week coincided with the Day of Remembrance of the Martyrs. May 6, 1916 was the day Arab intellectuals were persecuted and executed by the Ottoman Ruler Jamal Basha, executions perceived by the Israeli scholar John Katz as the weapon of those who tried to prevent free discussion hence urging the necessity for this tragedy to be remembered by all.

Today, the elimination of intellectuals continues and history repeats itself with the ongoing assassination of Syrian intellectuals, including religious figures both Muslim and Christian, by extremists supported and fueled by external actors.

However in a time of highly advanced and expanded information technology when human rights abuse, especially the explicit ones even in the most isolated small village, does not enjoy immunity of exposure. Physical annihilation of those advocating and practicing freedom of expression has been replaced with termination and exclusion through character annihilation within attempts to silence the voice of truth in countries including some of those striving to enhance democratization. Jordan is not an exception.

Commending Jordan's adopted political reforms towards consolidating democracy did and still features many statements of foreign officials foremost during King's recent visit to the United States. During the vote of confidence process in the government in the House of Deputies and amid glorification and annihilation of characters, Jordanian women continue to represent a source of pride not least through the performance of some female deputies who, equipped with intellectual, shrewd, concise an indicative arguments, voted against confidence in the government instigating the issue of whether Jordanian women need to be empowered by external and local actors or just be given adequate space and equal opportunities to best invest their roles. Whereas others invest their roles through self-glorification which continue to mark the statements of Jordan's Prime Minister who keeps reminding the Jordanians his being competent, qualified and honest while glorification of the Monarch incessantly preludes the talk of the Foreign Minister undermining the efforts of the Monarch towards enhancing his image as a modern democratic Monarch keen to consolidate democracy.

Key imperatives to consolidate democracy are the eradication of corruption and safeguarding freedom of expression. Exposition of corruption cases and persecution of the corrupted have been initiated in Jordan for some time now and some newspapers and electronic media enhance the image of Jordan as a hub for freedom of expression best represented by Ammon News and Arab Alyawm newspaper, inter alia.

However some desperate influential figures attempt to reverse the process of exposing the corrupt through persecuting and defaming those who witnessed the corruption and invested their resources especially through the written media to share the Jordanians with the revelations on how national resources were abused and laws were bended.

Manipulation of legal institutions and of influential circles and character annihilation, especially targeting devout Jordanians keen to reveal the truth, within attempts to silence the voice of truth will eventually damage and negatively impact the sincere intentions and efforts of Jordan and its leadership towards strengthening democracy, human rights not least freedom of expression and uproot corruption.


* Madeleine Mezagopian is an Academic Researcher, Adviser and Analyst on Conflict Resolution/Peace and Socioeconomic and Political Development. She contributed this article to Ammon News English.