Jordan National Movement

Jordan National Movement

Amman, Jordan 

http://www.jordannationalmovement.com

For Further Inf. Contact: Dr. Abdul Salam Al-Mualla, in the U.S. at 703-629-5427 

November 12, 2008 

Open Letter to Reporters Without Borders, Transparency International, Human Rights Watch and Freedom House Re: the Current State of Affairs in Jordan

Dear Sir/Madam,

We are writing you this letter to express our utmost concerns regarding the current state of affairs in Jordan. The Jordan National Movement (JNM) is witnessing unprecedented cases of massive corruption and lax management, press-monarchy conflict, ghastly threats toward opponents of the monarchy regime, a tangled and defunct economy, and endless abuse of people’s basic rights such as freedom of expression and human trafficking, abject poverty inflicted on the diminishing middle class and urban and rural working people. Please click on this link for evidence and information: http://www.jordannationalmovement.com/hrabuses.htm.

At the end of this year, the monarchy in Jordan will be marking 58 years of undemocratic monopoly of power. Its main concern has been to centralize politics and the economy and to pave the way for the strengthening the absolute executive power of the King. A tiny technocratic elite, working hand-in-hand with Gestapo-like security forces, has imposed an authoritarian vision on the whole of Jordan society. These one-man and narrow-minded policies have exposed Jordan to many fiascos in the economic, political and social arenas. For instance, the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) current reports on Jordan’s economy stated that the increase in foreign debt in Jordan exceeded 4 percent of its GDP. Recently, the World Bank ranked Jordan 104th as a safe and quality investment environment in the world. The exponential rise in national and foreign debts is staggering. The total debt currently stands at $11.2 billion. From December 2007 to May 2008 alone, the national debt increased by $1.8 billion. On July 30, 2008, Dr. Fahad Al-Fanek, the general manager of and a columnist for the state-run Jordanian daily Al-Rai, wrote “the inflation rate will be much more than the 8-9 percent range suggested by the Minster of Finance and the IMF’s experts…this poses a serious threat to the economic and social stability of the country.” Dr. Al-Fanek’s son-in-law, Maher Matalqah, is currently the Head of the Economic Department at the Royal Court. Matalqah is a trained Pharmacist!!!

King Abdullah II is deploying armed intelligence and security forces to terrorize the people of Jordan, particularly human rights activists and journalists. He established a new security force called al-Darak, and put its operation and authority in the hands of the corrupt Minister of Interior, Eid Al-Fayez. The King has increased the size of the General Intelligence Department (GID) and allowed this agency to put on its payroll several senior civilian judges, journalists and writers, diplomats, general secretaries of ministries and other senior governmental employees. For instance, the Attorney General of Amman, Marwan Salamah and Bisher Al-Rawashdah, General Secretary of the Ministry of Political Development, report to and receive directions from the GID. In return, such individuals are promised future promotions and receive monthly stipends from this department, known to many Jordanians as Al-Batikhi’s agency. This is in reference to Samih Al-Batikhi, the former GID Director, who was convicted on July 10, 2003 for embezzling $24 million and sentenced to four years in prison by a special court on charges ranging from involvement in fraud to abuse of power.

When the former Attorney General of Amman, Saber Al-Rawashdah (one of these listed agents), handed  down ready made judgment against Dr. Al-Abbadi, former MP and Chairman of the Jordan National Movement, he was quickly promoted to the General Controller of Companies, a senior position at the Ministry of Industry and Trade. New York-based Human Rights Watch issued another stunning report on rampant human rights abuses and inhuman torture in prisons managed and operated by King Abdullah II’s handpicked government. On October 17, 2008, Mohammad Al-Subaihi, an avid writer and columnist in daily and electronic newspapers in Jordan, said, “what is happening in prisons in Jordan is very far worse that what Human Rights Watch recently reported…these are things I cannot talk about in public…to keep the reputation of the country in the international community clean, we must listen to human rights activists, fix the problems, punish the violators and bring them before the civil court system (not the police court).”

The Hashemite monarch excludes organized opposition figures, activists, academics and professional people from decision-making and assuming high-level positions in the government and royal court. The king has surrounded himself by “yes men.” He has managed to ensure a link between selective and wealthy individuals in Jordanian society and the regime by an ideology of co-option.  These individuals form the society’s elite, bribed columnists in the press corps, and fat cats in the greedy business community. The sons and daughters of former prime ministers and ministers were brought into a close-knitted power circle along with senior security and military commanders. These closet advisers are now accused of corruption and human rights abuses. For instance, a company by the name Daoud and Partners, owned by relatives of Bassem Awadallah, the former Chief of the Royal Court (terminated by the king on September 30, 2008), is now accused of facilitating and supporting human trafficking in Jordan. The General Counsel for this company is Ayman Owdeh, the current appointed Justice Minister of Jordan. Awadallah reported to have ownership in this company, and is the one who recommended the appointment of Owdeh to this key ministerial position.

When King Abdullah II terminated Awadallah, he sent him a letter sated that “You (Awadallah) will always be worthy of my confidence, respect and appreciation and will always be close to us as you have always been. God bless you.” The king wished him the best as he leaves his post “for a period of rest or to move to another location of work and dedication”. This is exactly how the king rewards corruption in Jordan.

In Jordan, judges are going through very tough working conditions. Judge Ali Al-Nasan, former Chief of the Court of Cassation, the 2nd ranked court in the justice system, confirmed in June 1997 that “widespread interference by the executive authority (the king) in the judge’s rulings has been taking place since 1988….this has lead to several forms of unfairness and obstruction of justice…In fact, bribery, demotion, job security, appointment to a remote post are some of the threats judges have to face if they do not carry out ordered coming from above their heads…” In Jordan, Judges are appointed by the king and likewise are removed by him. Jordan’s former Chief Justice Fahed Abu Atham, retired on January 3, 1997 in protest, and other judges like Ahmmad al-Momani have confirmed Al-Nasan’s statements.

According to a report submitted by Mohammad Samed Al-Raqad, the former President of the Judicial Council (recently terminated by the king), to King Abdullah II, on Sunday, May 13, 2007, “the judicial system lacks administrative and financial independence.” The separation of the executive, legislative and judicial powers in Jordan does not exist. These branches are intertwined and subject to direct and constant interference by the king, intelligence community, secret police and influential members of the royal family and fat cats in the business community.

Another corruption case unfolded in Amman involves the Commissioner of Aqaba Portal Area, Husni Abu Ghada. Mr. Abu Ghada granted several contracts, worth millions of dollars, to an engineering office owned by his wife, to oversee the industrial park in the portal city of Aqaba and other major projects when he was the Minister of Public Works. Further, on September 21, 2008, the General Director of the State-run Radio and Television terminated Abdul Wahab Al-Tarawneh, a TV reporter, simply because he showed live videos of large quantities of expired and rotten food supplies stashed by business owners in their own warehouses in the capital Amman. These are only a few examples and instances of many corruption cases exploded under the dictatorial leadership of King Abdullah II.

With the repression of the press and the judiciary growing day after day, with the absence of any civil institution of social mobilization, with a bribed and rubber stamp Parliament, and with the added monopoly of radio and television at the behest of King Abdullah II, the morphology of the civil society, of which all the above institutions are crucial pillars, is taking a disturbing meaning. Employing a mix of corruption, bribery and outright coercion, King Abdullah II’s regime has suppressed civil society and the judiciary, which is rendering prostrate by a series of ouster clauses, retroactive and a growing wave of executive lawlessness. The civilian trial of Dr. Al-Abbadi, former MP and Chairman of the Jordan National Movement (JNM) is now taking a different spin: A few weeks ago, Judge Yahya Al-Zawahrah refused, under mounting official pressure from the Royal Court and the GID, to subpoena witnesses prepared by the defense team and turned down their repeated and perfectly legal requests to make statements before the court. In fact, the leading attorney of Dr. Al-Abbadi, Firas Al-Roosan, was prevented by the GID from appearing in court to defend his client. According to anonymous sources familiar with this case, Al-Roosan has received threats if he shows up in court.

Further, despite constant calls from national and international human rights organizations to free political prisoners on the eve of 2008 Eid (end of Ramadan), a traditional annual clemency, King Abdullah II decided to free drug dealers, criminals, bandits and thugs!

On Monday, November 10, 2008, King Abdullah II, the ultimate decision maker in the country, told chief editors of Jordanian daily newspapers, in a meeting held at Bab Al Urdun Palace, “in Jordan there will be no detention of any journalist for carrying out their duty.” This is hypocritical and misleading statement aimed to misinform and mislead worldwide human rights and press organizations as well as the international community. In March 2007, King Abdullah II ratified the Press and Publications law that abolishes imprisonment for journalists; however, he refused to amend the Penal Code which still allows and gives carte blanche to the unelected government (appointed by the king), Military Court and General Intelligence Department (GID) to jail and imprison journalists and human rights activists.

Despite repeated calls from domestic and international human rights organizations, political activists and opposition leaders, and disturbing economic reports from international and independent organizations, King Abdullah II refused to budge one inch from his failed political and economic policies. His unwavering approach of appointing crooks and criminals in senior governmental positions, the intelligence community and security forces, and the judicial system, and most importantly, refusing to amend the unjust Parliamentary and Municipality elections laws that have created and lead to lawlessness and chaos in Jordan, are all taking the country in the wrong direction.

We urge your respected organization to continue reporting on the deteriorating trends in this state and to be bold in your criticism of this dictatorial and thuggish regime that is lead and managed by the illustrious King Abdullah II of Jordan. The Jordan National Movement (JNM) will continue in its restless and relentless campaigns to expose the corrupt regime in Amman and uncover the truth about what is happening in the country right before the watching eyes of the international community.

Cc:

U.S. President-Elect Barrack Obama (via Chief of Staff)

French President, French Embassy, Amman, Jordan

British Prime Minister, Embassy of Britain, Amman, Jordan

Japanese Prime Minister, Embassy of Japan, Amman, Jordan

Russian President, Embassy of Russia, Amman, Jordan

Chinese President, Embassy of China, Amman, Jordan

Prime Minister of Canada, Canadian Embassy, Amman, Jordan

U.S. Dept. of State, Jordan Desk

U.S. Congress

European Union

United Nations

The International Federation of Journalists, Brussels, Belgium

European Federation of Journalists, Brussels, Belgium

Committee To Protect Journalists, New York, U.S.

The U.S. Press, the International Press, and the Arab & Arab-American Press

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