Jordan Times
Monday, January 26, 1998
Jordan may release Iraqi prisoners in return for
Baghdad's move - Majali
By Hind-Lara Mango
AMMAN - Prime Minister Abdul Salam Majali said on Sunday that the
government might consider the release of Iraqi prisoners held in
local jails after Baghdad's decision last week to free 92
Jordanian prisoners and detainees. In a wide ranging interview
with the Jordan Times, the prime minister ruled out a reshuffle
of his 10-month-old Cabinet.
"The issue of a [Cabinet] reshuffle or change is under His
Majesty's jurisdiction," Dr. Majali said. "... So far,
there is nothing about a reshuffle."
Official sources have said that Dr. Majali, who took over in
March while Parliament was in recess, was widely expected to
reshuffle his 24-member Cabinet in the coming days after the 1998
budget was recently endorsed by the Upper and Lower Houses of
Parliament.
Some said they believed that Dr. Majali, Jordan's former chief
peace negotiator, will remove at least 10 ministers in the
reshuffle - expected sometime after the end of the Eid Al Fitr
feast. The feast ends on Sunday.
Al Arab Al Yawm daily on Sunday alluded that Senate Speaker Zeid
Rifai, a former prime minister, was holding consultations to form
a new government. But sources close to Mr. Rifai denied the
speculation.
Dr. Majali has already won a vote of confidence from the Lower
House, elected in the Nov. 4 ballot that was boycotted by the
influential Islamic Action Front Party.
Dr. Majali said during the interview that the government had not
yet completed preparations to introduce three main laws
regulating future elections, professional associations and
political parties to help modernise Jordan's political drive.
King Hussein promised the new legislations to regulate all
aspects of political life when he inaugurated the first
parliamentary sesssion after the elections.
Dr. Majali said that a high-level government committee had been
appointed to draw lessons from the current elections law and
draft a new legislation "that will abolish the routine and
make the election process as easy as possible."
He said he opposed demands by women activists that the government
allocate 20 per cent of seats in the next parliament after
females were defeated in the November polls that produced an
all-male Lower House.
He said he opposed such a move because it would discriminate
between sexes and added that it was up to women to rally public
support to gain seats in the next chamber.
"Women and men are equal," therefore, they should be
elected on an equal basis, he said.
The current one-person, one-vote electoral system was highly
criticised by the opposition as promoting sectarianism and
tribalism, but the government used it for the November poll.
He also said Jordan's 80,000-strong professional associations
should focus on professional concerns instead of politics after
Jordan legalised political parties in 1992.
"Since we have political parties, then political issues
should be dealt with by these parties and not by the professional
associations," he said.
The unions, many of them dominated by Islamists, have been the
most prominent critics of Jordan's 1994 peace treaty with Israel.
Without a significant parliamentary opposition, they are expected
to become an even greater focus for dissent, politicians say.
Though the government has remained tight-lipped over changes to
the law regulating associations, Jordanian professionals object
to the idea of imposing voluntary membership rules in these
associations.
"We will be studying this very soon," Dr. Majali said
in response to a question on whether the government was
considering plans to release Iraqi prisoners and detainees held
in Jordanian jails. Officials have said there are 120 Iraqi
inmates and detainees in Jordanian jails.
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein last week freed 92 Jordanian
prisoners after a meeting with Leith Shbeilat, a leading
Jordanian opposition leader.
Dr. Majali said more Jordanian prisoners remained in Iraqi jails
as an initial list given to Jordan by Baghdad acknowledged Iraq
had 160 nationals in their prisons.
He slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu for showing
no flexibility on further redeployment from Palestinian areas
during talks in Washington last week with U.S. President Bill
Clinton.
"Security should not be put as a precondition to
peace," Dr. Majali said.
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, who also met with Mr.
Clinton on Jan. 22, dismissed Israel's offer for a West Bank
redeployment as "peanuts" but vowed to stay the course
and work to revive the peace process.
Palestinian officials have said Mr. Netanyahu told U.S. officials
he would be willing to pull back from two per cent of West Bank
territory in the first phase of the withdrawal. In return,
Palestinians have to promise steps to combat violence by
extremists.
Dr. Majali said he believed that Mr. Netanyahu will eventually
have to give in to a growing public opinion that favoured peace.
"I really think that... public opinion in Israel which
believes that peace has to be forthcoming and all agreements have
to be implemented, will make the present administration change
its mind."