Jordan Times
Sunday, March 14, 2004
'Gov't improving camp conditions'
AMMAN (Petra) — Prime Minister Faisal Fayez on Saturday said Jordan does not view the assistance it has provided Palestinian displaced persons and refugees over the last 50 years as a favour, but rather as an obligation to provide these Palestinians with means of sustenance until they decide whether to return to Palestine.During a visit to Wihdat refugee camp in south Amman to meet with the camp's services committee, the premier said the government is working on improving living conditions in the camps. He said the plan is “not for resettlement purposes” but is meant to provide a sound living environment with appropriate health, social and economic services to buoy the residents' perseverance and faith.
“I do not think any of us has forgotten Palestine: It is in the heart of every Jordanian as it is in the heart of every Palestinian. But let us be frank and transparent: It is our concern that each individual in this country gives to Jordan the same as he gives to Palestine...”
The premier said the Kingdom is working to guarantee the refugees the right to return and compensation, stressing that any attempt to exclude Jordan from any solution to the refugee issue would fail.
“We look at the matter as part of Jordan's higher national interests,” he told the camp services committee, stressing that there is no contradiction between loyalty to Jordan and faith in the Palestinian cause. He said there is only one identity in Jordan.
The premier reiterated Jordan's rejection of any plan to transfer Palestinians from their lands and to resettle them in Jordan.
On the issue of Gaza Strip refugees living in Jordan, the prime minister said the government would facilitate their residing in the Kingdom without permanent residence status or naturalisation.
Speakers at yesterday's meeting included Lower House deputies representing the camp area. They expressed support for the premier's call for enhancing national unity.
Deputy Tayseer Fityani requested that the members of the services committee at the camps be chosen by the camp residents. Other deputies asked that the budget allocated to the Palestinian Affairs Department be augmented.
Minister of Finance Mohammad Abu Hammour replied saying the government has already increased the department's allocations by 6.4 per cent this year to facilitate the implementation of projects and services designated for the areas.
For his part, Palestinian Affairs Department Director Abdul Karim Abul Heija reviewed projects implemented by the agency in Jordan's 13 refugee camps. He said that so far, 10 of these camps have benefited from a JD30 million plan to improve their infrastructures.
He stressed that camp residents receive the same quality services offered to citizens around the country, except that they live in relatively limited spaces. This is inevitable, he said, because the current borders of camps should be preserved in order to “serve the purposes of the [Palestinian] cause.”
He noted that only 18 per cent of UNRWA registered refugees in Jordan live in the camps. Out of the total number of Palestinian refugees registered in the five regional areas where UNRWA operates — Syria, Lebanon, West Bank, Gaza Strip and Jordan — 42 per cent live in the Kingdom.
Also Saturday, Fayez met with members of Jordan Children's Parliament, which is one of the programmes implemented by the Jordanian Women's Union to promote democratic practices in the community.
The premier reviewed issues of democracy and political development, among other topics of national concern. He also responded to questions raised by the children on these issues.
The parliament consists of 120 seats split evenly between girls and boys.