Jordan Times
Sunday, March 27, 2005
King reiterates Jordan in full control of borders
AMMAN (Petra) — His Majesty King Abdullah reiterated that Jordan was in full control of its borders with Iraq.
“Jordan has the most secure borders with Iraq. We
trained Iraqi police and army officers and provided the Iraqi government with
everything it asked from us,” King Abdullah said in an interview with the
London-based Al Hayat newspaper on Wednesday.
The King told Ragheda Dergham, the daily's New York bureau chief, that he was
surprised by the accusations against Jordan.
“They were baseless. I wondered about the reasons behind them and their timing,”
the Monarch said. “I still believe that the relations between the Jordanians and
the Iraqis are much stronger than that, but the accusations were made at a time
when we needed to stick together.”
The King explained that Jordan was deploying sustained efforts in coordination
with the Iraqi government to hunt rebels who are creating problems, like Abu
Mussab Zarqawi.
These efforts highlight the role of Jordan in securing Iraq's safest borders, he
said.
Following are main excerpts of the interview:
Dergham: Your Majesty, you did not attend the Arab summit. Was it a
boycott based on political reasons, or because you thought that Arab summits did
not worth the effort?
HM King Abdullah: No. We always believe that the summits should be held
and we were encouraged that the Arab League reform issue was very successful.
Our schedule was tight and we could not attend. We felt that foreign ministers
would be able to achieve progress on some issues, and I believe they achieved a
lot despite some negative reports about the summit.
Dergham: There was a misunderstanding that you would modify the Beirut
initiative, particularly that at a time when Israelis were expanding
settlements. Would you like to clear up the misunderstanding?
HM King Abdullah: Yes. I want to make it clear. It was not about
modification. It was to activate the Arab Peace Initiative in line with
agreements reached between [Israeli Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon and
[Palestinian President Mahmoud] Abbas in Sharm El Sheikh. The Beirut declaration
in 2002 was able to address the West and the Israelis, while at the same time
promote the Arabs' point of view that confirms our commitment towards achieving
a just, comprehensive and sustainable peace. Once again, I reiterate our
commitment to the roadmap, and there are new steps that, I believe, would be
clarified and underlined during next month when Sharon meets US President George
W. Bush.
Dergham: Your Majesty, is there anything new to add to this declaration
in particular? Is it related to rewording your message, which came out in the
form of a modification?
HM King Abdullah: I understand the issue and do not want to blame anyone.
I think the Jordanian participation was rash, but, again, it was not a
modification. It was just a clarification.
Dergham: You recently provoked a number of your neighbours, who expressed
their anger. Was it your fault?
HM King Abdullah: It is not like that. As you know, when we talked about
the issue of Iraq and Iran last December, we were looking at it from a mere
political perspective. There has always been a proposal, but not by us, of a
Hashemite option in Iraq and I have always been against it because I think that
only Iraqis should determine the future of Iraq. And as I am committed to this,
I expect other countries to do the same. At that time, some elements in Iran
were trying to interfere in Iraq's internal affairs, and I felt that we should
be committed to our stand.
But our stand was misinterpreted and some said that I took a stand against the
Shiites.
Dergham: Do you retract what you said?
HM King Abdullah: I will not. Actually, I would like to clarify that the
Shiite crescent issue was within a political framework. I believe that the
Shiites have the right to be a key component of what was going on in the Iraqi
society. The Shiites remarkably participated in the elections and they will be a
key part of the future Iraq.
Dergham: So, does that apply to Iran? There were anti-Jordan protests in
Iraq and demands that Arabs leave the country.
HM King Abdullah: They should not call for the departure of Arabs because
they are Arabs themselves, unless those who called for that were not Arabs.
Dergham: Another neighbour of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, was very angry at the
modifications to Beirut declaration. Did hear about this?
HM King Abdullah: I think that there was an issue between the Saudis and
the foreign minister and it was solved. And, again, there was a
misunderstanding.
Dergham: Then, what was the problem?
HM King Abdullah: I think that the foreign minister did not clearly
express himself to his Saudi counterpart.
Dergham: Do you mean your foreign minister?
HM King Abdullah: Yes, my foreign minister. Because when I visited Saudi
Arabia three or four weeks ago, we agreed on a strategy of the peace process,
and I was surprised that, for some reason, the issue, which created a negative
reaction to our brothers in Saudi Arabia, was not made clear.
Dergham: It seemed that your foreign minister created a misunderstanding
during the Arab summit. Would he be dismissed because of that?
HM King Abdullah: I attribute what happened to a misunderstanding, and I
will talk to him, but I know that his intentions were good... to support the
Palestinians in the peace process.
Dergham: You were quoted at a meeting with Jewish organisations in
Washington as saying that you allegedly told Bush and Sharon that they should
not blame the Palestinians for terror attacks, indicating that Hizbollah and
Syria should be blamed. What happened exactly?
HM King Abdullah: I was pleased with the clarification issued by one of
the organisations I met, stressing that such statements were false and baseless.
Unfortunately, they were attributed to me. The last time I met Sharon was in
Sharm El Sheikh, where we held talks on means to support Abbas and the
Palestinians.
Dergham: Are you worried that Hizbollah or Syria might carry out an
attack to blame the Palestinians?
HM King Abdullah: No. I do not so. We should understand that Hizbollah
has a clear role in Lebanon's politics — which should be understood by everyone.
As for UN Resolution 1559, I reiterate that we cannot be selective about
international resolutions.