Jordan Times
Thursday, May 26, 2005
Jordan celebrates
Independence Day
By Mohammad Ghazal
AMMAN — Their Majesties King Abdullah and Queen Rania attended a ceremony
marking the Kingdom's 59th Independence Day on Wednesday.
The country won its full independence on May 25, 1946 following the end of the
British mandate.
Several Royal family members, diplomats, ministers, senior officials and army
officers attended yesterday's ceremony, hosted by Prime Minister Adnan Badran
and his wife at the Palace of Culture.
In his address at the ceremony, Badran emphasised that citizens were the target
of development programmes, saying the government would always embrace dialogue
as its primary approach to resolving issues.
The premier also called for activating a true partnership with society to tap
into Jordan's full potential, making the country and its citizens role models
for others to follow.
“The type of reform we are seeking will preserve the national and cultural
identity of the country and entrench pluralism, equality and respect for the
law,” Badran told the guests.
He reiterated the government's support for the Steering Committee for the
National Agenda, which is tasked with setting guidelines for the Kingdom's
development for the next 10 years. It groups a former prime minister, incumbent
and former ministers, leading MPs, politicians, academics and businesspeople.
The premier said the government would follow and build on the efforts of the
previous government, in line with King Abdullah's directives and the national
interest.
Addressing the audience yesterday, Senate President Zeid Rifai reviewed
landmarks in the Kingdom's progress since independence.
Acting Lower House Speaker Mamdouh Abbadi addressed the King in his speech,
saying MPs were “delighted” by the King's recent statements, in which he said
dissolving Parliament was “out of the question.”
The King told the London-based Arabic daily Al Hayat, that dissolving Parliament
would not “solve the present crisis between deputies and the government.”
The Monarch was referring to a petition signed by 48 MPs, objecting to the
government's formation, particularly its economic team, and threatening to
withhold the vote of confidence.
“I respect the position of the House and value the wisdom and stand of the prime
minister [Adnan Badran],” the King told Al Hayat Editor-in-Chief Ghassan Sharbel
earlier this month.
“The government and Parliament should deal with any problem through dialogue and
democratic means. Our democracy absorbs all opinions.”
The King's statements, Abbadi said, indicate his support for the Parliament and
should enhance the relationship between the legislative and executive branches
of government.
Focusing on the reforms under way in the Kingdom, the deputy said such change
was an “inherent need in the community,” which is always developing, but that
the nation's religious and national constants should be left intact.
Meanwhile, King Abdullah received cables of good wishes from several Arab and
foreign heads of state on the occasion.