Jordan Times
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Premier reviews draft
laws with political party members
By Mohammad Ben Hussein
AMMAN — Political party leaders said they were
cautiously optimistic about their meeting on Monday with Prime Minister Marouf
Bakhit, who reportedly promised to consider their demands on several issues
related to political reform.
Bakhit met yesterday with representatives of 11 opposition parties at the Prime
Ministry to explain the government’s position on several laws currently under
the spotlight.
Discussions focused on the anti-terrorism and political parties draft laws as
well as a future elections law, National Coalition for Political Parties
Spokesman Mohammad Oran told The Jordan Times yesterday.
During the meeting, Bakhit reiterated that the Political Parties Law is likely
to produce powerful parties and make the desirable change in partisan life and
eradicate the “culture of fear,” which previously prevented Jordanians from
joining political parties, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
Under the law, a new version of which is being drafted by the government,
political parties will enjoy the right to establish their own media outlets
without the need to obtain permission from authorities, the premier said.
Citing changes in this legislation vis-à-vis the existing law, he said the new
Political Parties Law would stipulate that the number of founders should be 250
at least, instead of 50 under the present law, while the minimum age for a
founding member will be reduced to 21 from 25 and the membership age will remain
18 years.
“We received several promises from the prime minister to review our comments on
the draft political parties and anti-terrorism laws,” Oran said.
Party leaders called on the government to “scrap” any clause on punishment from
the political parties draft law, arguing that the country’s Penal Code was
sufficient.
“We were surprised to see several articles in the law that were not discussed in
our previous meetings with the government when we drafted the bill,” said Oran.
Last December, Interior Minister Eid Fayez formed a joint committee consisting
of representatives from the government and 27 political parties.
The members were tasked with coming up with new modern political parties law as
part of the government’s plan to improve the country’s political climate.
Yesterday, the party leaders also called for shifting the licensing of political
parties from the jurisdiction of the Interior Ministry to that of the Ministry
of Political Development, and including annual financial aid to parties in the
annual state budget.
“We do not want the financial assistance to come from the Interior Ministry or
any other ministry, because that would negate the independence of parties,” Zaki
Bani Rusheid, the secretary gereral of the Islamic Action Front, told The Jordan
Times.
“The prime minister listened to our demands and promised he would implement some
of them.”
In their meeting with the premier, party leaders criticised the government’s
drive to endorse an anti-terrorism law.
“We told Bakhit that the anti-terrorism law will send Jordan years back and curb
political freedom,” said Bani Rusheid.
Bakhit said the controversial legislation became a necessity after the Nov. 9
suicide bombings, adding that Jordanians want the state to act against those who
plot and carry out terrorist acts. He stressed that terrorist acts are
accurately defined in the 12-article legislation.
The parties also called on Bakhit to release four Islamist MPs, who were charged
with “fuelling national discord and inciting sectarianism,” and detained for
questioning.
“We are unified in our stand. The government must release the deputies and close
this chapter because it would only harm the country’s reputation,” said Oran.
The issue of the four detained deputies is a legal one because these MPs
violated Jordanian constants in a way that would adversely affect the security
of the society,” Bakhit said.
He added the remarks made by the lawmakers when they visited the family of slain
terrorist Abu Mussab Zarqawi to pay condolences “provoked Jordanians and hurt
the feelings of the public, especially those who lost their loved ones” in the
terrorist attacks that targeted Amman hotels last year.
The government has no political problem with the Muslim Brotherhood, which
evolved in the first place as a national opposition stream and received
attention by the country’s leadership, he said.