Jordan Times
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Government Reshuffle to
introduce young people — PM
AMMAN (Petra) — Prime Minister Faisal Fayez said Monday a government reshuffle
will take place in the second half of this month.
This reshuffle will introduce young people to the Cabinet, Fayez told notables
and deputies representing the third and fourth districts of Amman, during a
meeting at the Amman Governorate offices. He voiced hope that the government
would be able to implement His Majesty King Abdullah's directives in political,
economic and social fields.
Fayez said the government will not stop the implementation of the political
development process, which “should not be restricted to the elite, but rather
should involve all citizens after having created a favourable atmosphere for
them to do so.”
“Political development should be addressed in a more comprehensive manner that
would encompass elections, political parties and media-related laws as well as
administrative and economic development,” the premier told the gathering, adding
that the process should also ensure the participation of women and youth.
Achieving these goals would strengthen the state and constitute the driving
force for the political development process, he added.
The premier said the government is about to start drafting modern media-related
laws “in order to make our media free and responsible, a media that would not
resort to character assassination, slandering symbols of our homeland.”
He called on the media to direct its criticism to performance rather than
persons and called for having a media code of ethics.
He also called for a responsible media that would not endanger the Kingdom's
political and economic interests. “A journalist who attacks a Gulf state that
supports us and supplies us with an oil grant is thus endangering our economic
security,” he said, and emphasised that the government would prevent any attempt
to undermine the livelihood of Jordanian citizens.
Stressing that the government will fight all forms of corruption, the prime
minister said the government would soon publish reports in connection with
alleged corruption in the phosphate and magnesia companies and refer those
responsible for any such corruption to a court of law.
Fayez said he is not against practising political activities at universities,
but rather against sabotaging these universities by transferring political and
even tribal disputes to campuses.
Politicising education would not be in the interest of schools and universities,
he warned.
In this vein, he said the large number of political parties would not serve
these parties' interests and aims, advising the 32 licensed parties to merge
into three main parties that would strengthen them and boost their work.
The prime minister said “Jordan is considered as an oasis of security and
stability despite its location in the midst of an explosive region, stressing
that “our domestic coherence and solidarity serve as the most vital factors in
our drive to attain the aspired comprehensive development.”
“National unity lies at the Kingdom's very foundation and we cannot tolerate any
tampering with it, “ he said. “We all are Jordanians when we talk about
Jordanian interests and we all are Palestinians when we talk about Palestine,”
added Fayez.