Jordan Times
Tuesday, October 13, 1998
Government committee for dialogue meets amid scepticism by parties
AMMAN — A government committee entrusted with launching a national dialogue with all civil society institutions held its first preparatory meeting late Monday amid the scepticism of political party leaders, who say they have been left out of a project in which they were to be main partners.
The committee, including seven cabinet members and headed by Prime Minister Fayez Tarawneh, discussed a proposal by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Minister of Administrative Development Bassam Emoush on the time-frame, the agenda, and the mechanisms for a national dialogue with political parties, professional and labour unions, and other partisan and social activists.
“The meeting was aimed at discussing the mechanism for a national dialogue and identifying the different sectors of society that will be involved,” said Information Minister Nasser Judeh, adding that preparations for the start of the committee's work will be thorough and will take some time.
But political parties have complained that they were not involved from the initial stage of the preparatory work, stressing that they all learned about the government's decision to set up the committee and provide a framework for dialogue only from the newspapers.
Most party leaders have even gone further, questioning the very need for an “ad hoc” committee to carry out a national dialogue.
Even moderate groups, such as the National Constitutional Party (NCP), have pointed out that institutions provided for by the Constitution, the National Charter, and ordinary laws are already in place, and they could function as fora for debate if only they were activated or governed by more modern regulations.
According to news reports, the proposal readied by Emoush, an Islamist expelled by the Muslim Brotherhood for his opposition to the movement's decision to boycott last November's general elections, would include the creation of seven sub-committees, each dealing with a segment of society, from women's unions to syndicates.
Judeh said the formation of the government committee for dialogue was in implementation of His Majesty King Hussein's letter of designation to Premier Tarawneh and the directives of His Royal Highness Crown Prince Hassan, the Regent.
Relations between the opposition and the government touched a historic low last year, when nine opposition parties and the 13 professional associations boycotted the parliamentary polls.
King Hussein in May held an ice-breaking meeting with union leaders, which he described as “the turn of a bright new page.” Prince Hassan in August and September held a series of meetings with all civic society institutions.
“The government wants to make sure that there is a mechanism to maintain the momentum of this dialogue,” Judeh told the Jordan Times.
But party leaders said they feared that the work of the dialogue committee could become a substitute for much-touted reforms.
“If a more modern elections law were in place, Parliament would be the real representative of the people, and it could exercise its constitutional function as a forum for a national debate,” said Khaldoun Nasser, spokesperson of the NCP.
“There would be no need for a national dialogue committee.”
However, with 3,000 members but only two deputies in the 80-member Lower House, the NCP is determined to benefit from the projected dialogue as an opportunity to forward its proposals directly to the government.
Nasser told the Jordan Times that the NCP has formed a seven-member committee to prepare a list of proposals on the time framework, the participants, and the agenda of the dialogue, which they say should mainly focus on a new elections law, with a percentage of parliamentary seats allocated to political parties, and on a new political parties law, granting state funds to parties.
The Muslim Brotherhood has not yet officially commented on the establishment of the government committee, but sources close to the movement's leadership have opposed it.
“We believe in the Crown Prince's determination to start a dialogue. We know that both the King and the Crown Prince are serious on this,” a Muslim Brotherhood source said requesting anonymity.
“But we do not trust the government's intentions,” he added, expressing fears that the government might use the works of the dialogue committee as a smoke screen to pass unpopular decisions.
Salem Nahhas, secretary general of the leftist Hashd Party, argued that the “national dialogue” as projected by the government could be “highly counterproductive” to the development of democracy, because the two parties engaged in it, the government on one hand and social, professional and political forces on the other, would not be on an equal footing.
“What dialogue could it be, if one side gets to decide who participates, what is being discussed, and when?”
Deputy Mahmoud Kharabsheh, head of the Lower House national guidance committee, stressed in a speech at a recent seminar dedicated to the issue of national dialogue that “we already have active national institutions, ... and we are not on the brink of a civil war or some disaster to have a committee headed by the prime minister for dialogue.”
Columnist Samih Ma'aitah echoed the views of many writers who questioned the intentions of the government in setting up the committee.
“Is this dialogue going to be an alternative to strengthening Parliament and ensuring wider participation of political parties?” Ma'aitah asked.