Jordan Times
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Gov’t denies crisis with Syria over water
By Khalid Neimat
AMMAN — The government on Monday denied any
crisis with Syria over water issues and stressed that the two sides would hold
further meetings soon.
Government Spokesperson Nasser Judeh said on Monday that there were pending
issues with Syria regarding Jordan’s water rights, “which need to be discussed
and resolved.”
“The two sides will meet regularly in order to resolve all problems so as to
reach a final agreement on all water issues,” Judeh told reporters during his
weekly press briefing yesterday.
Acknowledging some unsolved problems existed, Judeh denied there was a crisis
between the two countries, adding that the government did not want to politicise
such issues.
“The Syrians assured Jordan that satisfactory amounts of water would be diverted
from the Yarmouk River to the Wihdeh Dam during seasons registering heavy
rainfall,” Water Minister Thafer Alem said on Sunday after meeting with his
Syrian counterpart Nader Bunni on Sunday.
But during periods of scant rainfall, the two sides would hold talks to
determine the quantity of diverted water, he added.
A joint press conference scheduled after Sunday’s meeting was cancelled, and
reports in the local press on Monday attributed the cancellation to Syria’s
refusal to recognise Jordan’s water rights.
In a press release issued after the conclusion of the talks, the Water Ministry
said the two sides discussed tests to store water at the Wihdeh Dam, to be used
for the first time this year.
Alem told Al Rai daily that a joint Jordanian-Syrian committee would meet after
Eid Al Fitr, the feast marking the end of the Holy Month of Ramadan, to discuss
the water loss and wells in Syrian territory, which affect Yarmouk River water
levels. The Eid holiday is due next week.
Judeh reiterated in the press conference that Jordanian-Syrian teams would
continue their efforts to resolve outstanding issues.
Press conference interrupted
The press conference was halted after it turned into a heated debate between
Judeh and the daughter of a former minister involved in an alleged corruption
case.
An informed source told The Jordan Times, the weekly briefing ended after some
of the journalists present protested that the former minister’s daughter, Inas
Abdul Razzaq Tbeishat, dominated the conference and turned it into a
question-and-answer session on her father’s case, referred last week by the
government to the Lower House of Parliament.
The 22-year-old journalist, who identified herself as a reporter working with Al
Mihwar weekly, charged that the government was working to destroy the reputation
of her father, accused along with four other officials of involvement in alleged
financial and administrative corruption as well as abuse of public funds in a
2002 purchase of loaders and garbage pressers for the Ministry of Municipal
Affairs.
Judeh denied the accusations, reiterating that the government was only
implementing a decision taken earlier by the prosecutor general who received the
case from the Lower House. The legislature has now to form an ad hoc committee
to look into the case.
House Speaker Abdul Hadi Majali said last week that the House would examine the
case at the start of its ordinary session, due to start in December.
Tbeishat’s daughter, Inas, according to the source, was appointed almost one
month ago at the Al Safira magazine, published by the same company as Al Mihwar.
The chief editor of both publications, Hashem Khalidi, was not available for
comment.
Inas Tbeishat started her comments by saying, “the government has destroyed my
father’s reputation by announcing his name in such a case.”
Judeh denied the charge and stressed that the government applied normal legal
procedures.
“The case has been referred to Parliament, as it has the constitutional
jurisdiction over such cases,” he said, adding that the prosecutor general
forwarded the case to the government after conducting investigations last year.
He reiterated that no individual, whether a journalist, official or citizen, has
the right to accuse or charge any person, and therefore the case falls under
constitutional and judicial authority.