Jordan Times
Thursday, October 19, 2006
King meets with Hashemi,
says deeply concerned over violence increase
AMMAN (JT) — King Abdullah on Wednesday said he was deeply concerned over the
increase in Iraq’s violence in the past few weeks and warned against attempts to
fuel internal fighting, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
The King told Iraqi Vice President Tariq Hashemi at a meeting that Jordan was
willing to offer an array of support for Iraqis to overcome their current
ordeal.
“Achieving security and stability in Iraq is in the best interest of Jordan,”
the Monarch said, urging Iraqis to stand united and avoid sectarian rifts.
Hashemi, the country's top Sunni official, briefed King Abdullah on the volatile
situation in Iraq and discussed means to enhance bilateral relations.
Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit, in a separate meeting, told Hashemi that Jordan
will spare no effort to support the current political process in Iraq and to
ensure the unity of the neighbouring country.
Bakhit said Amman was still willing to host an Iraqi reconciliation conference,
which was scheduled to be held in April, but was postponed.
"We will not hesitate to do anything that would support the Iraqi people," he
said.
The Iraqi official, meanwhile, denied that his country was in the throes of
civil war, and insisted that reconciliation was a must to end the bloodshed,
Agence France-Presse said.
"I don't think that what is happening now in Iraq is civil war," Hashemi said at
a joint press conference with Bakhit before meeting with the King.
"There is bloodshed and sectarian tensions and innocent people are being killed
but we are not in a civil war."
He also said Jordan and other Arab countries should take a stand to stop
"foreign interference" in Iraq — a veiled reference to mostly Shiite Iran — that
he said was fuelling the violence, according to the Associated Press.
"An Arab stance is necessary to fight this interference, no matter what its
source is," he said.
Hashemi called on all Iraqi factions "to sit at the negotiating table whether
with the US administration or with the Iraqi government."
Also Wednesday, some 30 Iraqi lawmakers, judicial and civil society
representatives, and United Nations officials held a second day of talks in
Amman on establishing an independent national human rights commission that they
hope could play a role in stemming sectarian violence.
The commission would receive complaints and mediate disputes, as well as provide
legal advice and training in human rights awareness, the AP reported.