Jordan Times
Saturday, November 12, 2005
Annan condemns
attacks
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expected in Jordan on Monday
AMMAN (JT) — His Majesty King Abdullah on Friday
met with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, who arrived here on a solidarity visit
in the aftermath of the suicide bombings.
Annan, on a regional tour of Egypt and Saudi Arabia, strongly condemned the
attacks and he supported Jordan's efforts to fight terrorism, the Jordan News
Agency, Petra, reported.
King Abdullah thanked Annan and stressed that collective efforts by the world
community were needed to combat terrorism and extremism.
“No ideology can justify the killing of innocent people,” Annan said at a joint
news conference with Foreign Minister Farouq Qasrawi.
“The UN General Assembly is working on a global strategy to combat terrorism,”
he said, adding that he discussed these efforts during his visits in the region.
“We need to ensure that when we raise the issue of freedom and terrorism to
separate between the two.”
He said terrorist attacks occur “when people are oppressed, desperate and
miserable and see no way out they are easy prey for those using them.”
He later visited the Grand Hyatt Hotel, the scene of one of the attacks, Petra
said. The UN Security Council on Thursday condemned the terrorist bombings “in
the strongest terms” and called for the perpetrators, financiers and organisers
to be brought to justice.
After emergency consultations, the 15-council members unanimously agreed on a
statement which was read at a formal meeting by Russia's UN Ambassador Andrey
Denisov, the current council president.
“The Security Council condemns in the strongest terms the terrorist bombings
that took place in Amman,” the Associated Press quoted the statement as saying.
The council also reiterates “its determination to combat terrorism.”
King Abdullah and Annan, meanwhile, discussed the latest developments in the
Middle East, particularly Security Council Resolution 1636, which demands Syria
fully cooperate with the UN team probing the assassination of Lebanon's former
prime minister Rafiq Hariri.
“Syria should fully cooperate with the probe. It's the only solution,” Annan was
quoted by Petra as saying.
The Monarch and Annan saw eye-to-eye on the need to encourage the Palestinians
and Israelis to revive the peace process, paving the way for the establishment
of an independent Palestinian state.
On Iraq, the King and UN secretary general said all political parties should
participate in violence-hit country's general elections to secure a better
future.
In a related development, Agence France-Presse said US Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice is to make a brief stop in Jordan early next week as a gesture
to the Kingdom following the terror attacks, her spokesman said Friday.
“She is going to demonstrate solidarity with the Jordanian people in the wake of
the terrorist bombings,” Sean McCormack said.
Rice is to fly to Jordan on Monday after a trip to Israel and the Palestinian
territories while en route to Pusan, South Korea, for a ministerial meeting of
the Asia-Pacific Economic Forum.
McCormack said she would meet with King Abdullah but gave no further details
about her plans during the visit.
Also on Friday, King Abdullah received a letter from Dubai Crown Prince and UAE
Defence Minister Sheikh Mohammad Ben Rashed Al Maktoum, voicing his country's
support for Jordan to overcome the repercussions of Wednesday's terror attacks.
In the letter, which was delivered by his spouse, HRH Princess Haya, Sheikh
Mohammad said he was confident that the King and the Jordanian people were
capable of overcoming the plight and move ahead in the development process.
Sheikh Mohammad urged Muslim clerics, intellectuals and opinion leaders to
assume their responsibilities and stand up against “twisted ideas, destructive
calls and the chaos in fatwa [religious edict] issuance,” Petra reported.
King Abdullah yesterday received phone calls from Canadian Prime Minister Paul
Martin, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Georgian President Mikheil
Saakashvili and Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg. The leaders strongly condemned
the bombings and expressed support for the country in combating terrorism.