Jordan Times
Monday, November 14, 2005
Anti-terror fight won't stop — King
AMMAN (JT) — His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday
met with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who expressed confidence in
Jordan's ability to thwart terrorism.
“We have had very good cooperation for many years. Jordan has a very good
security team, a very good anti-terrorism system in place,” Solana told the
Associated Press in a telephone interview before he left for Israel.
King Abdullah thanked the EU for its supportive stand, stressing that the crime
will strengthen the Kingdom in its fight against terrorism, the Jordan News
Agency, Petra, reported.
Solana said the EU was ready to provide any kind of assistance to Jordan.
“If they require anything in particular, we would be more than happy to help
them,” he said.
“We have a very profound relationship with Jordan already.”
Solana said he conveyed “condolences on behalf of the European community” over
Wednesday's triple hotel suicide bombings, which killed 57 people.
Talks between King Abdullah and Solana also covered the Palestinian, Iraqi and
Syrian situations.
Also Sunday, King Abdullah received Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moller, who
offered his country's condolences and expressed its support for Jordan.
The Monarch told Moller, who hailed Jordan's security forces, that terrorism has
no boundaries and it targets all people regardless of their race, religion or
nationality.
King Abdullah and the Danish official also reviewed the current situation in the
region.
On Sunday, King Abdullah told NBC's “Meet the Press” with Tim Russert that all
Jordanians were united in condemning the terrorist attacks.
“All of Jordanians are united in that they want the people who are responsible
for these crimes to be brought to justice,” the King said.
The Monarch said authorities want to know if the arrest of the would-be female
bomber would lead to other suspects who were behind the crime.
King Abdullah, meanwhile, questioned the accuracy of a recent Pew Research
Foundation poll, which claimed that 57 per cent of Jordanians say suicide
bombings and other violent actions are “justifiable in defence of Islam.”
“I do question the poll because there are many other polls that show completely
the opposite. The Zogby Poll that was taken at the same time showed 80 per cent
of Jordan was against violence, against suicide bombings, against terrorist acts
perpetrated against innocent civilians,” the King stressed.
“I can show you many other polls that were done in the West that say completely
the opposite figures. And if you take a look at the Jordanian streets where the
majority, you know, of the country poured out to denounce what Zarqawi and Al
Qaeda did, calling for Zarqawi to be called to justice, for him to burn in hell,
you need to see our streets in order to understand...”
Earlier in the day, Moller held talks with Foreign Minister Farouq Qasrawi and
visited Radisson SAS and the Grand Hyatt hotels, which were targeted by the
suicide bombers.
Qasrawi also met with his Hungarian counterpart Somogyi Ferenc, who told
reporters later that he was in Jordan to convey his country's condolences and to
invite the King to visit Budapest.
He said Hungary seeks closer ties with Jordan in all fields.
In a related development yesterday, Prime Minister Adnan Badran received Iraqi
Defence Minister Sadoun Dulaimi, who delivered a letter from President Jalal
Talabani to the King. In his letter, Talabani strongly condemned the terrorist
attacks on Amman, Petra said.
Dulaimi offered Jordan support in the bombings probe and warned that unchecked
violence in Iraq will spread terrorism across the region.
“We are partners in facing terrorism,” Dulaimi told the Associated Press.
“Amman's ordeal — and Jordan's ordeal — is the ordeal of all Iraqis.”
The terrorists' “target is to kill tolerance and destroy coexistence in Arab and
Muslim cities,” Dulaimi said.
Also yesterday, former US President Bill Clinton, who was in Amman with his wife
Hillary and daughter Chelsea, gave a press conference from the bombed ballroom
of Radisson SAS Hotel.
Clinton and Hillary, a US Senator, expressed their deepest sympathies to the
families of the victims that perished in the terrorist attacks and said “the US
government would do all that is necessary to help the Kingdom prevent such
attacks in the future.”
“Hillary, Chelsea and I would like more than anything else to express our
sympathies to the victims of this attack and assure the country of our full
support for doing what is necessary against this kind of terrorism,” said
Clinton.
For her part, Hillary commended the Kingdom for its immediate response to the
attacks on Wednesday, particularly the hospitals and police.
Clinton and Hillary also met with King Abdullah and Her Majesty Queen Rania,
according to Petra.