Jordan Times
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Government to introduce
new anti-terror legislation
By Alia Shukri Hamzeh
AMMAN — Interior Minister Awni Yarvas announced
Tuesday the government is drafting a new anti-terrorism bill as part of
“protective measures” to ensure the Kingdom prevents further attacks similar to
the 11/9 bombings of three Amman hotels.
The new bill, to be given urgent status on Parliament's agenda when the
110-member Lower House reconvenes on Dec. 1, will set harsh punishments for
anyone who condones or supports acts of terror.
It will also grant authorities the power to hold any terror suspect for
questioning indefinitely, and to issue penalties to those who seek to endanger
the lives and properties of citizens, whether inside or outside the country.
Several other countries, including the UK and Australia, have drawn up similar
anti-terrorism bills. Although such proposed legislation is considered an
infringement on civil liberties by human rights activists, authorities see it as
necessary to combat the threat posed by terrorism.
Meanwhile, the government has reactivated security laws requiring that all
citizens who rent apartments or offices to non-Jordanians report specific
details about their tenants to the nearest police station within 48 hours.
“This measure has always been part of the Residence and Foreigner Affairs Law,
and now the government wants to reactivate it,” said a Cabinet official.
Article 14 of the law states that persons who lease apartments, offices or rooms
to foreigners must report to the authorities the name, nationality, address and
passport numbers of their tenants within 48 hours of the signing of the lease or
face penalties.
The intensified measures are part of government efforts to ensure the safety of
citizens and to minimise the likelihood of further attacks against the Kingdom,
officials said.
“This is how things will be from now on,” said a former security official.
“The bombings hit the country really hard. People are still in shock and there
are growing fears of other attempts by Al Qaeda against the country,” added the
source, who preferred anonymity.
In a statement claiming responsibility for last Wednesday's triple suicide
bombings, a group known as Al Qaeda in Iraq and led by Jordanian fugitive Abu
Mussab Zarqawi, warned of more to come.
Four Iraqis, including three men and a woman, whose explosive belt failed to
detonate, carried out the attacks. The four terrorists entered the country via
Jordan's Karameh border post with Iraq on Nov. 5.
Four days later they carried out the attacks that ripped through three luxury
hotels in Amman.
The woman, identified as Sajida Mubarak Atrous Al Rishawi and the wife of the
Radisson SAS bomber Ali Hassan Ali Al Shamari, who blew himself up in the middle
of a wedding ceremony, was arrested Sunday morning. Her short confession was
aired on Jordan Television the same evening.
Although authorities refused to divulge details of the arrest and where the
suicide bombers obtained their explosives, news reports quoting officials said
she was apprehended in the Jabal Hussein area with the explosive belt on her.
Other reports said she was caught in a “safe house” in the same neighbourhood
where she and the three men had rented an apartment before carrying out their
attacks.
Some news reports also said the bombers did not bring the explosives with them,
but obtained the devices in the Kingdom.
The woman in custody is the sister of Zarqawi's former right hand man Samer Al
Rishawi, who was killed in the April 2004 US operations in Fallujah.
In her televised confession, she stated no motive for the attacks, saying her
husband had arranged it all.
The suicide bombers were carrying belts packed with 5-10 kilogrammes of powerful
RDX explosives and ball-bearings — meant to inflict maximum casualties.
Commenting on the anti-terrorism bill and augmented security measures, the
former official said: “In such cases it's better to be safe than sorry. And one
has to take all measures, even if some perceive them as strict or harsh, to make
sure such attacks never happen again. We are talking about people's lives here.”
Following the Wednesday bombings at the Grand Hyatt, Radisson SAS and Days Inn
hotels, which killed 57 civilians and left 100 injured, security was beefed up
throughout the country.
Metal detectors were placed at the entrances to the city's hotels and shopping
malls and are to be installed at public buildings. More police vehicles have
been patrolling the streets night and day and security has been tightened up at
border crossings.
Several observers had criticised the Kingdom for what they said was lax
security, especially following the Al Qaeda August attacks on US ships docked in
Aqaba, which killed one Jordanian soldier. Many said hotels and malls should
have had security equipment installed and that the country's border posts should
have been reinforced after the August attackers, who entered the Kingdom from
Iraq, managed to slip back out undetected.
But officials maintained that security and intelligence agencies have foiled
tens of attacks since then.
They added that the hotel attacks were not detected or foiled because they were
carried out by non-Jordanians, reflecting a change in the tactics used by Iraq's
Al Qaeda.
In remarks to the media and police, His Majesty King Abdullah said authorities
should carefully examine the change in Al Qaeda's tactics and in turn develop
our counterterrorism mechanisms.
Officials believe security measures are one of many steps to be taken. Topping
the government's priority list is eradicating the culture of condoning terrorist
acts or even supporting them, no matter the cause.
The Council of Ministers on Monday outlined a new security strategy which
emphasises enhancing the public's sense of alertness and encouraging them to
cooperate with security services.
Although officials said investigations proved there were no Jordanians involved
in the attacks, security forces believe that more people helped arrange the
attacks.