Jordan Times
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Gov't won't curb
freedoms — Bakhit
Prime minister-designate meets with MPs, vows overall reform
AMMAN (JT) — Prime Minister-designate Marouf Bakhit on Saturday told top MPs
that his government will not curb public freedoms, the Jordan News Agency,
Petra, reported.
Head of the Democratic Alliance Mamdouh Abbadi and Islamic Action Front
President Azzam Huneidi quoted Bakhit as saying that preserving security and
stability do not affect reform plans, according to Petra.
In an interview on Jordan Television's Sixty Minutes, Bakhit on Friday said his
government's mandate is to implement the reform programme and the “fit”
recommendations of the National Agenda.
He said His Majesty King Abdullah set the priorities for the new government
“within a comprehensive framework and a vision for overall reform.”
Bakhit said his team's job will be to “realise this vision through tangible
results that reflect [positively] on the lives of all Jordanians.”
The government, he said, will define action plans and schedules to fulfil the
various reforms called for.
Bakhit, who replaces Adnan Badran as premier, described the National Agenda,
compiled by a steering committee over the past 10 months and presented to King
Abdullah last week, as a reform platform designed by socio-political and
economic leaders in this country.
“We will assess its recommendations and translate feasible recommendations into
draft laws that, in turn, will go through the proper constitutional channels.”
In case there are controversial issues, he told Abeer Zaben of JTV, “we shall
study them and consider holding an in-depth dialogue to secure as much consensus
as possible” over them, before they are moulded into permanent legislation.
The prime minister-designate said democracy is “a lifestyle that we will work to
entrench.” He emphasised that democracy, anti-corruption measures and a
successful fight against poverty and unemployment are likely to secure
Jordanians with the decent living standards they deserve.
However, Bakhit urged realistic expectations of his government.
“No one should expect us to stamp out unemployment or poverty overnight,” he
said. He said, his government would work on two parallel tracks: Taking quick
measures to relieve the impact of these problems, while adopting long-term
policies whose results would be felt when planned sustainable development
programmes are realised.
Asked about his plans to fight the culture of takfir, as called for in the
King's Letter of Designation, he said the government would adopt cultural
programmes that start at the grassroots level to instil a counterculture.
In the letter, the King underlined the need to embrace a comprehensive strategy
to face the culture of takfir.
The Monarch said the country needs “a strategy that does not only adopt a
security solution, but also takes into consideration the intellectual, cultural
and political dimensions.”
Bakhit said his plan is to harness the role of the mosques, the schools and the
mass media in combating intolerance of any sort.
He dismissed reports that the reforms his government is mandated to carry out
are linked to the recent terrorist attacks in Amman.
He said the reform programme the King initiated carries a very important
message: Reform is a responsibility that individuals should assume starting from
the home and workplace.
Responding to whether his government signals “the return of the generals,”
Bakhit, a PhD holder from University of London, said that for the past 15 years
he led a purely political career and that he gained significant experience in
this arena since he retired as a major general.
He vowed his government “would be close to the pulse of the street and adopt
field work as much as possible.”