Jordan Times
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Kingdom to send
ambassador to Iraq
By Mohammad Ghazal
AMMAN — The government will not rescind its
decision to send an ambassador to Iraq in the aftermath of the abduction of a
Jordanian driver at the Kingdom's embassy in Baghdad, a senior official said on
Wednesday.
Government Spokesperson Nasser Judeh told reporters during his weekly briefing
yesterday that the Kingdom's diplomats would also remain in Iraq.
Jordan has named a new ambassador to Iraq, but Ahmad Lawzi has not yet taken up
his post in Baghdad where the embassy is currently being run by Charge
d'Affaires Suleiman Arabiyat. Judeh did not disclose when Lawzi would be sent to
Iraq.
However, the spokesperson said talks were under way with the Iraqi authorities
to ensure the release of the Jordanian driver, Mahmoud Salman Saaidat, who was
abducted in Baghdad on Tuesday.
Gunmen seized Saaidat in the southern district of Saydiyah, prompting the
government to announce that it was considering relocating its staff from the
embassy, which was hit by a car bomb in August 2003 that killed 11 people and
injured around 60.
The Kingdom has set up a crisis cell at the Foreign Ministry to address
Saaidat's abduction and ensure his release.
Meanwhile, the Muslim Scholars Commission in Iraq issued a statement yesterday
in which it pleaded with kidnappers to release the driver in accordance with the
principles of the true Islam and its moral and humanitarian values.