His Majesty King Abdullah II
Interview with
Corriere della Sera
Journalist: Antonio Ferrari
March 23,
2004
(Translated from Italian)
His Majesty King Abdullah of Jordan told Corriere: “The extremists are
trying to create clashes between the East and the West, and to generate
inter-religious wars. Their objective is not the destruction of the West, but
rather the destruction of the moderate Islam so as to take the power.” The
interview is available on page 5
Amman - I woke up to this terrible piece of news, and as such I am in a state of
shock because the latest attack (editor's note, yesterday) came at a time when
we were all working hard to break down the cycle of violence and help the peace
process get momentum. Now, what has just happened increases the incitement to
violence. We know that this will trigger other suicidal operations. I am afraid
that retaliation triggers counter-retaliation. It is an endless story. The only
hope is that those who are rational and act responsibly seize the opportunity to
slow down the escalation of the conflict and to reopen the venues for dialogues.
King Abdullah of Jordan is not a dreamer, but certainly he is not a fatalist
either. From his father, he has learned never to give up the optimism of the
willful ones. After a hectic morning, he received me in the afternoon for this
interview for the Corriere della Sera. He was ready to answer all questions: the
killing of Yassin, the offensive of terrorism, the slaughter in Madrid, the
question of Iraq, the coming Arab summit, the urgency of accelerating the
process of reforms.
ANTONIO FERRARI: Your Majesty, you have instantly called the killing of
the Hamas spiritual leader a crime.
HIS MAJESTY: “I have always strongly opposed any suicide operations, as
well as targeted assassinations. These are the things that fuel the spiral of
violence between Palestinians and Israelis.”
ANTONIO FERRARI: You have asked the international community to intervene,
to assume their own responsibility. What are your intentions at the moment?
HIS MAJESTY: “When the situation goes from bad to worse, there is a
desperate wish on both need to galvanize the two sides in order to return to
dialogue. Otherwise, I repeat, we may witness the explosion of more violence and
aggression. We are confident that the great majority of Israelis and
Palestinians want peace and prosperity; they want to get back to normalcy and
live their own lives.
ANTONIO FERRARI: Do you think that this spiral of violence will
contaminate the entire region?
HIS MAJESTY: “No, the instability in the Middle East is strictly
connected to the core issue in the region, which is the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict. Slashing back at terrorism and extremism, the way it is being done,
does not mean the eradication of terrorism. We need to solve the
Israeli-Palestinian problem first, and then we will succeed in neutralizing the
recruiters.”
ANTONIO FERRARI: The other day, you had a secret meeting with the Israeli
Prime Minister at his ranch in the Negev. What did Sharon tell you? And what did
you tell Sharon? After what has just happened, do you still consider the
unilateral withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza acceptable?
HIS MAJESTY: “At that time, the discussion we had was related to the
future of the peace process, as I wanted to understand exactly what their plan
is for withdrawal from Gaza, which was optimistically presented by the Israelis
as a step in the right direction. Having said this, I want to add that today's
attack has created such great confusion and increased animosity, rendering the
respective objective more difficult to obtain.”
ANTONIO FERRARI: Do you have confidence in the commitment of Prime
Minister Sharon?
HIS MAJESTY: “He told me he's committed to trying to find a solution. We
do not have to talk too much because, for us, very important issues are at
stake: the withdrawal from Gaza, the future of the Wall, the return to the
negotiation table. You can see that the incoherence has already happened.”
ANTONIO FERRARI: At this point, is the Road Map still on? Or is it dead?
HIS MAJESTY: “We are determined to go on with the Road Map; the only way
out is finding a solution for the two states to live in peace and security. On
the other hand, we have Sharon's decision to withdraw from Gaza, though now we
do not see how it is going to be. It is obvious that an earnest unilateral
withdrawal would change the terms of the Road Map. This is a problem we will
discuss in the United States, to understand where we are and if the Road Map is
still alive.”
ANTONIO FERRARI: When will you be traveling to Washington?
HIS MAJESTY: “In April, I believe the 20th of the month.”
ANTONIO FERRARI: Your Majesty, the terrorist attacks in Madrid, organized
and carried out by fanatic Islamists, have frightened Europe. People fear that
they might start a campaign of terror that can alter our lives and impinge on
our freedom. What do you think?
HIS MAJESTY: “I believe the dangers should be considered in the context
of a threat. No one is secure. Jordan is not safe. Neither is Spain, which has
been hit hard. This is a threat to the security of Europe.”
ANTONIO FERRARI: Do you think that now the terrorists could have other
countries as objectives, which, like Italy, have their soldiers in Iraq? What is
your advice? To stay and wait or to leave?
HIS MAJESTY: “I have not related the problem to the presence or departure
of soldiers from Iraq. I have said that this is part and parcel of a more
complex pattern, connected to a battle within Islam, where extremists are trying
to create East-versus-West conflicts and inter-religious wars. Their objective
is not the destruction of the Western world, but rather the destruction of
moderate Islam and taking hold of power. Europe is but a secondary objective:
with a weakened Europe, they want to shape the future of the Muslim world within
the international community.”
ANTONIO FERRARI: In 2000, you and your family were one of the first
objectives of Osama Bin Laden. Fortunately, the attempt failed. Do you wish to
push forward the image of a moderate Islam? Yet the question is: the support and
sympathy for those fanatics have increased?
HIS MAJESTY: “I trust the great majority of Arabs are aware of the danger
they represent. The “sympathy” is connected to a perception that the West, and
in particular of the USA, is always behind Israel, and that whatever the Arabs
do is discredited. I do not agree with this, yet the empathy should be
considered in terms of the perception among Arabs of no other alternative being
delivered. Therefore, we need to work towards changing this perception in the
first place.”
ANTONIO FERRARI: One year has passed since the beginning of the war. You
have done the impossible to avoid the war; nevertheless, the United States did
not listen to you. Iraq is presently extremely unstable. How do you see its
future?
HIS MAJESTY: “I believe that the Iraqi society has the capacity to secure
its stability by itself. More than that, the faster the Iraqis may be allowed to
decide on their own future, above all in matters of security, the faster the
country will normalize. We all desire this. It will need time.”
ANTONIO FERRARI: I know that Jordan has extended its assistance in the
reorganization of security in Iraq, by training 35,000 police and thousands of
military people of the future army.
HIS MAJESTY: “As a matter of fact the training is pushing us to reflect.
In fact, it is impossible to train ordinary police in two weeks, and the
commander of an army battalion in six months. I do not wish to make hasty
considerations; nonetheless I do not think it is realistic either. It is better
to go back two steps to be able to make an important step forward. 2004? Too
early. 2005? Perhaps.”
ANTONIO FERRARI: You met yesterday the Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs
Zebari, who insists the war has been justified.
HIS MAJESTY: “I think that for the majority of the Iraqis the change of
the regime and the possibility to decide on its own future are positive elements
in the long run. Nevertheless, because of the current instability it is
difficult to feel more secure. The present is bleak, the future is promising.”
ANTONIO FERRARI: What will be on the agenda of next week's Summit in
Tunis?
HIS MAJESTY: “There are three issues: 1. Palestine; 2. Iraq; 3. The
reforms. Our position is clear, despite the fact that some parties who accuse us
of going ahead with the reforms because of American pressure. We say to everyone
to go ahead with the reforms before you are forced to do them. I could now keep
my mouth shut; yet I am a responsible leader and a friend of many Arab partners,
and I will not be silent.”
ANTONIO FERRARI: You have implemented numerous reforms: economic, social
and political ones. Recently you have changed the government; there are three
lady ministers in the new government. Are you satisfied with the standard of
democracy reached in Jordan?
HIS MAJESTY: “We started the social and economic reforms 5 years ago.
Definitely, we could have done more. From levels A, B and C, we have reached
level B. We shall come to the political reforms one or two years later, because
I believe that the economic and social reforms must come first. Having partly
achieved the first one, it becomes easier to go ahead with the second. I believe
we have achieved good results in political reform. We have 30 parties; in the
future we will have less. For the next elections, the King will tell his people
to vote solely on the base of one's conviction, and not because one candidate
comes from this place or that tribe.”
ANTONIO FERRARI: Do you think you are a model for the countries in the
region?
HIS MAJESTY: “Only if we succeed. This is our restraint when we speak
with our European friends. And now I wish to thank Prime Minister Berlusconi for
the support he extended to us and to our social and economic reforms. At this
moment, we believe that if we fail, the old guard of the Middle East may say: it
does not work. If we succeed, other countries will understand that this is the
right direction.”