Jordan Times
Thursday, January 24, 2008
‘Jordanian nationality does
not compromise refugees’ rights’
AMMAN (JT) - His Majesty King Abdullah has said that Jordanian citizenship held
by Palestinian refugees in the Kingdom does not in any way compromise their
right to return and compensation.
He said in a wide-ranging interview with Ad Dustour Arabic daily to be published
today: “As for the Palestinian refugees in Jordan, we stress once again that
their Jordanian citizenship does not deprive them of the right of return and
compensation as Palestinians (see
full text of interview).
“This has been our unwavering position and we are not backing away from it. It
is enshrined in international resolutions, particularly UN Resolution 194, which
is not negotiable, nor can it be abandoned.”
He said Jordan continues to emphasise its commitment to international
resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative as the way for a settlement to the
Arab-Israeli conflict, including the plight of refugees.
The Monarch was responding to a question by Ad Dustour’s Chief Editor Nabil
Sharif on US President George W. Bush’s tour to the region and the fears it
raised that the legitimate rights of the Palestinians, especially the right of
return, might be undermined.
He reiterated Amman’s support for the Palestinian National Authority, especially
on final status issues which, he said, have a direct effect on the future
Palestinian state - refugees, Jerusalem, water and borders.
“We’ve exerted tremendous efforts recently to return the Palestinian issue to
the top of the international community’s agenda, particularly in the United
States,” the King said.
The King renewed “strong condemnation” of the Israeli aggression on Gaza and the
siege of its people.
“We are in touch with our Palestinian brothers, the Arabs and international
community to end this aggression and siege that violate all norms and
international conventions… We have demanded that Israel immediately cease its
aggression.
“The difficult conditions of Gaza residents and the siege imposed on them have a
detrimental effect on citizens and cause a further deterioration in their living
conditions. Israel must realise that there can be no serious negotiations
towards the aspired peace in light of its continued aggression and violations
committed against the Gaza Strip.”
On the Israeli settlement activities, King Abdullah said Jordan’s position on
the issue is that settlements are illegal and continued settlement threatens the
entire peace process because it threatens the future Palestinian state.
“The parties must commit to the roadmap which addressed settlements in the very
first phase. Commitment must be the gateway to the peace process that was
started at the Annapolis meeting,” His Majesty told the paper.
He stressed that Jerusalem is the most important issue in the conflict due to
its stature and sanctity. “This is our position as Hashemites and it is one that
we share with every Arab and Muslim. Jordan’s responsibility to preserve Islamic
sanctuaries is a historic trust and one that we will not surrender until
Jerusalem is liberated from occupation,” he said.
“Any attempt to undermine its Arab and Islamic identity is totally opposed. We
stress again that sovereignty over sanctuaries is a Jordanian responsibility and
we shall keep it in order to protect Al Aqsa and all other holy sites in
Jerusalem until the establishment of an independent sovereign Palestinian state
with Jerusalem as its capital.”
Syria, Lebanon and Iraq
Asked on ties with Syria after his historic visit to Damascus and the subsequent
official meetings between the two neighbours, the King said Syria is a brotherly
Arab neighbour that shares common interests with the Kingdom. “We are still
optimistic about the future of our relations with Syria because we strongly
believe that it is an integral part of the Arab world. We also cooperate in
order to realise Syrian policies that are in the interest of the Arab nation and
for inter-Arab ties to be based on mutual respect for the sovereignty of each
state.”
He added that a Syrian track is a major component of a comprehensive Mideast
peace process.
“We are very hopeful for the implementation of all agreements reached during the
meeting of the Jordanian-Syrian higher committee, which will benefit both
peoples.” He reiterated Jordan’s eagerness for Lebanon’s stability and security,
which he described as “redlines”.
On Iraq, he said Amman has been keen to build ties with the Iraqi government
that serve common interests.
“We have exerted and continue to exert every effort to assist [Iraqis] in the
achievement of national reconciliation… and encourage all components of Iraqi
society to enter the political process in order to build a strong and united
Iraq,” King Abdullah said.
Domestic affairs
On domestic affairs, the King said although Jordan has witnessed qualitative
development and progress in several fields, gains have not been reflected in
several sectors of Jordanian society, “and this is not pleasing”.
“We would like to see a more equitable distribution of economic growth that is
reflected in income levels and general well-being. This, of course, is the big
challenge for government which should adopt the necessary policies to ensure
justice in the distribution of development returns and in improving services
throughout the country,” the King said, urging the government to go out into the
field and be among and with the people so that they are acquainted with their
conditions, problems and suggestions and likewise to acquaint citizens with its
programmes and policies.
Regarding political development, the Monarch said that successive governments
have not been able “to translate our vision into reality for several reasons,
foremost among which the conditions in the region which have obstructed the
achievement of our objectives”.
“We seek to entrench political life in Jordan and this requires the efforts of
the state, whose role is to introduce amendments that improve the legislative
environment governing political life. It requires parallel efforts of political
parties to raise the quality of their performance.
In this regard, political parties have to contribute to and participate in
political and economic life and draft national programmes that are truly
national and stem from putting Jordan’s interests first.
Arab support
The King said Jordan’s ties with Arab neighbours, especially with the Arab Gulf
states are distinguished. The Gulf countries, he noted, “have provided us with
financial and oil assistance in the past years. This has contributed to our
efforts to address economic challenges, and has enabled us to move forward in
our development. Parallel to this Arab support, we’ve been keen to realise
self-sufficiency and cope with our economic realities from that perspective in
order to achieve prosperity and a decent standard of living for citizens”.
“Jordan does not tie its regional and national role to the volume of assistance
it receives from any country: this is our duty, regardless of our limited
abilities.”