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Al-Ahram Weekly 15 - 21 July 1999 Issue No. 438 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 15 - 21 July 1999 Issue No. 438
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Features Travel Living Sports Time Out Chronicles People Cartoons Letters Trouble before the Games
By Eman Abdel-MoetiJordanian Minister for Youth and Sports Mohamed Mameser had said before that he would resign if he failed to persuade Kuwait to participate in this year's Arab Games, to be held in Jordan in August. So when his visits to Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates came to naught, and the Kuwaitis remained adamant in their refusal to take part, it should have been no surprise that Mameser was as good as his word.
However, it was not long before rumours were circulating that his resignation was not in fact caused by Kuwait's refusal. After all, even if disappointed, Mameser had succeeded in improving relations between Jordan and Kuwait, and Kuwaiti officials had announced they would attend the games, even if their athletes did not. The Kuwaiti officials also made it clear that the only reason that their athletes would not be competing was to avoid contact with Iraqi players. So in a sense, Mameser had scored a partial success
Instead, it appears that the minister had taken advantage of his recent missions to intervene in the ongoing argument over prisoners of war between Iraq and Kuwait. It was felt back home that, in doing so, he had overstepped the responsibilities of his post, thus creating bad feeling between himself and Jordanian Prime Minister Abdel-Raouf El-Rawabda.
He had also recently been involved in an argument with the Supreme Organising Committee of the Games, which is headed by Prince Faisal Bin Al-Hussein.
In his resignation letter addressed to the prime minister, Mameser said that the political controversy in which he found himself embroiled was preventing him from preparing the country adequately for the Arab Games, and expressed his reluctance to continue working in such discouraging conditions.
El-Rawabda responded by saying that Mameser's resignation could not be accepted until King Abdullah returns to Jordan. He added that he personally was not opposed to respecting his minister's wish.
Meanwhile, a royal decree was issued appointing Deputy Prime Minister Aiman El-Magali to take over Mameser's functions in the interim. Mameser himself has left Jordan for an unknown country, and has refused to discuss the reasons behind his resignation.
This blow comes at a crucial time, not only because there are only four weeks to go before the games, but also because Mameser was set to embark on a tour of North Africa taking in Algeria, Morocco and Tunis, in order to discuss their stands, the final position of the Gulf Arab countries, and the latest preparations for the Games.
El-Magali meanwhile renewed Mameser's call to Kuwait to send its athletes to the games, and not just its officials.
As regards media coverage, El-Magali said initially that Jordan had agreed to accept only one journalist with each delegation, but now they were prepared to raise the number to five per country.
Any journalists beyond this designated number will have to pay $65 for accommodation, transportation and ID cards, but will still be able to use the facilities of the press centre at a reduced rate.
El-Magali added that Jordan would be extending several invitations to prominent Arab sports journalists to visit the country prior to the Games to view the preparations and the facilities that will be provided.
He also told the press that Jordan had received the usual $500,000 contribution from the Arab League to support the cost of hosting the Games. In addition, the United Arab Emirates have offered to provide free TV coverage, which would otherwise have cost the country between 4 and 5 million US dollars.
