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Al-Ahram Weekly 7 - 13 October 1999 Issue No. 450 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 7 - 13 October 1999 Issue No. 450
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Interview Features Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters In anticipation of a royal gesture
By Lola KeilaniTwo prominent supporters of the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas recently withdrew from the Hamas Solidarity Committee in protest against what they described as the Muslim Brotherhood's soft handling of the recent arrest of Hamas leaders.
During the second meeting of the committee, which was formed following the arrests in late September, former MP Laith Shubeilat and Hussein Mjalli, former head of the Lawyers' Syndicate, accused the head of the Muslim Brotherhood Movement, Abdel-Majeed Thuneibat, of not taking forceful enough steps in dealing with the arrests.
Other prominent Brotherhood figures, such as Sheikh Ibrahim Keilani, former minister of religious affairs, and Hammam Said, a former MP, criticised Thuneibat vocally for his policies, which favour dialogue with the government over direct confrontation, sit-ins or demonstrations.
Shubeilat and Mjalli both walked out of the meeting where President of the Jordan Bar Association Saleh Armouti, who heads a 60-man legal team defending Hamas suspects, said dialogue and "not confrontation" should be the basis for solving the conflict.
But Thuneibat, who has been calling for a meeting with Prime Minister Rawabdeh for the past 10 days, said "Rawabdeh has closed the door of dialogue in our faces." Nonetheless, he said the movement would exercise its right to free expression through peaceful rallies and meetings as well as through diplomacy. Thuneibat sent a letter to King Abdullah II proposing to annul and replace the government's decade-old agreement with Hamas, which sanctions and regulates the group's presence in Jordan.
The government crackdown on Hamas has extended beyond the arrest of its leaders. Sheikh Abdel-Munein Abu-Zant and Theeb Anis, both former Brotherhood MPs and known Hamas supporters, were arrested last week for criticising the Jordanian government's stand against the detained Hamas leaders, Khalid Misha'al and Ibrahim Ghosheh.
Abu-Zant, arrested three times last week and released on bail, delivered a sermon on Friday criticising the government. He was later arrested for allegedly slandering the prime minister in an article in Al-Arab Al-Yawm newspaper. According to Abu-Zant's defence lawyer, a higher magistrate court, rather than the prosecutor-general, is the appropriate authority to handle such cases.
The 63-year-old sheikh is also accused of violating the press and publication law in his anti-government editorials and refusing to sign a written pledge not to deliver Friday sermons. The latter charge, punishable by three years in jail, stems from the cleric's alleged "agitation of sectarian strife" in his preaching. The cleric refused, saying preaching was an integral part of his constitutional right to free speech. "I would rather be in a jail in which Misha'al is incarcerated, than be walking free in the streets of Amman," Abu-Zant said.
The editor who publishes Abu-Zant's articles, Azzam Younis of the daily Al-Arab Al-Yawm, was also arrested on charges of slander and is expected to appear soon in court. The case against Younis will be the first to be raised under the newly amended 1998 Press and Publications Law.
The Jordanian authorities cracked down on Hamas on 31 August, closing five of its offices in Amman, detaining 15 activists and issuing arrest warrants against five of its top leaders on charges of "carrying out illegal activities." Two weeks ago, Politburo Chief Misha'al and spokesman Ghosheh were arrested upon arrival in Jordan from Iran. No bail was set after the completion of the interrogation, as is normal procedure. "It is a political rather than a judicial case," says Saleh Armouti, head of the lawyers' association.
The authorities also deported Hamas politburo member Musa Abu-Marzouk, who holds a Yemeni passport. The two other known Hamas leaders, Mohamed Nazzal and politburo member Imad Rishiq, are still in hiding.
Political analysts suggest the issue will be solved politically, since it is in the government's best interest to reach a compromise. A royal gesture is expected to defuse the tensions between the government, opposition parties and professional associations. Observers say a worst case scenario would involve Abdullah issuing an amnesty, if a military court verdict failed to exonerate the Hamas leaders.
"Though King Abdullah is strong enough to come out on top in a confrontation, at this early stage he is shrewd enough not to irrevocably alienate the opposition parties, especially the Muslim Brotherhood and the main Palestinian population," said Musa Zaid, a political observer.
