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Al-Ahram Weekly 21 - 27 October 1999 Issue No. 452 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 21 - 27 October 1999 Issue No. 452
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Reining in the strike down
By Lola KeilaniThe Jordanian authorities last Friday allowed around 10,000 Palestinians from the main Wihdat Refugee Camp to stage a demonstration to express their solidarity with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and with two of its leaders, Khalid Misha'al and Ibrahim Ghousheh, who are in prison and awaiting trial and have now gone on hunger strike in protest at what they called the government's lengthened procedures and stalling tactics.
"This hunger strike is to demand that injustice against us be lifted and our freedom restored," Misha'al told his defense lawyer Saleh Armouti, who heads a team of 59. "We have been detained for 25 days now, and this is sufficient time for the issue to be resolved and for us to be put on trial," the lawyer quoted Misha'al as saying. Armouti said that the detainees were drinking only water and eating no solid foods, though Ghousheh was taking medication for diabetes and hypertension.
Hamas Politburo chief Khaled Misha'al and Spokesman Ibrahim Ghousheh are among the 21 Hamas activists currently detained at the Juweideh Prison in Jordan on charges of belonging to an "illegal organisation." Last August, the Jordanian authorities ordered the closure of five commercial offices in Amman registered under the names of Hamas leaders, levelling felony charges, two of which are punishable by death, against Misha'al and Ghousheh and against politburo member Sami Khatter.
In a possible breaking of the deadlock that has reigned since then, Muslim Brotherhood leader Abdul-Majeed Thunibat revealed on Sunday that he had received an indication from the government that it might be willing to accept the 'Brotherhood's mediation' in the case. This offer apparently came from the Jordanian prime minister, who had previously been reluctant either to meet with Thunibat or to accept dialogue with Hamas or the Brotherhood.
Thunibat said that he was drafting a formula in response to the government's proposal, and that in order to do this he would need to consult with politburo member Musa Abu Marzuq, who is currently in the Syrian capital Damascus.
According to Thunibat, the contents of the new formula would include the dismissal of the legal case against the leadership of Hamas, the release of the 15 Hamas members in detention, the Jordanian government's launching of direct dialogue with the Hamas politburo, or of indirect dialogue with Thunibat serving as mediator, and the reaching of a compromise by the two sides that would commit Hamas to upholding Jordan's sovereignty and its Constitution and abiding by its laws and security regulations. In exchange, the Jordanian Government would resume its permission for Hamas political activity in Jordan.
"We are under the impression that our mediation efforts will be accepted by prime minister Rawabdeh, and that the final draft will be arrived at following consultations with Musa Abu Marzouq," Thunibat said.
Members of the Muslim Brotherhood demonstrating in Amman on Friday for the release of Hamas leaders
(photo: AP)
Abu Marzouq was deported to Syria upon his recent return to Jordan from Iran, where he had been in the company of Misha'al and Ghousheh. His name appears on a list of Hamas activists that includes those of Ezzat Risheq and Mohammed Nazzal, who face the same charges as do Misha'al and Ghousheh and who are currently in hiding avoiding arrest.
Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister Aymen Majali, however, denied that the government had requested the Brotherhood to mediate the issue.
Meanwhile, King Abdullah II of Jordan, who is currently on a tour of the United States and who stated before his departure that the State Security Court would decide the fate of the Hamas leaders, apparently reversed his position and announced in a US television interview that he would personally attend to the Hamas issue when he returns to Jordan next week.
"I believe that there is a formula, and when I return I will be briefed by the government on what is going on, and on what needs to be done," he said.
The political nature of the crisis was apparent during last week's demonstration in support of Hamas, in which Thunibat was carried on the backs of demonstrators, saying that "these ten thousand represent the Muslim Brotherhood's strength within only one refugee camp.The whole of Jordanian public opinion identifies with this noble cause." Thunibat added that he had earlier coordinated with the Minister of the Interior to ensure that the demonstration passed off peacefully.
Meanwhile, political observers in Jordan stress that the kind of tensions that existed between Hamas and the late King Hussein would not be allowed to reoccur. These observers point out, for example, that King Abdullah made a conciliatory gesture to Hamas only four hours before he left for Washington and that his prime minister made a second conciliatory gesture only hours before his recent departure for London.
It may be, however, that this politics of gesture has been responsible for Misha'al's announcement that the Hamas leaders would be going on hunger strike, since it has had the effect of stalling the judicial process and postponing an end to the crisis. This is especially the case given that for the next ten days both the King and his prime minister will be in Spain and London as part of an official European tour.
