12 - 18 April 2001
Issue No.529
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 12 - 18 April 2001 Issue No.529 |
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Balancing act
As King Abdullah headed to Washington for talks with US President George W Bush, the Jordanian government reaffirmed a ban on demonstrations supporting the Palestinian uprising, Lola Keilani reports from Amman
With public anger towards the escalation of violence against Palestinians growing since Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon took office, the Jordanian government last week confirmed an order it issued in October, banning public demonstrations in support of the seven-month-old Palestinian uprising.
Observers believe that the government is finding it increasingly difficult to continue the delicate balancing act between popular sentiment fuelled by the Palestinian Intifada, on one side, and the kingdom's security and political needs, on the other.
The reminder of the ban on demonstrations coincided with King Abdullah's departure to Washington for talks with US President George W Bush. Jordan, one of Washington's closest allies in the region, has always insisted on keeping communication channels open with Israel, even at the worst of times. The official line is that relations with Israel are beneficial to Palestinian negotiators trying to reach a settlement.
But following Sharon's tacit declaration of war against Palestinians, opposition groups, led by the Muslim Brotherhood, are increasingly vocal in demanding that Jordan no longer adopt a passive approach and, instead, condemn Israeli actions. They demand that the kingdom take practical action to demonstrate its rejection of Israeli policies.
The ban on demonstrations, announced in early October in the wake of protest rallies in support of the Al-Aqsa Intifada, has done little to suppress popular backing for the uprising. Newspapers regularly run articles in tune with popular sentiment and officials are at pains to justify the clampdown. But the government feels pressure from the diplomatic front as well, due to the peace treaty signed with Israel in 1994. In particular, the kingdom's leadership must cope with US demands that Amman maintain normal relations with Israel.
Meanwhile, a series of government moves have increased strains with the Islamists, considered in the past a traditional ally of the late King Hussein. These included a crackdown on the Amman-based activists of the Islamic resistance movement Hamas, the closure of Hamas offices and a police sweep against professional associations spearheading an "anti-normalisation" campaign. Security forces have also arrested dozens of activists suspected of sabotage against Western -- particularly American -- targets in protest of their support of Israel.
Popular resentment is fed by the recent Arab summit's failure to produce an agreement on Iraq and to call for lifting UN sanctions against it.
On 30 March, scores of residents of the Wihdat Palestinian refugee camp took to the streets to commemorate Land Day. The march lasted 90 minutes and ended without incident. The following day, Amman Governor Talaat Nawaiseh reaffirmed the ban on marches and sit-ins.
However, on Saturday, about 200 unionists and political activists attended a public rally in solidarity with the Palestinian uprising. The event marked the anniversary of the 1948 Deir Yassin massacre in which 250 Palestinians, mostly women and children, were slaughtered by extremist Jewish groups led by former Israeli prime ministers Yitzhak Shamir and Menachem Begin.
Saturday's speeches revealed high emotions. Declaring that "Zionists only understood the language of force," Muslim Brotherhood leader Jamil Abu Bakr called on Muslims to start "a holy Jihad for the liberation of Palestine."
"That's the kind of talk that the Jordanian government is anxious to avoid," said a seasoned observer. "It knows well that regardless of the effectiveness of such calls, they would be used as pressure tactics against the Kingdom at a time when it is exerting efforts to consolidate its external relations."
Such Islamist rhetoric is hardly soothing to the ears of the new American president, all the less so when coupled with displayed pictures of Saddam Hussein and other posters supporting Iraq. The ban on demonstrations seems intended to preclude embarrassing news from reaching Washington.
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