Jordanian Realities - A Story
About Jordanian "Democracy"
Former U.S. Foreign
Service Officer
MER - Washington - 19 March:
While King Hussein
of the "Hashemite Kingdom" is consulting with Bill Clinton and the Israeli/Jewish
lobby in Washington today, back at home things are in something of an ongoing
uproar, a situation the King does all he can to keep from public view.
Laith Shubailatt is
in prison. It's not that he committed any crime. It's only that he
was active politically in building a coalition among the professions unions,
which he heads, bringing Islamists, leftists, and nationalists together
to challenge the dictators policies. Overall there is widespread
opposition in Jordan to the King's peace treaty with Israel as well as
his ongoing collaboration with the Americans. Anyone who speaks up
is in jeopardy. The secret-police, the Muhabarat, are all-pervasive.
Repression, intimidation, and pay-offs to informers are the name of the
game. As a former American foreign service officer has just written
to MER, "The King has a place just this side of Fernando Marcos."
"There is something
fresh in the air. There is something new in the air. Someone who speaks
the truth, not diplomatically, but accurately." Believe it or not that's
how King Hussein greeted Madeleine Albright
during his Middle East tour last
year!
It was about
that time that MER published the following exclusive article. So much for
Jordanian "Democracy"!
"W E ' L L
B U T C H E R T H E M !"
A Story About Jordanian "Democracy"
Today I know for sure, after endless failing attempts to convince myself of the existence of a true democracy in Jordan, I know that it's all crap... worthless blabber. It's funny how our government always makes sure that its citizens go to bed everyday with rosy-ish imposed images of our festive democratic life. Well I don't think it's gonna ever be the same for anyone who passed by University of Jordan this morning, let alone went inside to attend lectures, only to be in a state of total shock of the bitter truth that we've been trying to deny for so long.
I most feel obliged, as someone who happened to be at UJ since 9 in the morning, to try and say everything that I've heard and seen, since unfortunately there were no reporters, no journalists, no nothing.
Yesterday, Tuesday Oct. 21st, our
students' council at UJ distributed papers that told the story of how the
student council chairman went to see some high-rank official to ask permission
for a demonstration to
take place today, Wednesday Oct.
22nd, at 11:00am. The cause behind the demonstration was meant to
be the demand of a Jordanian Student General Union. Very surprisingly,
students' council chairman was
addressed very rudely, and threatened
that if he and his fellow student-council members continue with this demand
of theirs, he'll be arrested and sent where no one will ever know about
him any more!!
. . . Feeling the burden of responsibility,
our chairman insisted that the demonstration takes place, upon which the
official's response was an even harsher threaten; one that is said to have
been carried out this morning, arresting the chairman along with 4 other
student-council members.
All that I've mentioned so far is
merely what I've heard or read, but what follows is the really entertaining
part; the one I've witnessed with my own eyes. From 8:00am this morning,
the road leading directly
to the main gate of the university
was blocked for cars; only public buses were allowed in. Not less than
20 navy blue vans (the ones used for collective arresting) were lined outside
the university main gate,
along with something like 5 huge
"things" that I've never seen before but was told that they're equipped
with large water hoses to be used against demonstrators. And last,
but definitely NOT least, a group of
approximately 350 public security
men dressed in navy blue, with their helmets, clubs and pistols on, sitting
on the ground of an area that may well cover a basketball field, ready,
or maybe even eager, to
attack!
I, like most of us out there, am
still in a state of shock. This is the only way I can describe how
I've been feeling ever since that minute...
I was so much distressed by the
idea that something nasty may happen, I don't know what got to me, but
I went and stood near the university fence, which was the only thing separating
us from the "soldiers", and I couldn't help but address them and ask what
they were intended to do; how far were they supposed to go if something
happens. I said: Are you gonna beat those students up??? I
know it's stupid, but the answer I got from one of the men was: wallah
lanla77emhom (we'll "butcher" them).
I happened to have a camera with me, one which I usually use to capture precious and rosy moments of my last year at UJ, and I did manage to get a photo of those fierce-looking men, although I then had to run faster than I've ever done before, since "el-faleeleh 3/4 el-marajel!" (for although those men cannot by any means get into the university campus, yet we do have our "ta3qeeb" security men, one of which was heading towards me, or so I suspected). Fortunately enough, the demonstration did not take place, and things went smoothly. It was 15 minutes ago that I passed by UJ again. The men were gone, vans nearly disappeared, but still elhamdilla there are 5 white vans, just in case . . . God, it was only a demonstration!
Jordanian democracy . . . HUH!