MER - Washington - 2/3/98:
 
    Jordan, under the Hashemite regime originally installed by British imperialism, has been working closely with the Zionist movement ever since World War II, and subsequently with the American CIA.  For those interested in the detailed history of how this collaboration began, the excellent book, COLLABORATION ACROSS THE JORDAN by Professor Avi Schlaim at Oxford University, makes for fascinating reading.  It is widely believed, in fact, that King Hussein tried to give the Israelis secret warning of Arab plans to attack before the 1973 war, and had been secretly working ever-more closely with the Israelis personally ever since the 1967 war.
 
    After a period of public caution, including at the time of the Gulf War, the Hashemite Regime has clearly decided to defy its own people and turn on the Arab world by making its alliance with Israel and the U.S. de jure rather than de facto.  This period began with the very public signing of the Israeli-Jordanian Peace Treaty a few years ago, King Hussein's public visits to Israel, and a major shift in economic and political priorities in recent years.  Last month's Jordanian involvement in the first-ever joint Israeli/Turkish/American military maneuvers in the region was one more clear indication of Hashemite intentions.  Increasingly close collaboration with senior officials of the Israeli government, including the Defense Minister and Ariel Sharon, one of the most notorious anti-Palestinian Israelis, has been escalating in the past two years.
 
    Meanwhile of course the Jordanian secret police, the Muhabarat, have been increasingly active in undermining and repressing all who oppose these policies in talk or deed.  A few months ago MER published a first-hand description of what is done to university students who even dared to discuss the possibility of organizing an independent student union -- they were seriously threatened and intimidated and hundreds of heavily armed troops showed up at the university to prevent any meeting.  Subsequently MER was also threatened and disinformation has been spread about MER.
 
    This is the context in which this very interesting article has been exclusively published by a small group calling itself the Free Arab Voice.  The article is by a courageous Jordanian,  Laith Shubailatt, who is the President of the Council of Professional Trade Unions in Amman.
 

    After the Jordanian-Israeli joint maneuvers in Aqaba and continual ordanian-American- British joint military exercises with "Israel", the recent decision by Jordanian authorities to partake in American-Israeli-Turkish maneuvers in the Mediterranean wasn't really a big surprise.

    A careful observer of late and past official Jordanian positions would reasonably conclude that they have methodically purported to annex Jordan to "Israel" in the service of Zionist plans, against Arab and Muslim ones.

    Understandably joint military exercises occur essentially between states with similar policies and a compatible military strategy identifying similarly WHO THE ENEMY IS...

    Hence many are those official Jordanian positions undermining the country's standing as an Arab and Muslim state, and handing over its prime real-estate and financial assets as well as its military, economic, and political resources to "Israel" and the Nato Alliance. Everything in Jordan now is up for grabs from companies to land.  From tourist services including those which require shedding some of the people's dignity, to military services including those which require shedding some of the country's sovereignty, it's either For Rent or it's For Sale!!

    Yet sovereignty is protected by a military credo which identifies who the enemy is in accordance with society's sense of what is holy and what is unclean: Jordanians who take pride in their army refuse to be in the same trenches with Zionists who have never been and will never be for peace.  They refuse to be in the same trenches with the Turkish army which is occupying Northern Iraq with our implicit approval now.   And they refuse to be in the same trenches with an American Administration which is actively annihilating the Iraqi people, and transgressing against the Arab nation and Islam.

    Some of these official Jordanian positions dragging us towards 'Israel" and Nato, away from our Arab and Islamic center of gravity are:

1) Adopting misleading Zionist theses such as:
   i) Islam fosters terrorism
  ii) Arabism is chauvinistic
 iii) the Palestinian National Charter is unjust towards Zionist Jews.

2) Accepting Zionism as a racist creed which discriminates between Jews and Gentiles.  For example, at the same time the Jordanian government relinquished the right of return of Palestinian refugees, it didn't request the annulment of the Israeli Law of Return which gives any Jew in the world the right to citizenship in our occupied Palestinian land.

3) Psychologically mobilizing our armed forces against Arab opponents of the alleged peace and ceasing all such mobilization against Zionists, even the most extreme among them.

4) At the same time the red flag of Jordanian sovereignty is waved in the face of Arabs and Muslims on many matters of principle, the government concedes Jordanian sovereignty to Zionists and others as in the following examples-

i) Agreeing to the joint administration with "Israel" of Aqaba airport in the south of Jordan.

ii) Agreeing to the joint administration with "Israel" of the Jordan Valley.

iii) Agreeing to the construction of an industrial city on Jordanian soil whose exports would be exempt from American tariffs whether Israelis are partners in joint ventures with Jordanians or non-Jordanians, but only if Jordanians are partners with Israelis.

iv) Allowing the two Zionist criminals who tried to assassinate Khaled Mashal to leave the country unscathed, along with the rest of their Mossad support group, in violation of the constitution.

v) Setting a stony silence upon the assassination of the Jordanian diplomat in Tel Aviv while raising hell over the murder of a Jordanian embassy employee in Iraq, who turned out later to be the victim of a 'normal' robbery perpetrated by a Jordanian and a Saudi!

vi) Officially approving the principle of Jewish settlement in the East Bank of the River Jordan, as in Bakura where Israeli laws are currently in effect.  Moreover, all obstacles to total foreign, including Israeli, ownership or control of Jordanian companies and real-estate are currently being removed.  In contrast, in "Israel" today, Gentiles can't legally buy up land and property!!

vii) Establishing strong military and security links between Jordan, "Israel", and the U.S. and providing them with military facilities on our soil as in Azraq military base.

    In the process of annexing Jordan to the Nato Alliance, it becomes obvious that the Jordanian regime has furthermore adopted the Zionist scheme of the 'New Middle East', in direct violation of the pro-Arab objectives of the Great Arab Revolution which brought the regime into power.

    This necessitates an explanation to the Jordanian people of all the deals the Great Arab Revolution has ever cut with the Zionist movement if any, and an academic explanation of the cause of the contradictions between the declared objectives of the Arab Revolution and the aforementioned practices and official Jordanian positions.

    These positions should be condemned by the forces of civil society, by trade unions, and all concerned citizens.

    Let's all stand together in the face of Zionist schemes to devour Jordan.