King Abdullah says Arab frustration fuels extremism

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/swissinfo.html?siteSect=143&sid=5932058&cKey=1120935921000

LONDON (Reuters) - Jordan's King Abdullah said the world must tackle Arab frustration over poverty and perceived injustices in the Israeli-Palestinian and Iraqi conflicts if it is to stem militant violence.

Four bombs exploded in London on Thursday, killing more than 50 people. Three Islamic militant groups claimed responsibility, and while none of the claims have been verified, British officials said the blasts bore the hallmarks of al Qaeda.

"There is tremendous frustration throughout the Middle East over ... the Israeli-Palestinian conflict -- that is the first thing that these extremists use to raise the level of tension," Abdullah said in an interview with CNN on Saturday.

"The second one is Iraq, so if we deal with these core issues it does allow us to bring the level of tension down, but at the same time we do have to improve the lives of Arabs".

Listen to this thug. Here is the dictator of one of the Mideasts most brutal regimes who came to power because his pappy died telling us what fuels extremism. I am tired of giving these thugs a pass because they wear nice suits, ride a Harley, and have a trophy wife. Fuck 'em.

[stray cat]

1. Do you really consider Jordan one of the more repressive societies?

It was certainly one of the more stable, modern and least repressive countries in the Middle East when I lived there. Certainly the most advanced where rights for women and minorities were concerned.

[NNN0LHI]

7. Yes I really do consider Jordan one of the more repressive societies

http://hrw.org/doc?t=mideast&c=jordan

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Jordan: Slander Charge Signals Chill
Revise the Penal Code to Guarantee Free Speech
Jordan’s charging of a political activist with slander is intended to chill legitimate political debate, Human Rights Watch said today. A judge in Amman charged activist Ali Hattar on Tuesday with violating article 191 of the Jordanian Penal Code, which provides criminal penalties for the “slander” of Jordanian government officials.
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Jordan: Victims Jailed in 'Honor' Crime Cases
The Jordanian government imprisons women threatened with "honor" crimes rather than the male relatives who threaten them. In cases where women are killed, the perpetrators receive minimal punishment.
April 20, 2004 Press Release
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Honoring the Killers
Justice Denied For "Honor" Crimes in Jordan
This 37-page report documents the killings and attempted murders of women by male family members who claim they are defending family "honor." The report also details the cases of women, threatened with "honor" crimes, who languish in prison for years while held in protective custody.
HRW Index No.: E1601
April 20, 2004 Report
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Jordanian Law Excuses Murder
Jordanian Government Must End Impunity and Improve Protection for Women
In a letter to Jordanian Prime Minister Abdur-Ra'uf Rawabdeh released today, Human Rights Watch condemned the "honor killings" which continue to take place in Jordan.
August 11, 1999 Press Release
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Letter to Jordanian Prime Minister
I am writing to express Human Rights Watch's deep concern over the killing of eleven women in the name of so-called ‘family honor' in Jordan since the beginning of this year. Approximately twenty-five to thirty women are killed in Jordan each year in the name of honor, and crimes of honor constitute about one third of the number of the country's homicides. We are particularly concerned that the government's failures to abolish the laws allowing lenient treatment of such crimes and to punish appropriately those who commit them contribute to a climate of impunity for this form of violence against women.
August 9, 1999 Letter

HRW Urges Jordan's Senate to Reject Anachronistic Press and Publications Law
In a letter to the speaker of Jordan's upper house of parliament made public today, Human Rights Watch calls the press and publications law passed by the Chamber of Deputies on August 9 a direct threat to freedom of expression.
August 14, 1998 Press Release
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Academic Leaders And Scholars Advocates Critique Proposed Jordanian Press Law
In a July 10 letter to Jordanian Minister of Higher Education Dr. Mohammad Hamdan made public today, the Human Rights Watch Academic Freedom Committee criticizes the draft press and publications law currently being considered by the Jordanian parliament.
July 13, 1998 Press Release
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In a letter to the speaker of Jordan's Chamber of Deputies, Human Rights Watch criticizes the draft press and publications law that the government presented to parliament last week.
June 25, 1998 Press Release
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Jordan: Clamping Down on Critics, Human Rights Violations in Advance of the Parliamentary Elections
The parliamentary elections in Jordan on November 4 will be held in a climate of mounting restrictions on freedom of expression and association, Human Rights Watch charges in a report issued today.
October 29, 1997 Press Release

Clamping Down on Critics: Human Rights Violations in Advance of the Elections
Freedom of expression and press freedom are essential conditions for the conduct of free and fair elections. But in the pre-election period, Jordanian authorities have used the laws in force, and other means such as threats and intimidation by internal security forces and government officials, to restrict free expression, including press freedom, in violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which Jordan has ratified. This report documents a series of actions taken by the government to tame the print media -- including the temporary closure of thirteen weekly newspapers in September -- and intimidate political critics into silence. Journalists and editors told Human Rights Watch that they have followed a stricter regime of self-censorship since the amendments to the press law were implemented in May 1997, for fear of being subjected to heavy financial penalties mandated under the new law. In addition, students, writers, and researchers have faced a variety of sanctions -- ranging from detention, criminal prosecution, and imprisonment to harassment, job loss, and blacklisting -- because they expressed views on political subjects that the government preferred remain off-limits. Such measures have created an atmosphere in which the right to free expression is perceived by many in Jordan as under siege.
June 1, 1997 Report
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A Death Knell for Free Expression? The New Amendments to the Press and Publications Law
Since Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, there has been growing tension between the Jordanian government and the independent press, particularly the kingdom's small-circulation weekly newspapers. Journalists and editors have been arrested, detained and prosecuted for violations of both the penal code and provisions of the press and publications law of 1993. By the count of one Jordanian weekly newspaper, since the law went into effect sixty-two cases have been brought against journalists and editors, the overwhelming majority of them with weekly newspapers. Faced with public opposition to normalization of relations with Israel, frustration about the implementation of the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and popular discontent with the state of the economy and high rates of unemployment and underemployment, Jordanian authorities have clearly signaled a growing discomfort with the exercise of freedom of expression by both individual critics and the press.
June 1, 1997 Report
Purchase online

[Violet_Crumble]

15. Then you don't know much about Jordan...

If all you've got for evidence of this is selective copying'n'pasting from HRW, then does the obvious fact that anyone can come along and do a list like that about Israel, Australia or the US make them repressive societies as well?

Violet...

[Catch22Dem]

8. I've spent time in Saudi Arabia and Jordan both...

Jordan was a great place to live. The people were extremely friendly and had a great deal of western culture and influence. Jordan's Queen Noor helped make huge advances for womens rights and Queen Rania is also a champion of womens rights and children's issues. In the Middle East, you could do much, much worse than Jordan.

[MisterP]

9. King Hussein's death brought a reversal: the "Star Trek: Voyager" King is

of a much more Bushlike mold

[rayofreason]

18. Jordan,...

...like other Islamic countries, forbids the building of new non-Islamic places of worship (churches, synagogues, hindu temples, wiccan stone circles, etc.) or their repair, except in exceptional and rare circumstances, subject to extensive review.

When Islamic countries allow the same freedom of worship or freedom of atheism that is enjoyed in the West, then I will take their leaders seriously when they speak of "root causes" of problems like terrorism.

[muriel_volestrangler]

26. Are you sure?

They don't look very oppressed to me: http://www.ncccusa.org/nccmiddleeastdelegation/delegphotosjordan.html

and the Pope visited Jordan in 2000. Remember, quite a few Palestinians are Christian, and a lot still live in Jordan. The Jordan government says 6% of the population are Christian, and have freedom to worship. Do you have a link about them not being allowed to build?

[Matariki]

2. nonetheless, what he said here is true... n/t

[Gloria]

3. Oh, he shouldn't say these things!!! The US will yank all the

aid they're giving him to help keep Jordan afloat....Seriously, Jordan gets incredible amounts of aid. They have a burgeoning Palestinian population and there is no work....He should know about frustration...

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

4. I think he makes a good point

many Arabs are extremely poor, and aren't getting a dime from the oil revenues of their country. And Arabs have an allegience to other Arabs, despite their nationality (let's remember it was Europe who carved up the Middle East after WWI and created the modern countries like Iraq). Palestinians have scattered all over the Middle East, and have spread their stories of what they perceive as injustice. The US is viewed as always taking Israel's part in the conflict, including sending that nation the latest in weapons.

[formercia]

5. So, why is the Saud Regime so rich?

Maybe they should share some of their wealth with their poor Muslim bretheren and set a good example.

The Koran speaks to this...

[Garfield Goose]

13. Bingo!

Charity starts at home.

[geek tragedy]

6. Of course, he fails to mention anything having to do with the repressive

and dysfunctional regimes and institutions of the region.


Gee, I wonder why?

[Violet_Crumble]

16. Probably because he's an intelligent guy...

..and he realises that the major factors contributing to fuelling extremism is what he mentioned...

Violet...

[geek tragedy]

27. Of course, the real problem isn't extremism--it's how people

act on it. What can they do so that they feel they are making a difference--to make themselves relevant?

[sam sarrha]

10. I think they just want the Otoman empire back... leisure thru slavery

[K-W]

12. Who doesnt want that these days? EOM

[wallwriter]

11. In the kingdom of the blind....

Or, in the region of the genocidal, the merely brutal and repressive is, well...

[ckramer]

14. In this case, I think the King is telling the truth

In other words, because of the right wings who are not willing to help the poor, they are essentially working with the terrorists.

[Violet_Crumble]

17. He's not a dictator...

Being the head of state of a constitutional monarchy makes someone a dictator? Someone should let the head of state of the constitutional monarchy dictatorship I live in know about that ;)

Violet...

[rayofreason]

20. Dictator?

I agree, he is not a total thug dictator in the mold of Saddam, or even "President for Life" Mubarak. But he still does reflect a society and region that have had only intolerant authocratic regimes as the mode of governance and political expression since at least the Mongol conquests in the 13th century.

[Obamarama]

19. KIng Abdullah is a voice of reason who understands the issues....

King Abdullah is half British, in addition to being educated in the UK and US. Raina worked for Apple Computers here in the US before her marriage. They understand "the West" and we would be stupid not to consider his insights.

[Theduckno2]

21. Couldn't agree more, I always tune in when he says something .

Besides, he is a lot closer to the truth than Bush is with his "They hate our freedoms." nonsense. Is there really a Kalamazoo? :)

[Obamarama]

22. Howdy , neighbor!

So does Coloma still have the Deer Forest Fun Park?

[Theduckno2]

24. Yep evidently it is. Had to look it up though. New ownership.

It is my understanding that King Abdullah is a member of the clan of Hashem (Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan) and Muhammad was born into the same clan. IMHO this lends onto him a certain respect from Muslims that other Middle East leaders find hard to match. He certainly chooses his words carefully, but I hardly think it is in his best interest to be deliberately deceitful. :toast:

[Jim Sagle]

23. Frustrated by the Joooooooos? Just say "Moooooooo!!!"

:boring:

[fujiyama]

25. Abdullah is one of the better Arab leaders

I remember him stating that he would prefer democratic reforms at a much quicker pace but it is very difficult to get them through.

There are many Arab nations in much worse shape than Jordan. Abdullah isn't nearly as bad as say Egypt's Mubarak or Syria's Assad.

And next to the Saudi princes, he's a flaming radical.