King Abdullah turns 40

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah celebrates his 40th birthday today amidst growing regional fears over the worsening Palestinian-Israeli conflict and threats of US-led attacks on Iraq.

As he adroitly steered Jordan through the rapid international changes and uncertainty brought about by the Sept. 11 attacks on the US, King Abdullah at the same time invested equal energies in political and economic development at home.

In the coming days, officials and analysts agree, he will be facing the task of convincing America of the dangers of recent US talks about downgrading or suspending ties with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.

As he meets with President George W. Bush at the White House on Friday, he is also expected to warn Washington of the disastrous consequences should Iraq become the target of the second phase of the “war on terror.”

If this crucial US trip is seen as one of the King's immediate preoccupations, the coming months are expected to see him continue to work hard to neutralise the negative impact of regional turmoil on the domestic front, especially by throwing all his weight behind implementation of a four-year socio-economic development plan.

As King Abdullah completes his third year on the Throne on Feb. 7, analysts and officials agree that the consolidation of his stature at the Arab and international levels was mainly due to his stands vis-ý-vis two major events: The Amman Arab summit, last March, and the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

“The Arab summit was the turning point, it introduced King Abdullah to the Arab masses,” comments former Foreign Minister Abdul Ilah Khatib. “It also raised the Arab street's hopes in the new generation of Arab leaders.”

Jordan worked hard to initiate the restructuring of the 57-year-old League and revive its role.

It also sought to achieve, if not a reconciliation between arch-foes Iraq and Kuwait, at least a joint Arab declaration rejecting the 11-year-old UN embargo on Baghdad.

Though the March summit's attempts failed, largely due to Iraqi obstinacy, future efforts for a common Arab strategy vis-a-vis the Iraqi file are expected to hinge on earlier Jordanian efforts.

If the Arab Summit proved King Abdullah to be a first-class player on the Arab scene, his political choices in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks won him praise and trust in the West.

“King Abdullah was the only Arab leader who understood the magnitude of the change that took place on Sept. 11,” comments former Prime Minister Taher Masri.

The first Arab leader to be received at the White House after the attacks and to contribute troops to the international peace-keeping mission in Afghanistan, King Abdullah used TV appearances to project the image of a peaceful Islam and a confident Jordan.

While unequivocally allying the country with the US in the “war on terror,” King Abdullah also articulated the message that the attacks added urgency to the need to solve the Palestinian question.

“He showed leadership and courage in the aftermath of the attacks,” comments Khatib.

“And he had the confidence to say things that, said by others, might have meant something different or been perceived in a different way.”

The result was that, today, in the words of someone close to King Abdullah, “Jordan is the only Arab country which doesn't have any problem with the US, and can talk to the US.”

As the international agenda grows more demanding and the regional situation more worrisome, King Abdullah's focus has not wavered from political and economic reforms at home.

At the end of a two-year process of national consensus-building which saw the birth of an institutionalised public-private sector partnership and the identification of engines of growth, emphasis is now on implementation.

The King's vision for a future in which citizens are better educated, better served and better off, was translated in the four-year plan for the acceleration of socio-economic transformation.

Launched in November, the plan allocates JD 275 million to development projects this year alone.

The first component of the plan, officials explain, is changing the way government makes decisions, introducing more flexible and leaner procedures.

The second aim is to absorb private capital through expedition of privatisation, while third comes implementation of so-called “critical enablers” — new industrial policies, reform of the financial sector, mergers of ministries and overall redesigning of state institutions.

“The most important component [of the King's vision for socio-economic growth] is human resources development,” points out Planning Minister Bassem Awadallah.

“Education, vocational training, match-making between investors' requirements and supply in the labour market... It is a big challenge,” continues Awadallah.

“But [human resources development] is extremely important because it affects the fibre of Jordanian society, the young who need to be employed and trained to take advantage of the new opportunities.”

One of the first reforms that almost inaugurated King Abdullah's reign was the introduction of English and computer skills in private and public schools' curricula since first grade.

Another major component of the King's vision appears to be faster liberalisation of more economic sectors — water and energy, to mention a couple.

“Political, economic strength and social cohesiveness are all related,” explains a close aide to the King, preferring not to be named.

“Once you have economic development, social upward mobility and prosperity, that immediately leads to a better social environment and a more mature and open political debate,” he continues.

“In many ways, the King has institutionalised the model of Jordan as an open society, aware and very respectful of its heritage, yet open to the outside world in terms of political dialogue, peace with Israel, and economic openness.”

After entering the World Trade Organisation in 2000, Jordan clinched a Free Trade agreement with the US last year, while an Association Agreement with the EU is expected to enter into force this semester.

In addition to fathering a myriad of economic schemes and projects at the international, local, and even rural, levels, King Abdullah has been seen as spurring new momentum into a stagnant political life by calling for general elections to be held this year.

A date for the polls, originally scheduled for Nov. 2001 but put off in the summer amid security concerns, is expected to be announced next month.

The King ordered the first general elections under his reign be held by September in a letter renewing the mandate of Prime Minister Ali Abul Ragheb on Jan. 14.

A new elections law, introduced in July by Royal Decree after the dissolution of the Lower House of Parliament, raised the number of parliamentary seats and introduced measures to avoid fraud and vote-rigging.

It was criticised by the opposition and liberals for retaining a controversial single-vote system in multi-seat, demographically-unequal constituencies.

“Obviously and naturally the elections law is controversial,” says the King's aide.

“Some people say it could have been better, but no one disputes that it is better than the previous one.”

October amendments to the Penal Code seeking to criminalise journalistic malpractice and enlarging the list of topics off-limits to reporters, were seen by human rights watchdogs as restricting freedom of speech.

“Many are [criticising] some new laws, but they are short-term measures, taken in light of international events, mainly the Sept. 11 events,” the close aide argues.

Against the backdrop of the new regulations for journalists, the Information Ministry was abolished under the King's directives, and replaced with a council of experts.

Jordan was only the second country in the region to scrap its information ministry.

“Change is a must. We have always been dynamic. The late King Hussein institutionalised change in Jordan, King Abdullah is accelerating it.”

King Abdullah of Jordan makes plea in meeting with evangelical leaders

by Stephen Strang, Charisma News
April 5, 2001

King Abdullah of Jordan yesterday asked a group of evangelical leaders to urge Christians in America to press for peace in the Middle East. Meeting in Washington, D.C., with some 80 leaders whom the Arab monarch called "men and women of peace," he said: "Arabs need to hear your voice."

King Abdullah asked the group -- from the United States, Canada and South Korea -- to communicate to members of their constituencies that: "the future in the Middle East must be peace. It's time to stand up for what we believe in. We need courage. The people in America should believe in us. Don't lose hope in us."

Seoul, South Korea, pastor David Yonggi Cho, Trinity Broadcasting Network's (TBN) Paul Crouch Jr., and pastors John Hagee of San Antonio, Marilyn Hickey of Denver, and Billy Joe Daugherty of Tulsa, Okla., were among those who attended the meeting hosted by TV evangelist Benny Hinn. He told the group that evangelicals had "put one arm around the Jews in Israel, and now it was time to put the other arm around the Arabs since they are God's children, too."

Hinn's comment was applauded by the group, including King Abdullah, who is in Washington this week to talk with members of Congress who are voting soon on a Free Trade Agreement with Jordan, which the king said was important to his country's economic development.

King Abdullah ascended to the throne in 1999 following the death of his father, King Hussein, noted for his long-running peace efforts in the Middle East. King Abdullah said that Jordan -- whose population is 92 percent Muslim -- had a history of equality for various religions, including a growing evangelical Christian minority. Benny Hinn and fellow evangelist Morris Cerullo have both held meetings in Jordan.

The king spoke about the "difficulties" in the West Bank between Arabs and Jews and talked at length for the need to end the "vicious cycle of violence," saying "if the violence continues it will only get worse." He also said that Jordan's tourist office was actively pursuing Christian tourism and invited the group to visit the country's holy sites.

Earlier this year the Jordan Tourism Board launched a major effort to put the country on the pilgrim map, calling its 200 authenticated biblical locations "probably the best kept secret of the Holy Land." Among the biblical sites in Jordan are the place where Jesus was baptized, Elijah's hill and Mount Nebo.

During a question-answer time, Paul Crouch Jr. asked if TBN could build a station in Jordan. King Abdullah said even though the nation's newspapers and TV stations were currently a government monopoly, he was pushing for "privatization" which might allow for such a station.

Claude Bowers, president of WACX-TV SuperChannel 55 in Orlando, Fla., told the group that his wife had just returned from a successful tour of Jordan with a group of tourists. Don Argue, president of Northwest College of the Assemblies of God in Kirkland, Wash., told the king the group had been invited by a committee called "Friends of Jordan," and they wanted to be supportive of the growing group of evangelicals in Jordan.

Hinn told the group that the late King Hussein had asked to meet with evangelical leaders, but died before the meeting could take place.

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He told the group that evangelicals had "put one arm around the Jews in Israel, and now it was time to put the other arm around the Arabs since they are God's children, too."

Since they define embracing Arabs as helping the government of Jordan, I'd like to know: How can you bless Israel by helping those who curse and lie about Israel?

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