JORDAN: Repression and a limited democracy go hand-in-hand in Jordan, writes Michael Jansen in Amman
Caught between anarchic Iraq to the east and the chaotic Palestinian situation to the west, Jordan is trying to ensure stability by practising repression while allowing limited democracy to flourish.
On one hand, the trial has begun of an Iraqi woman who failed to detonate her bomb vest during attacks on three hotels in Amman last November.
She belongs to al-Qaeda in Iraq, the movement founded by the Jordanian Muslim militant Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi who resurfaced in a videotaped message on Tuesday after disappearing in Iraq three years ago. His reappearance is a nightmare for Jordanian as well as Iraqi and US security agencies.
On the other hand, a Hamas cell preparing bomb attacks throughout the kingdom has been uncovered. Jordanian intelligence accuses Palestinian Hamas leaders based in Damascus of trying to destabilise the country.
Palestinian foreign minister Mahmud Zohar, a senior Hamas figure, was snubbed during a visit to Amman by his Jordanian counterpart soon after news of the plot broke last week.
Marouf Bakhit, a security hawk who served as the country's ambassador to Israel, was recently appointed prime minister. He put armed soldiers on the streets and tightened control over tourism sites. He also raised the price of petrol, detained activists from the Islamic Action Front (IAF) when they protested, and pressed the lower house to amend the press law so journalists could be fined and jailed for publishing material deemed dangerous by the authorities.
In January, the charge of "harming the dignity of the state" was laid and then dropped against IAF leader Jamil Abu Bakr for accusing the government of making appointments on the basis of connections rather than qualifications. His stand was popular with many Jordanians who accuse officials of corruption.
Analysts say Mr Bakhit intends to limit freedom of expression and choice ahead of municipal elections scheduled for later this year and the parliamentary poll in 2007. The rise of Shia and Sunni fundamentalist parties in Iraq and the victories of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and Palestinian Hamas in legislative elections is worrying the Jordanian political establishment dominated by King Abdullah, who is determined to maintain the kingdom's secular polity.
The IAF, the political arm of the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood, has been closely associated with the monarchy since 1957 when secular Arab nationalists threatened a coup against the Hashemite dynasty. The best organised party out of 33, the IAF is the largest faction in parliament, with 17 of the 110 seats. It controls the professional associations and benefits from its ties to the brotherhood's charitable and educational organisations.
Radical front members demand greater participation in parliament and the right to form a government if the IAF wins the largest number of seats. It also wants the government to restore ties with Hamas disrupted when activists were deported in 1999.
Front deputies argue that they might win 50-60 per cent of the vote if elections were more free and fair through the adoption of the "one-man-one-vote" model.
The current system gives quotas for Christians and tribes, and greater weight to small towns and rural areas, where Jordanian citizens of Jordanian origin live, than to major urban centres, where citizens of Palestinian origin dwell. Although the lower house is discussing amendments to the electoral law, it is unlikely that major changes will be made, which could jeopardise the stability of Jordan at a time its neighbours are caught up in conflicts involving Muslim fundamentalists.