Jordan king urges speedy reforms ahead of Friday’s demos
Published: Jan 28, 2011 00:57 Updated: Jan 28, 2011 00:57
AMMAN: Jordan’s King Abdallah on Thursday urged the government and the parliament to speed up "comprehensive" political, economic and social reforms.
The monarch’s remarks came 24 hours before a coalition of opposition parties, trade unions and activists said they planned to stage demonstrations after Friday prayers to press their demand for genuine reforms.
"All officials concerned should shoulder their responsibilities and take their decision in a daring, transparent and clear manner," the king told leading lawmakers from the lower house of parliament whom he summoned to discuss the latest spate of protests in the country.
Earlier in the week, King Abdallah held a similar meeting with leading figures from the upper house of Parliament.
On Thursday he warned against taking the king as a cover-up for wrongdoings. "I don’t want to hear someone says that he has directions from the head."
King Abdallah referred to complaints by some deputies and editorialists that ministers resorted to the king’s protection to justify their bad performance.
He said that all cases of alleged corruption and favoritism should be addressed in a satisfactory manner.
"All files should be opened to the public, doubts should be cleared and mistakes corrected,” the monarch said.
King Abdallah in particular called for the amendment of the election law, which was cited by the Islamic-led opposition for boycotting the November 9 elections.
Thousands of Jordanians demonstrated across the country on the last two Fridays despite a decision by the government to subsidize basic goods and cancel taxes on certain types of fuel.
