AMMAN, 23 April 2004 — Jordan’s Deputy Prime Minister Mohammad Halaiqa conceded yesterday that US President George W. Bush’s latest concessions to Israel had caused “perplexity” to Jordan that prompted King Abdallah to postpone his White House visit.
In light of this, he said the two countries were trying to reach a “common ground” that ensures the monarch’s visit to the United States in the first week of May be a “success”.
He expressed hope that the incident would not affect “the strong ties” existing between Jordan and the United States.
“The US administration’s latest remarks gave rise to a state of perplexity that prompted the king to defer his visit pending more dialogue that leads to a clear and acceptable attitude for all parties,” Halaiqa said.
He was alluding to Bush’s endorsement last week of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s plan for unilateral pullout from the Gaza Strip.
Bush went further to legalize Israel’s annexation of some of West Bank with Jewish settlements and deny the right of Palestinian refugees to go back to their homes in what is now known as Israel.
The declaration coincided with Abdallah’s arrival in the United States, but the monarch decided on Tuesday to postpone his meeting with Bush originally scheduled for Wednesday and go back home, pending “clarifications” from the US administration.
A Royal Court statement said that Foreign Minister Marwan Moasher remained in Washington to arrange for the king’s next US visit in the first week of May. “Moasher has conducted fruitful and successful talks with US Secretary of State Colin Powell,” Halaiqa said.
“The postponement of the visit was designed to allow further time to work out a common ground that makes the king’s meeting with Bush a success,” he added.
“God willing, the visit will take place as scheduled and will help bolster the peace process and bilateral ties between Jordan and the United States,” Halaiqa said.
He also cited “the situation in the region, the spread of acts of terrorism and the deplorable events in brotherly Saudi Arabia” as additional reasons for Abdallah’s decision to postpone his White House visit.
Halaiqa said that the deferment of the king’s visit to the United States would not affect a meeting of the Joint Jordanian-US Committee set for the first week of June. “Jordan and the United States enjoy close ties in the political, economic and military spheres as well as in the field of fighting terrorism,” he added.
In another development, a Jordanian parliamentary committee has urged the government to investigate the fate of “around 1,000” Jordanians who are believed to be held prisoners in Iraq, the head of the committee said yesterday.
“We have sent an urgent letter to the Foreign Ministry asking it to obtain information on the fate of the prisoners from the US military ruler in Iraq and the Iraqi foreign minister,” deputy Jamal Dmur told Al-Dustour daily.
He said the message was sent after 22 inmates were killed and more than 90 others wounded Tuesday in a mortar attack on Abu Gharib, a US-run prison west of Baghdad where 4,500 prisoners are held. “We want to know if any Jordanians are among the dead or wounded after the latest attack on Abu Gharib prison,” Dmur, who heads the parliamentary committee on public freedoms and citizens’ rights, told the newspaper.
Meanwhile, four armed men, suspected of belonging to Osama Bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda group, were gunned down by Jordanian security men in a shootout in Amman on Tuesday. The Interior Ministry has also announced the seizure of five car bombs designed to launch attacks on embassies and government departments.
