AMMAN, 2 December 2005 — Jordan’s king urged parliament yesterday to pass new anti-terror laws to prevent the kind of attacks in which 60 people were killed last month, saying the country faced its biggest ever security challenge.
Addressing a joint session of parliament in full military attire, King Abdallah called for a comprehensive strategy capable of dealing effectively with every threat to the country’s status as “an oasis of security and stability.”
“We have to stress here that security and stability are the first priority,” the monarch, a staunch US ally, said in a speech punctuated by applause from the assembled lawmakers.
After last month’s bombings at three luxury hotels, Abdallah made a major shake-up of the royal court and appointed a new government headed by his national security chief.
With old guard military and intelligence figures gaining in influence at the expense of liberal reformers, the king gave new Prime Minister Marouf Al-Bakheet, 58, a strong mandate on Sunday to wage “all out war” against militancy.
Bakheet boasts a long career in military intelligence and has a track record in handling top security briefs, Officials say the deadly bombings, for which the Al-Qaeda wing in Iraq led by Jordanian Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi claimed responsibility, were a wake up call for extra vigilance.
“We know that Jordan’s position and its stance make it a target, and the attacks imposed upon it the largest security challenge ever to confront it,” Abdallah said.
Officials say Islamist radicals led by Zarqawi are seeking to destabilize Jordan because of its pro-Western stance.
But mainstream Islamist deputies aligned to the Muslim Brotherhood said they rejected any new anti-terror law.
The deputies, the most vocal opposition in the mainly pro-government parliament, expressed disquiet at the unusually tough language used by the monarch since the Nov. 9 bombings. Some fear a crackdown on public freedoms in coming days.
Civil rights campaigners say new anti terror laws could weaken safeguards meant to prevent people being detained without charge for long periods, and limit freedom of expression.
Moderate Islamists fear any tougher crackdown in a country where dissent is already stifled by a strong security establishment might be counter-productive.
Islamists and rights groups are worried about a desire to prosecute people who express sympathy for suicide bombings and uphold views that may incite or encourage such attacks.
