Political savvy, IAF style
Yesterday hundreds of people from the town of Mleih, south of Madaba, staged a protest against rising prices, corruption and falling standards of living. It is interesting to note that reports on this do not indicate the involvement of any political party in the organization or staging of this protest. Of course, this is typical.
So, what is the head of Jordan’s largest political party involved with these days? Well, he is busy halfheartedly denying saying that “those who live in […] marginalized regions are, with all due respect, people that are less knowledgeable and less educated, culturally and politically, thus they should not be the majority in the parliament”. This statement has infuriated many Jordanians, largely because this is not true. Apparently, Bani Irshaid believes that only less knowledgeable people would refrain from voting for his backward looking party. His denial is mostly an attack on Al Rai, which reported the original interview published by Jordan Business in English. Why not attack Jordan Business? Because Al Rai is an easier target and because they probably realize that Jordan Business has a recording of the interview. In a pathetic play of words, he denies insulting Bedouins, which is true. He insulted people who live in marginalized areas.
But my question is simple. Who has more political acumen? People peacefully demonstrating for better living conditions in rural areas or politicians who turn their back on the needs of such people and accuse them of backwardness?
posted by Khalaf @ 10:04 AM
22 comments
Since October 16, 2005
22 Comments:
It's not ZBR duty to help jordanians in "marginalized" regions because their loyalty is difficult to buy, so their priorities are in other places where loyalty is for sale..
I wouldn't suggest that IAF supporters have sold their loyalty. There certainly some problem with integration, and the IAF seems to be interested in fostering resentment and division, not integration.
I don't understand why Jordan Business magazine is bothering itself with political matters, instead it should be addressing topics relative to the strengths and weaknesses of the Jordanian economy and not interviewing the head of IAF. Business magazine should be concerned with business matters period.
I forgot to cover the main topic in the post. As far as the protest is concerned, it is a healthy sign, any country that allows its people to protest without the fear of repression or retaliation it means that particular country belives in the principal of freedom of speech which in turn is an important part of democracy.
Hatem, business and politics are two sides of the same coin. Lets say islamists controlled the government what will happen to business and investments?
mohanned'
That is a canard.Politics is about power, economy is about money, they are two distinctly diffrent realms, despite what some uniformed people would want you to believe. I'm sure that you know who are the richest people on earth, are they into politics? I'll leave the answer for your imaginations.
And I am sure you know that economy drives politics(Alongside with relegion). Since history began politics was always about economy, when countries invaded other countries they did so because of their thirst for resources that not only include goods but also humans(slaves), So I stand still that they are the same, but roles are played by different people..
والله يا خلف لو كنت محلك لسميت مدونتي ما هوا رأي لحكومه وخلصت خلصنا،يعني بدك الناس يئمنوا بكل شئ الحكومه الفاشله والمترهله التي أكلت اليابس قبل الاخضر ان يقبلو بسياسات اعطتت الحق للغني بئن يعمل ما يشأ،يا أيها المدونونالاردنيون أصحوا علي هذا الوطن المسروق ،وعطوا الشعب الشرعيه في تقرير المصير ،لقد حان الاوان لكم أن تعملوا وتكتبوا لصالح الشعب وليس لي حيتانه
the mukhabarat bloggers are littering the Jordanian bloggosphere. why don't you guys start a listing calling it MukhabaratBlogs.com that would be original and you help us reduce the bogus jordanian bloggs. but honestly, how much were you paid to do your propaganda? you are hateful forces of division and exclusion.
Mr Urduni Hurr, you seem to have selective reading. Anyway, there is no mention or defense of this government on this post. You are free to check my latest posts on this blog to judge for yourself whether you are being fair or honest. In my opinion, you are not, but even if you were I still have a right to my opinions. You are not the only one who is "hurr".
Anon: Wa'aaa3. Where is my cleenex?
if you love jordan the people and the land you would want all Jordanians to be equal be it in privilege or political representation.
if you love yourself and the regime, you would want to protect the system of marginalization for Jordanian silenced majority so you will retain your privileges and perks at the expense of everyone else.
the fact you are not willing to even discuss a workable solution that will not marginalize anyone and you consider fairness as a zero-sum game where someone must win and someone must be marginalized is very disturbing to me.
What the king put in place is a system that does not protect one group while treats the other fairly. what we have in jordan is a time bomb that ensures one group has all and another has none so they are in constant state of fighting.
either shutdown the worthless Jordanian parliament and rule by royal decree, and that's perfectly fine with me, or change the parlimant altogether to be fair to everyone.
i think you and other self-styled leftists have told us so much abotu yourselvs, from your attacks against Nahid Hattar to your attacks on anyone who cales for a fair and representative democracy on Jordan.
If you focus on what I have written, you would note that my mocking of Bani Irshaid is based on his lack of interest in solving inequity. I have no problem with discussing fairness in political representation, as long as it is coupled with economic fairness and a distribution of economic opportunities. I have written about this before, and it is important not to further marginalize people living far from the major centers. I agree that the parliament has done little to alleviate these problems, but lowering representation for distant communities will not help solve the problem.
I find it amusing that you think that Nahid Hattar or the IAF genuinely want a fair and representative democracy in Jordan. Of course, that is your right, but I must emphasize that I don't think that it is true.
I want to comment on Mlieh, south of Madaba, and IAF. IAF WAS strong in Mlieh. This is proved by the fact that the Mayor wan the municipal elections in Mlieh WAS IAF. But what happened? On the day of elections, the IAF Candidate in Mlieh, who later became the Mayor, refused to comply with IAF order to pull out of the race. He said that he was winning and no need for him to pull out. He became one of the five IAF candidates who wan. Now, IAF is facing problems with many of their strong members and contenders in some constituencies. Many of those contenders and members act against IAF leadership's will and sometimes they don�t refer to the leadership. Facing internal problems, IAF would not be able to organize any kind of protest. When you organize a protest, you should rally people. Notwithstanding the fact that IAF careless for citizens outside their frame; If IAF protested, they would prove how weak they became in certain areas and how less they can rally people.
defaming the IAF is a time-honored tradition by regime henchmen to i tend to believe the denial of the IAF over statements by Jordan Business accusing Ibn Irsheed of insulting the privileged 30%, run by sons and daughters of regime thugs.
and Yes, the IAF and Hattar and all the classic socialists and communists are very patriotic Jordanians and they do want a fair society. The most unpatriotic thing to do is to undermine the establishment of a fair and just society in Jordan, effectively crippling the evolution of Jordanian society and keeping Jordanians pitted against one another, for no other reason than the classic divide and conquer and for fear of a true pan-arab political bloc taking over the Jordanian political scene to the determent of US and Israeli interests, sort of like what is happening in Iraq and Lebanon where we have a concerted effort by the Americans on behest of israel, to fragment Arab society into sects, and were sects do not eixst, like in Jordan and Palestine, homogeneous ethnic groups with political differences are turned into pseudo-ethnic groups after years of sowing distrust.
time for those with an IQ of a 100 and above to realize what's happening in the Arab world and to work to stop this fragmentation by pursuing just Arab societies.
[[[ Jordan Business accusing Ibn Irsheed of insulting the privileged 30%, run by sons and daughters of regime thugs.]]]
so as to avoid any misunderstanding, the regime thugs run Jordan Business, not the 30%.
Mleiha: Thanks for the information. I find it very interesting.
Anon: I am sorry to inform you that democracy involves scrutiny and criticism. You can't claim that any party in a democracy should be exempt from this. The IAF didn't deny the JB report (only how Al Rai related it). Your insistence that it is untrue is a sign of denial, not of "somebody with an intellegence of more than 100".
As for your insults and assigning of patriotism, I will simply say that you have a lot to learn. I salute your furvor, but advise you to keep an open mind. You seem to think that you know everything. Well, you don't.
Malie7a , the reason the IAF is having voter turnout problem, aside from the fraud and ballot stuffing, is a result of the slander and defamation campaign they were subjected to months before the botched municipal elections. they were accused of corruption, of being pro iran, pro-hamas, pro-syria, and when convenient , pro-american. considering most jordanains fear the state they opted not to even vote for IAF since most don't trust the anonymity of the voting process. that's what an islamist friend told me. he did not vote IAF because of his fear of the consequences and that the state was keeping a database of those who voted IAF for political persecution.
Khalaf: you are welcome anytime. If you need more interesting information you can contact me at malei7a@yahoo.com
My anonymous friend: the reason IAF having low voting turnout is a result of IAF BEING corrupt, pro-hamas, useless and over all Jordanians less care any more for Ekhwan's charity. Since their establishment as a charity association, Ekhwan have used the poverty and hunger of people to occupy seats and claim power. Charity helps you to live for one day and in best cases for one month. Jordanians need a descent life and descent jobs. Ekhwan can not provide jobs and descent life for us. After life, Jordanians care for the security; IAF is pro-hamas, and God knows what else. And let me remind you with the performance of IAF in the Parliament 1989-1993; let me remind you with the laws and decisions were passed when IAF occupied 27.5% of the seats in the early nineties; the peace agreement with Israel, for example. And for your Islamic friend, I feel sorry for him because he is the one who got a bad IQ result. From what you have just bloged, I understand that your Islamic friend didn’t vote IAF; he/she voted non-IAF. In case he/she did vote, then tell your friend that Islamists are well known to the gov. whether they voted IAF or not. And if your friend didn't vote to anyone, then it was bad for IAF because a voter from their pro-constituency, like other thousands, was the reason behind their decision to pull out. And please please please don’t try to mention it once again that our government will persecute the 16 thousand citizens who voted for Kofahi in Irbid.
sorry for the typo. i mean "decent".
face it, if hamas runs in jordan, they would win any position hands down. the only one who can beat hamas in a jordanian election is hizboullah. jordanians despise the US and Israel and anyone seen collaborating with them and had fallen in love with anyone who stands up to them. so it was imperative for the US and israel to abort democracy in Jordan. hence the botched municipal elections and the follow up American praise, led by zionist congressman Tom Lantos, of "fair and free" elections in Jordan. so guess for whose benefit arab democracy is democracy is being subverted? a zionist American called Tom Lantos from California, who claims to be a holocausts survivor. Send him a thank you note. tell him what you think of US aide to Jordan.
Anon: The Islamists' support in Jordan ranges according to the various polls from 15-20%. Anything beyond that is pure fantasy, based on nothing more than wishful thinking. People want a political system that responds to their economic and social needs. The US and Israel are low on people's lists of reasons for voting for a political candidate. If you DATA that contradicts that, please let me know.
Khalaf,,,In order for us to start to discuss the political system in Jordan,we must comprehend that the government is illegitimate ,unelected and has no constituency other than the king ,army and security thuggish apparatus and that's it.
In 1928,our elders wrote one of the most progressive ,fair and advanced constitution on the face of this earth.
According to Toujan Al Fisal,when she spoke at the University of Chicago. And please listen what she had to say here and there
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