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AMMAN — A UN official said that Syrian refugees are moving between villages and not towards the Jordanian border, refuting allegations that thousands of Syrian refugees are crowding on the border, fleeing Russian air strikes. 

News report have said that the ongoing Russian air strikes have been driving thousands south from Daraa towards Jordan.

Andrew Harper, the UNHCR representative in Jordan, said that because most Syrians are aware the southern border is “all but closed, they will likely move between villages to avoid the bombings”.

He also told The Jordan Times that “smaller numbers are gathered at some border points”.

“If the situation deteriorates and a ceasefire does not come into effect, the situation would be unpredictable,” Harper stressed.

In a recent statement to the media, Government Spokesperson Mohammad Momani told reporters that there is an agreement with Russia that its intervention should not increase the influx of Syrian refugee to Jordan.

Jordan now hosts 1.26 million Syrian refugees with only half of them registered with UN agencies.

Aside from the potential influx of Syrians to the southern border if military operations escalate in Daraa, there are more than 16,000 Syrians that have been camping across the border with Syria for months.

Last month, international organisations were calling on Jordan to allow entry to those Syrians who are fleeing danger zones in northern and eastern Syria.

The government was decisive in its response and said “Jordan is willing to cooperate with any country that might be able to take refugees from the border camp”.

Last week, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour said that the Syrian refugees camped in no man’s land on the Jordanian border came from Syria’s northeast, which is controlled by the Daesh terror group, and they arrived to the border area “smoothly” as they were “escorted”.

The ease with which they travelled through the war-torn country made Jordanian authorities “suspicious”, and they were prompted to carefully vet the newcomers before allowing them in, Ensour said.

“We have not stopped receiving refugees,” the premier said during a press conference about the results of the London conference. However, he noted that the country has the right to vet refugees before allowing them entry.

“We do what the European countries do: they screen refugees and this is what we do,” Ensour said in response to a question on the status of the 16,000 Syrians camped in the border area between Jordan and Syria. 

An average of 50-100 persons of these are allowed into the Kingdom each day, officials said, with priority given to children, women and the elderly. 

RAMTHA – Five mortar shells flying from war-torn Syria fell on Saturday on the border city of Ramtha but no injuries were reported, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The director of Ramtha police, Brig. Gen. Ammar Qudah, said three shells fell on houses in Ramtha northern district, some 90 kilometres from Amman on the border with Syria's Daraa.

He added that no one was injured by the stray bombshells which, he said, caused panic. Another two fell late during the day near a mosque and a field in the town, he said.

In June last year, one person was killed and four others injured after “a stray bomb shell” from Syria's Daraa town hit a Ramtha house.

Residents of the border town, just a few kilometres from the Syrian border, said they have had “sleepless nights” over the past few days due to the proximity of the intense clashes between the Syrian army and the armed opposition near the border.

On Saturday, King’s Military Adviser and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Gen. Mashal Al Zaben paid a visit to Border Guard units deployed on the northern border, Petra reported.

Zaben, who also checked on the troops at the Ramtha and Jaber border crossings with Syria, was briefed on the Border Guards’ plans in place to deal with any security incidents there, Petra said. 

AMMAN — Military experts on Saturday ruled out that Jordan would send ground troops to Syria to fight the Daesh terror group, but said the Kingdom may contribute intelligence if an Arab-led coalition insists on putting boots on the ground. 

Commenting on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates’ willingness to "deploy thousands of ground troops" to Syria if the US-led coalition agreed, the experts cast doubt on such a scenario, maintaining that it would result in a military confrontation with Russia, which they described as the main player in the Syrian landscape. 

In phone interviews with The Jordan Times, the pundits said Jordan's priority is to protect its 580km-long borders with unstable Syria and Iraq. Plans of ground intervention in Syria were provoked by recent gains by Bashar Assad's forces backed by Russian air strikes, particularly in the strategic northern city of Aleppo, they said. 

Retired major general and strategic analyst Adeeb Sarayreh said military intervention should not be the alternative for a political solution to the five-year civil war in Syria, adding that negotiations between the Assad regime and the opposition were not cancelled but postponed. 

This “very dangerous" military solution may result in a world war that may have grave consequences for Jordan as it may spark a new wave of refugees from the southern part of Syria, the strategist said, adding that the Kingdom is too strained to take in any more refugees.

It is impossible to “empty the borders to join ground operations in Syria", Sarayreh said, adding that selected special operations by the Jordanian forces could be a possibility. 

However, he played down the possibility of deploying ground troops in Syria by Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries because the US, which leads the international coalition against Daesh, does not want a military confrontation with Russia.  

Military analyst Fayez Dweiri said any ground intervention in Syria would require the approval of the UN Security Council or “at least the approval of the US”. 

“I can’t see the possibility of Arab ground troops in Syria under the current circumstances,” Dweiri said, adding that the talk of sending troops to Syria is only an attempt to place pressure on the Russians to squeeze out concessions in talks over the political solution. 

Dweiri, also a retired major general in the army, agreed that Jordan might only contribute commandos or just intelligence. 

Similar remarks were echoed by retired major general and air force pilot Mamoum Abu Nowar, who said that intervention in Syria by Arab troops is too late now as the Russians are about to enable Assad’s forces reclaim control of Aleppo. 

The expert said sending troops to Syria is not viable as the US administration would not support such a choice, warning that clashing with the Russians inside Syria would provoke a regional or even a global war. 

‘Heavier Russian shelling in the south of Syria’

Abu Nowar said the Russians may launch heavy air strikes in Daraa province in southern Syria to enable regime forces to retake more ground from rebels. 

“This may push around 100,000 Syrians to seek refuge in Jordan,” he warned. 

Dweiri said that the Russians have already started air operations in the area by shelling towns close to the Jordnanian border such as Nasib and Tafas. 

With the expected influx of refugees, the Kingdom would not be able to create buffer or safe zones inside Syria to keep the refugees there, according to Dweiri, who noted that Jordan and Russia are coordinating over this situation. He cited the recent visit by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Gen. Mashal Al Zaben  to Moscow to discuss scenarios that might affect Jordan’s national security. 

An even scarier scenario of heavier bombing by Russians in southern Syria, according to Sarayreh, is forcing residents of dozens of northern Jordanian towns and villages to leave their areas for safer places. 

Jordan has to continue coordination with Moscow to avoid such a scenario, he said. 

A senior official said recently that Amman and Moscow enjoy good ties built on trust and appreciation for the “wise” policy Jordan has maintained during the past five years in regard to Syria.

The official said the developments in Syria now change rapidly, “by the hour”, and that Russia is in control of the Syrian issue, adding that Moscow is focusing on reclaiming all territories the regime lost to opposition rebels and that they want to leave Daesh stronghold areas in eastern Syria to the end. 

“Once they take control of Aleppo and other areas from rebels, the Russians want to call on the world to join regime forces in fighting Daesh,” the official, who requested to remain unnamed, said.

AMMAN — The government has launched the Jordan Economic Legislation Reform project to review and modernise laws and regulations related to commercial activities, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury said Saturday. 

At a meeting with representatives of the private sector and 19 private sector associations, Fakhoury said the laws will be reformed based on consultations with the private sector to comply with best international practices, according to a ministry statement.

The government, he added, received a grant from the Deauville Partnership of the G7 Group for the project. 

It will be implemented in cooperation with the International Finance Corporation over a period of three years, the statement said. 

Fakhoury highlighted the "transformative effect" that this project will have on the economy as it entails modernising the legal and organisational framework that governs economic activities, and reviewing the contradictory and unclear laws that are the main obstacles facing investors.

The project will focus on the laws on customs, companies, insolvency and bankruptcy, real estate mortgages as a security, consumer protection, and consolidated financial accounts. 

It will also address the regulations on non-Jordanian investments, planning and building licences in development and free zones, and the law on leasing immoveable properties and selling them to non-Jordanians and juridical persons, according to the ministry.

The government, Fakhoury said, upon the directives of the prime minister and the economic development committee, set up a government committee chaired by the minister of planning and international cooperation, with the purpose of drawing up a plan to include all economic laws that require amending, along with suggested changes.

"We informed the private sector of the progress done in the component of economic incentives, which includes a number of economic incentives and additional measures that are under consideration," the statement quoted the minister as saying.

The meeting also discussed the second component, which entails fast-track reforms to enhance the business environment and ease measures to obtain construction permits, register properties and pay taxes. 

Moreover, the minister reviewed government efforts to improve the business environment and the investment climate, to improve Jordan's ranking in the Doing Business report. 

The government has also laid down an executive plan that includes a stimulus package to improve the rate of economic growth, he said.

The minister told the representatives of private sector organisations, which are all members of the National Council on Competitiveness and Innovation, that all suggestions and recommendations coming from the private sector would be collected and taken into consideration.

Representatives of the private sector praised the government's measures in this regard and in enhancing public-private sector partnership in the field of drawing economic policies, according to the statement.

They also offered a number of proposals and recommendations to improve the legislative environment to stimulate business.

AMMAN — Jordan is the second stop in a cross-continental 40-marathon challenge that seeks to raise awareness about water scarcity.

Australian athlete and water advocate Mina Guli has recently started an initiative to run the equivalent of 40 marathons (some 1,688km) in seven deserts located in seven continents over a period of seven weeks.

The route includes deserts in Spain, Jordan, Antarctica, Australia, South Africa, Chile and the US. 

Guli, who is the founder and CEO of Thirst, an educational water conservation charity, will run the equivalent of one marathon a day in temperatures between -23°C and 45°C, excluding travel between continents. 

"In 15 years from now there will be a 40 per cent greater demand for water than the available supply," she told The Jordan Times in a recent interview, noting a parallel between the difficulty of running the assigned distance and the hardships that the discrepancy between water demand and supply will inflict on humans.

Moreover, Guli underscored the problem of "invisible water consumption", a phenomenon that people are usually unaware of, noting that 70 per cent of the world's water use goes into agriculture and 20 per cent is used in manufacturing, while personal consumption forms around 10 per cent.

"A lot of solutions already exist to make water use in agriculture and manufacturing more efficient , but what we need to do is to create demand to incentivise companies to adopt those technologies more quickly," the activist said.

Guli explained that simple actions such as choosing tea over coffee and having a vegetarian meal instead of one with meat saves water equivalent to a five-minute shower, urging people to adopt more resource-conscious habits and commit to personal pledges on preserving water sources. 

"Being aware of the problem enables people to be part of the solution," she said, noting that the initiative does not ask people not to consume, but to consume differently.

Speaking about her experience running in her first destination, Spain, Guli recalled that when she first started this "crazy" idea she did not fully understand how hard it would be, citing the major physical challenges of running on desert terrain.

"I ran in riverbeds that 40 years ago had water in them, but are now completely empty." 

As Jordan is the second water-poorest country on the planet, Guli said she wanted to learn how Jordanians manage water consumption and to document the information for the millennial generation around the world. 

"Jordan has had a history of water scarcity... yet the people found a way for an incredibly peaceful and sustainable community." 

Guli's six marathons in Jordan, which started last Monday, take place in the southern parts of the Kingdom, passing wells, water projects and dams. 

"Sometimes in this big economy we think that it doesn't matter what we do, but I want to show people that one person can make a difference." 

AMMAN — A civil society coalition plans to organise a sit-in in front of Parliament to demand a seat for women in each of the constituencies that will be designated in the 2015 draft elections law.

The campaign aims at increasing the percentage of women MPs to 17 per cent from the draft law's 12 per cent quota, the campaign's organisers said.

“The idea is to hold this sit-in to demand more representation for women under the Dome,” said Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW) Secretary General Salma Nims.

She added that the coalition is waiting for the governor’s approval to hold their demonstration “once the MPs start discussion of the bill”.

Paragraph A of Article 8 of the elections bill reads: “The Kingdom is to be divided by a by-law into electoral districts for which 130 parliamentary seats will be allocated.”

In the government’s version of the draft law, the number of Lower House members was reduced to 130 from the current 150. The women’s quota of 15 seats remained the same.

Nims told The Jordan Times that the civil society coalition held an emergency meeting last Thursday at the JNCW premises to discuss the next step before the draft bill is discussed by the MPs.

She said other actions to be taken by the coalition aside from the sit-in include attending the discussion from the gallery in Parliament.

“We will have members go to each session holding banners that reflect our demands,” Nims explained.

The coalition members will also lobby the deputies and the committees at the Upper House of Parliament to garner more support for their proposals, according to a statement by the JNCW that was made available to the press on Saturday.

As the draft law stands now, there is only one woman MP each from Amman, Zarqa and Irbid, which are the three most populous governorates in Jordan.

The coalition had launched a campaign in December involving women leaders, activists, journalists, artists and public figures from the Kingdom's 12 governorates to support the demand of a seat for women in each of the constituencies.

Nims reiterated her past remarks that “the government disappointed the women’s movement because it committed to ensuring 20 per cent representation for women in Parliament by the year 2017”.

DEAD SEA — As the Lower House legal committee is set to vote on the draft elections law this week, an analyst and a lawmaker called for pressure on the Houser not to endorse the bill as it was referred by the government.

"There are attempts by the government to place pressure on the Lower House to endorse the law as is… some changes to the law are required," Deputy Jamil Nimri said during a gathering on “Media and Elections”, organised by the Centre for Defending Freedom of Journalists (CDFJ) and the Community Media Network (CMN).

"The law needs some amendments that are really important. Therefore, civil society organisations and activists should lobby the Lower House not to endorse the law in its current format," Nimri said during the event, which concluded on Friday. 

Experts and officials at the Dead Sea gathering discussed the need for a specialised media strategy on covering elections.

Oraib Rantawi, director of Al Quds Centre for Political Studies, had similar views to Nimri's.

"If the law is passed as it came from the government, it will be a big problem. Several meetings were held with various segments of the Jordanian community. Thousands of recommendations during these meetings came up regarding the need for some amendments in the law," Rantawi said.

"If the Lower House endorses the law as it was referred from the government, then why were all those meetings held? This would be a big blow to all national dialogue sessions and meetings to get society's feedback," he added.

Last year, the government endorsed a draft elections law intended to change the controversial one-person, one-vote electoral system.

Under the draft law, a political party can run for Parliament under an open list system, in more than one constituency or governorate. 

The draft is similar to the 1989 Elections Law, but the government says it is better because the proposed open list gives all social segments, community leaders and parties the chance to run for Parliament.

Several topics were discussed during the two-day event, which was funded by USAID and supported by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, including the need for training media outlets on covering elections. 

Participants also looked into the need for creating more rich and accurate content to inform the public and encourage a large voter turnout in elections. 

AMMAN — King's Military Adviser and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Gen. Mashal Al Zaben has taken part in a NATO defence ministers meeting, and a meeting of the international coalition to fight Daesh in Brussels, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Friday.

In remarks at the meetings, Zaben highlighted Jordan's efforts as a member of the international anti-terror coalition.

He also spoke about the Kingdom's efforts to protect its northern borders, as well as the humanitarian services presented to Syrian refugees. The meeting, which brought together defence ministers from countries participating in the international coalition fighting Daesh terrorist group, discussed ways to intensify the efforts to fight the terrorist group in Iraq and Syria.

While in Brussels, Zabein also held talks with Saudi Arabia's Deputy Crown Prince and Minister of Defence Mohammed Bin Salman as well as other defence ministers taking part in the meeting. 

AMMAN — Electricity Distribution Company workers have restored electricity to Jafer area in Maan, some 220km south of the capital, after a two-hour blackout on Friday, the company’s CEO, Mohammad Al Mazaydeh, said Saturday.

The outage was caused after someone shot at a power distribution feeder in the Wadi Abu Khasharef area. An investigation is under way to find out who was behind the attack, he said, especially since similar attacks have taken place before in the same area, where there are around 550 electricity subscribers. 

AMMAN — Several members of the Jordan Engineers Association (JEA) on Saturday organised a protest in front of the Professional Associations Complex to protest moves by the JEA to raise the subscription to the syndicate's pension fund.

More than 100 engineers from various governorates came together to “preserve the rights of Jordanian engineers” and “guarantee a better future for their families”, organisers said. 

Munther Suyyagh, one of the protesters, told The Jordan Times the JEA council should “re-examine the status of the pension fund”. 

There are three levels for the break-even point for any business, the pension fund entered the first level in 2013, he claimed, adding that the second level would be in 2019 and the third in 2024. 

“The second level is when the fund’s revenues are equal to its earnings. The third level is the most dangerous… The fund would start eating its own flesh. This is what we are trying to prevent,” Suyyagh added.

In remarks in January, JEA President Majid Tabba said the fund has not failed.

The syndicate at the time released the findings of an actuarial study which revealed that the fund reached a break-even point of equal pension subscriptions and pensions in 2014 instead of the expected year of 2017.

The fund will also reach a second break-even point — where pension subscriptions and investment profits would equal its expenditure — in 2019 instead of 2021.

The study also expected a third break-even point — where the total revenues would be equal to total expenditures — to be reached in 2028 instead of 2031.

Earlier this month, Tabba said the JEA council has proposed gradually raising fund subscription fees as of 2018 and over a three-year period, but said no measures will be taken to raise the pension age.

The proposal aims at pushing the second and third break-even points from 2019 to 2035 and from 2028 to 2046 respectively, according to the president of the JEA, which includes some 130,000 members.

Suyyagh criticised the proposal, claiming that many engineers are against it.

Tabba has said that the fund has a book value of around JD220 million and a market value of around JD330 million.

Khuloud Majali, another JEA member, claimed that problems with the fund started "a long time ago", accusing officials of attempting to cover up its losses.

Majali said she has no objection to raising the subscription fees but called for accurate studies that prove the validity of such a measure.

For his part, Tabbaa said the engineers “do not have the right to object” since the decision has not been implemented yet. 

The right place to protest the decision would be at the fund’s authority, where the association will be holding a meeting by the end of the month, he added. 

“Around 20,000 people are subscribed to it, so, instead of protesting on the street, they can attend the meeting and vote either for or against the decision,” Tabba told The Jordan Times.