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AMMAN — Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh on Tuesday conveyed a verbal message from His Majesty King Abdullah to Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani.

On behalf of the King, Tarawneh expressed “best wishes for the continued progress and prosperity of Iran”, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The agency quoted Rouhani as commending “the brotherly relations between the countries”, adding that Iran is “determined to developing bilateral ties with Jordan and improve economic and cultural relations between the two countries”.

He acknowledged that regional conflicts in Palestine, Iraq and Syria have had an adverse impact on Jordan, and thus, regional stability is very important to bring an end to the problems facing the Kingdom in this regard.

Noting that the issue of “terrorism” in Syria should be dealt with as one of the region’s priorities, he claimed that the phenomenon is the reason behind blocking the delivery of logistics and humanitarian assistance to Syrians in conflict zones.

The Iranian president noted that what concerns everybody now is to end the bloodshed of Muslims there, adding that the future of Syria should be determined by its people and “we should accept what the Syrian people decide regarding what to do to create an appropriate climate for elections”.

This calls for paving the ground for that and for a “Syrian-Syrian” dialogue, calling on the countries of the region to assist Syria to move towards that goal.

Stressing the strong Jordanian-Iranian relations, the Parliament speaker said, in Jordan “we respect the role of Iran and we hope that such a role will contribute to solving the crisis in Syria”.

He stressed Jordan called for a peaceful solution since the beginning of the crisis and it has rejected the internal fighting between the Syrians, adding that disputes should be resolved “through dialogue rather than war”.

The speaker said Jordan has had to deal with the repercussions of the Syrian crisis as it hosts more than 1.25 million Syrians, including 600,000 registered refugees while the “terrorist groups” in Syria are no more than 20km away from the Jordanian border.

Tarawneh stressed Jordan is continuing an open-border policy to help the Syrians and is keeping a cautious eye on the border to prevent the entry of weapons and terrorist groups into the Kingdom.

Tarawneh, chairing a Jordanian parliamentary delegation, participated in the 9th summit meeting of the Islamic Inter-Parliamentary Union, which was inaugurated by the Iranian president.  

AMMAN — While discussing the higher education draft law, MPs on Tuesday engaged once again in a debate over the impact of the House-based Mubadara (initiative) group, accusing it of trying to block the bill.

Deputy Mohammad Qatatsheh, who heads the Lower House’s Education Committee, called on the government to “choose between the initiative and the House”.

The government has engaged in meetings and consultations with Mubadara over the past few months, under which the two sides issued a “policy statement” over reforms in the education and higher education sector. Qatatsheh and other MPs criticised the government’s approach to the emerging bloc, which, observers say, constitutes a new pro-modern state trend in a legislature where tribal leaders are still influential.

“It is now clear that the government wants to deal with Mubadara and isolate the rest of the Lower House, including its committees,” Qatatsheh said, adding that attempts to block the bill appeared to be led by Mubadara members behind the scene.

Qatatsheh was joined by other lawmakers in the campaign against Mubadara, which seeks to evolve into a shadow government with clear platforms.

However, veteran MP and former Lower House speaker Saad Hayel Srour, who joined the Mubadara group recently, criticised the bloc’s critics, saying: “Members of this initiative are also MPs, and they have a say.”

He added: “It is not acceptable to shift our discussion from the law to Mubadara.”

Deputy Khalil Attiyeh agreed, adding in response to Qatatsheh: “This initiative is a parliamentary effort that we should respect.”

Prior to adjourning the session, Mubadara members expressed their rejection to what they saw as attempts to censor them and bar their activities.

However, amid the commotion, Deputy Lower House Speaker Ahmad Safadi decided to adjourn the session after it again lost quorum.

This was not the first time that the bloc and its leader MP Mustafa Hamarneh have
come under fire during Lower House sessions.

The last verbal attack was last week, when Deputy Abdul Karim Dughmi criticised Mubadara’s leader Hamarneh for recent remarks during which he warned that tribes might evolve into “unarmed militias” if no proper political environment is created for political activism based on platforms.

Dughmi accused Hamarneh of humiliating tribes and when the discussion evolved into a heated argument, he charged that the Madaba deputy is a “collaborator with the Americans”.

However, Hamarneh then explained that he believes building a civil and modern state should be based on citizenship rather than any other affiliation.

Several MPs told The Jordan Times that there is a campaign targeting the initiative trying to drag it to minor battles in a bid to derail its momentum. 

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Tuesday met British Prime Minister David Cameron at 10 Downing Street over bilateral ties and regional developments.

According to a Royal Court statement, the meeting took place as His Majesty was en route home from a North American tour that took him to Mexico and the US.

The King and Cameron discussed developments in the region including the impact of the Syrian conflict and what more could be done to bring about an end to the bloodshed.

The British premier acknowledged the significant burden the conflict in Syria had placed on Jordan and other neighbouring states and reiterated the government’s ongoing support for Jordan to help manage the refugee influx.

On the Middle East peace process, His Majesty and Cameron agreed that US Secretary of State John Kerry was playing an important role and that his efforts had their united and strong support.

Syria, bilateral ties and Mideast peace were the key topics on the King’s two-and-a-half-hour summit meeting with US President Barack Obama in California.

The King, who returned home Tuesday night, also met with key legislators, administration officials and Arab, Muslim and Jewish leaders during the US leg of the tour. 

AMMAN –– The number of motors vying for road space in Amman during peak hours is estimated at 1.8 million, Amman Mayor Aqel Biltaji said, saying the municipality has plans to decrease traffic congestion.

At a session hosted by Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organisation on Monday evening, Biltaji said that Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) has started to improve its public transportation fleet as a solution to address traffic jams in the capital, attributing the fact that Jordanians prefer to drive their private cars due to the lack of proper transportation system.

He indicated that GAM has floated tenders to regulate parking on street sides, adding there are plans to establish venues for long-hour parking in buildings.

“The transportation issue is the biggest challenge of GAM,” he said, adding that it is unacceptable that there is no decent transport system in a city like Amman that is home to over two million people.

Biltaji mentioned that the average passenger rate per vehicle in Jordan is 1.3, while internationally it reaches 3.5 passengers per car.

The mayor told a large audience that the municipality has five main pillars to improve services to Amman residents, describing the objective as “doable, visible and affordable”.

Environment is the top priority, he said, adding that GAM will work on recovering the image of Amman as the outstandingly clean city it used to enjoy decades ago.

“Cleaning Amman from trash and giving Amman residents clean air will be our top priority,” he said, adding that removing eyesores such as street stalls is another objective.

As the municipality is planning to turn “trash into cash”, he said the landfill in Ghabawi is expected to increase its power generation from garbage from one to six megawatts in the near future.

Proving a decent transportation system is GAM’s second pillar, he said.

Proper planning for buildings and infrastructure is another objective for the municipality, according to Biltaji, who said that the current infrastructure cannot meet the rising needs of the increasing population.

Local development by empowering civil society organisations is also among GAM plans, he said.

Restoring Amman’s distinctive identity will be another objective, particularly the old and historical sites in the capital, he noted, adding the cultural identity of Amman “has been lost”.

Excess employment

Acknowledging the too-large number of employees at GAM, Biltaji said that he will be working on rehabilitating, “not restructuring”, the manpower at the municipality, highlighting that a decision has been taken to change the titles of 600 sanitation workers into “municipal monitors” who will be doing field work to detect violations related to buildings and traffic, among other aspects of the capital’s life under GAM’s oversight.

The assistants will be using personal digital devices to report violations directly to their headquarters.

The 600 workers are bachelor’s degree holders who have been hired at GAM under the title of sanitation labourers without practising the job, the mayor said as he acknowledged that GAM has been suffering from excess employment recruited through wasta.

AMMAN — Jordan is an essential partner to the US with respect to stability in the region, the peace process and the West Bank, US Secretary of State John Kerry has said.

In remarks to the US Senate Appropriations Committee in April last year, Kerry said Jordan is going through “a difficult economic time as well as other challenges”.

“The fourth largest city in Jordan today is a tent city. It’s a city of refugees — fourth largest now. That has a profound impact on the rest of the country,” a new publication issued by US nonprofit organisation the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) quoted Kerry as testifying in Congress.

Kerry’s remarks were cited in POMED’s report “The Federal Budget and Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2014: Democracy, Governance and Human Rights in the Middle East and North Africa”, which was discussed at a brainstorming session on Tuesday organised by the University of Jordan’s Centre for Strategic Studies (CSS).

POMED is a Washington-based nonprofit, non-partisan organisation dedicated to examining how genuine democracies can develop in the Middle East and how the United States can best support that process, according to its website.

Tuesday’s discussion covered issues related to reform and democratisation in Jordan and US foreign policy on the Middle East.

POMED Executive Director Stephen McInerney, who co-authored the report with Cole Bockenfeld, explained that much of the US assistance to Jordan has been focused on internal political dynamics to avert the instability and chaos scenarios associated with Arab Spring uprisings.

However, with Jordan succeeding in preserving its internal stability, McInerney said US policy has been shifted to helping the Kingdom avert chaos brought on by external factors, chiefly the Syrian refugee influx.

The report describes the US-Jordan foreign assistance relationship as “unique among Arab countries”.

CSS Director Musa Shteiwi explained that what makes many people sceptical of America’s intentions is their inability to separate between Washington’s foreign policy and its foreign assistance, adding that the US assistance to Jordan comes during a critical time for the Kingdom politically, economically and even socially.

Oraib Rantawi, head of of Al Quds Centre for Political Studies, cast doubt over US seriousness in achieving democracy in Jordan and other Middle East countries, citing the lack of political will as one of the reasons behind the slowdown in the Kingdom’s democratisation process.

Shteiwi said the shift in priorities from political-related matters to economic ones and the Syrian crisis and its accompanying “havoc” are to blame for the slowdown in Jordan’s democratisation.

AMMAN — Bankers, industrialists and officials voiced hope Monday that a US-supported project will help increase the facilities given to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which contribute about 60 per cent to the Kingdom’s economy.

They said the $250 million Jordan Loan Guarantee Facility (JLGF), which was established by USAID in partnership with the Overseas Private Investment Corporation following a meeting between His Majesty King Abdullah and US President Barack Obama in Washington, DC, in May 2011, was crucial to increase credit given to SMEs.

The programme seeks to provide partial loan guarantees and technical assistance to mobilise bank financing for creditworthy but underserved SMEs.

“SMEs’ contribution to the gross domestic product is more than 60 per cent and they only get less than 8 per cent of credit facilities given by banks,” Haytham Kamhiyah, general manager of Capital Bank — one of the JLGF’s partner banks, said at an event to show industrialists how they can benefit from the facility.

In an address at the event, which attracted more than 250 representatives of SMEs, US Ambassador in Amman Stuart E. Jones expressed hope that more SMEs will benefit from the programme.

He added that the JLGF has issued 69 loan guarantees to enable a wide variety of SMEs to obtain loans to finance their expansions.

“More than 500 skilled jobs are expected to be created and supported as these businesses launch and grow,” he said.

Stressing his country’s pride in the partnership with Jordan, the US diplomat said the $1 billion loan guarantee that Obama announced for Jordan during a meeting with the King in the US last week will help Jordan borrow money from international markets at a low interests rate, which will enable the Kingdom to save millions of dollars.

Jones said the US will spend about $100 million during the upcoming stage to facilitate businesses in Jordan and enhance their work.

Fathi Jaghbir, chairman of the Jordan SMEs Association and vice chairman of the Amman Chamber of Industry, said the JLGF plays a key role in supporting SMEs in the industrial sector in particular.

“One of the main problems the industrial sector faces is the lack of financing,” he said, noting that about 15 per cent of credit facilities given by banks go to the industrial sector.

Of the 15 per cent, about two-thirds go to the largest 50 industries and companies, while the last third goes for SMEs.

“This is not enough and I am hopeful the programme will help in this regard… the government also needs to address the concerns of the sector and meet with its representatives,” said Jaghbir.

Speaking at the event, Minister of Industry and Trade Hatem Halawani said the government is committed to supporting SMEs.

“We are keen to support SMEs to enable them to penetrate new markets,” said the minister. 

AMMAN — The Israeli Knesset does not have the power to cancel Jordan’s role as custodian of the holy sites in Jerusalem, Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh told deputies on Tuesday.

“Not one nor 1,000 Knesset members can cancel the Hashemite custodianship of Islamic and Christian holy shrines in Jerusalem,” Judeh said at a Lower House session.

Jordan’s role in these holy shrines is “historical” and the 1993 peace treaty with Israel recognises this fact, the minister noted, adding that all nations in the world and all religions recognise His Majesty King Abdullah as custodian of the holy shrines in Jerusalem.

He added that last year’s agreement between the King and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas came to reaffirm this.

The agreement, signed in late March 2013, helps Jordan and Palestine exert all efforts to protect Jerusalem and its holy sites from “Israeli escalatory Judaisation measures” and aims at protecting hundreds of waqf properties that are endowed to Al Aqsa Mosque.

Under the deal, King Abdullah enjoys the “full right to exert all legal efforts to safeguard and preserve [Jerusalem’s holy sites], especially Al Aqsa Mosque, defined as the entire Al Haram Al Sharif compound (or the noble sanctuary whose area is estimated at 144 dunums).

The agreement “also reaffirms the historic principles upon which Jordan and Palestine are in agreement as regards Jerusalem and their common goal of defending Jerusalem together”.

Judeh’s remarks on Tuesday came only one day after the Knesset decided to withdraw a proposal submitted by one of its members to discuss the Jordanian role in the holy shrine in Jerusalem, with a demand to end it.

On Sunday and during a Lower House session, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour declined to take such motion seriously, saying “no official decision is made yet”.

He addressed the MPs after they strongly expressed their anger toward such Israeli attempts, calling on the government to take a strong stand against Israel, and threatening that they will work to cancel the peace treaty with Israel, viewing the Knesset attempts as violations of the treaty.

Judeh noted that the Israeli Knesset decided to withdrew the motion after Jordan’s “strong and united position”.

The issue was raised by the Palestine Committee in the Lower House on Sunday, after it held a press conference prior to the House meeting and issued a statement calling for annuling the peace treaty with Israel.

The committee also called on the government to expel the Israeli ambassador in Amman and recall Jordan’s envoy in Tel Aviv as a response to the Knesset member’s attempts to deny Jordan’s custodianship over holy sites in East Jerusalem, as stipulated in Article 9 of the peace accord.

AMMAN — Chemical and biological tests indicate that the Zaatari aquifer, above which around 100,000 refugees are currently living, is free from feared wastewater pollution, a senior government official said on Tuesday.

The possible contamination of the Zaatari aquifer, which lies beneath the world’s second largest refugee camp, has been a source of concern in Jordan since the establishment of the camp, Water Minister Hazem Nasser said.

“The public’s fears and concerns of a likely pollution are justified and legitimate, because the Zaatari aquifer is one of the Kingdom’s most important aquifers that supply drinking water to people in the northern region and Zarqa Governorate,” Nasser told reporters at the signing of an agreement to install new mobile wastewater treatment units in the Zaatari Refugee Camp.

He underscored that his ministry has carried out chemical and biological tests on water samples taken from the aquifer to check for signs of pollution caused by wastewater leakage.

“All tests and monitoring measures showed that the Zaatari aquifer is not polluted… there is no reason for people to worry about this anymore,” Nasser highlighted.

A recent study by the ministry had warned that the pollution of the main aquifer lying beneath the Zaatari Refugee Camp in Mafraq Governorate, some 80km northeast of Amman, is only a matter of time.

Over-pumping to meet the demand of hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees is not the only risk facing the aquifer, according to the study, which said that pollution due to wastewater leakage is expected within one to 10 years.

More than half-a-million Syrians have taken refuge in the Kingdom since the conflict in their country erupted in March 2011. Over 80 per cent of Syrian refugees in Jordan live amongst host communities, while the rest are accommodated at the Zaatari camp and the Mreijeb Al Fhoud Camp in Zarqa Governorate.

The influx of refugees is placing pressure on the local sewage network, causing it to overflow frequently, according to officials and residents of Mafraq.

The study indicated that over 34.164 million cubic metres of wastewater are generated annually by Syrian refugees in Jordan.

The ministry and the Public Security Department are currently monitoring trucks transferring wastewater from the camps to Ikeider Landfill, after some were discovered dumping sewage in nearby valleys.

MAFRAQ — The international community cannot remain silent to the suffering of Syrian refugees, and people all over the world should raise their voices for their sake, Malala Yousafzai said on Tuesday.

She noted that people should donate to organisations that are working to support Syrian children.

“If we think that we are far away and would be safe, it is not true because terrorism can spread. If we want to be safe and help these people, we have to speak and stand up,” she told reporters at the Zaatari Refugee Camp in Mafraq.

The young Pakistani activist said she was happy to meet with children at the camp who showed her their drawings and talents.

“I am really thankful for Jordan and its people for the support and help they have provided to the Syrian people,” she added at a press conference held during a tour of the camp.

“I thank global and local organisations like the UNHCR and UNICEF for the help they have provided to Syrian children, because they have playgrounds where they can play football or any other game.”

The 16-year-old noted that she came to shed light on the situation of vulnerable children who are suffering due to the Syrian crisis.

She noted that the Malala Fund’s next project is to help Syrian refugees.

“Our next project is to support a refugee education programme run by a Syrian teacher in east Amman and launch a community-based programme,” she added.

Ziauddin Yousafzai, Malala’s father, said Syria’s young generation should be protected.

“These children are really amazing and if this generation is lost, Syria is lost. If Syria is lost this whole region is lost,” he added.

Through the Malala Fund and in partnership with Save the Children, two projects will be supported benefiting Syrian and Jordanian children in Jordan, according to the fund’s co-founder and CEO, Shiza Shahid.

“We appeal to the global community to donate. These children are the responsibility of people across the world,” she said.