"Lavish vacations in the south of France and motorcycle trips through California have made the 48-year-old king appear out of touch with average, poor Jordanians"
Yeah, that will do it.
"More Jordanians are expressing discontent with leadership; New restrictions on freedom draw risky complaints" by Janine Zacharia, Washington Post | August 22, 2010
AMMAN — Jordan’s King Abdullah II, one of the United States’s most Western-oriented allies in the Middle East, has faced an unusual amount of domestic criticism in recent months that has coincided with a trend toward more autocratic governance, observers say.
So much for democracy, 'eh?
In what many describe as a period of exceptional dourness, retired military officers, journalists, teachers, and government workers have publicly complained about the direction in which Jordan is heading. Because overtly criticizing the king remains taboo, much of the grumbling is directed by proxy at the government Abdullah appoints.
That means TROUBLE!
Some critics predicted that the disenchantment could feed instability in Jordan, one of the most reliable US partners in the region.
Not a good time to launch an attack on Iran.
For now, steps taken by the government to restrict freedoms have blistered Abdullah’s reputation as an enlightened reformer and fueled a surprising amount of discontent among the monarchy’s traditional backers.
So who would take over if the King met with an "unfortunate accident?"
The domestic challenge comes as Jordan’s relevance in the region has dwindled. Because of its peace treaty with Israel, Jordan grew accustomed to being a mediator with the Palestinians.
Yeah, HOW ODD that PEACE with ISRAEL diminishes your influence when WE ARE TOLD it would be ENHANCED!
But Abdullah has little influence over the militant group Hamas, whose rapprochement with the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, could be key to any Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement.
With its regional role in decline, domestic disgruntlement has become pronounced. Some of it appears driven by privatization and subsidy cuts that have hurt vast numbers of government employees as Abdullah tries to transform the aid-dependent desert kingdom of 6 million into a regional commercial hub.
Will never win you popularity, King.
Didn't you learned that from your history classes at DA?
Despite these efforts, the World Bank this year ranked Jordan 100th out of 183 countries in terms of ease of doing business, behind Yemen.
Oh, the globalization moves failed your economy, too?
Lucrative sales of government-controlled land that don’t seem to have enriched Jordan’s coffers have prompted corruption complaints. Officials, citing a tripling of economic growth in the past decade, say the scope of alleged corruption is exaggerated.
Lavish vacations in the south of France and motorcycle trips through California have made the 48-year-old king appear out of touch with average, poor Jordanians, political observers said. But in a June speech marking the 11th anniversary of his ascendance to the throne, Abdullah addressed people’s concerns.
“Ample talk about corruption, nepotism, and favoritism’’ is “overblown,’’ Abdullah said. He asked for patience as his newly appointed government works to fix the economy.
He IS out of touch!
“Jordan now really is in the balance,’’ said Labib Kamhawi, a Jordanian political analyst in Amman. “People are now doubtful about Jordan,’’ he added, predicting the criticism could lead to an “explosion.’’
It is not that Jordanians haven’t had gripes in the past. What is new, observers say, is the willingness to openly pass judgment on the “system,’’ a euphemism for the king.
Criticizing the king is punishable by up to three years in prison, while slandering a government official carries a penalty of up to one year.
In May, a group of retired military officers issued a public six-point complaint about the government that stunned many because of its bluntness. It criticized privatization and it reflected a growing paranoia among Jordanian-born nationals that the United States, Israel, and Jordan are concocting a settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that will offer more Palestinians Jordanian citizenship.
We will be WATCHING those Washington meetings very closely next week.
Amid this mounting discontent, Jordan is planning to hold parliamentary elections in November after Abdullah’s dismissal of the legislature last year. The largest political party, the Islamic Action Front, is boycotting along with other smaller groups.
One of the most brazen restrictions introduced this year affects online media.
Whereas Abdullah made affordable Internet access a priority, Jordan this month passed a law that Paris-based Reporters Without Borders said creates a “legislative arsenal that can be used to punish those whose posts upset the authorities.’’ Penalties range from fines to forced labor.Are you sure they are an ally, America?
Imagine the reaction if they were Iran.
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