Jordan king urges speedy reforms ahead of planned Friday protests

Thu, 27 Jan 2011

Amman - Jordan's King Abdullah II on Thursday urged the government and parliament to speed up "comprehensive" political, economic and social reforms.

The monarch's remarks came 24 hours before a coalition of opposition parties, trade unions and activists said they planned to stage demonstrations after Friday prayers to press their demand for genuine reform.

"All officials concerned should shoulder their responsibilities and take their decisions in a daring, transparent and clear manner," the king told leading lawmakers from the lower house of parliament, whom he had summoned to discuss the latest spate of protests.

Earlier in the week, the king held a similar meeting with leading figures from the upper house of parliament.

On Thursday he warned against attempts to hide behind him, referring to complaints by some parliamentarians and newspaper columnists that ministers resorted to the king's protection to justify their bad performance.

"I don't want to hear someone saying he has directions from the head," he said.

All cases of alleged corruption and favoritism should be addressed in a satisfactory manner, he said. "All files should be opened to the public, doubts should be cleared and mistakes corrected," the monarch continued.

King Abdullah in particular called for changes to election law. The Islamic-led opposition boycotted November elections claiming that the current law was unfair.

Thousands of Jordanians have demonstrated across the country on the past two Fridays, despite attempts by the government to pacify the population, namely by subsidizing basic goods and canceling taxes on certain types of fuel.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/364621,ahead-planned-friday-protests.html.