November 6th, 2011
By Taylor Luck
Source:Jordan Times
AMMAN - The Islamist movement rolled out new reform demands on Friday, urging a series of changes to the Kingdom’s political and economic institutions.
In a speech delivered at the Islamists’ first public rally since turning down Cabinet posts last month, Islamic Action Front (IAF) Secretary General Hamzah Mansour unveiled a list of demands to change the “politics” of the Kingdom.
The speech was widely viewed by observers as the Muslim Brotherhood’s response to Prime Minister Awn Khasawneh’s overtures, built upon previous conditions set by the movement for its participation in municipal elections.
Mansour reiterated the movement’s calls for constitutional amendments ensuring “the right of the people to form governments on the basis of a parliamentary majority” and protecting the Lower House against dissolution or early elections.
During the rally, held near the capital’s Interior Ministry Circle, Mansour also called for the release of all “political prisoners” and all citizens being held without charges along with the dissolution of the State Security Court.
The Islamist movement demanded an end to security services’ “intrusion” into public life, reiterating claims that “interference” has marred the political process in the Kingdom.
“We say enough of the security services’ interference in political and public life,” he said.
Mansour also demanded an immediate end to “political thuggery” - referring to the spate of attacks and threats against pro-reform activists that have increased since the beginning of the year and have largely gone unprosecuted.
On the economic front, the Islamist movement called for increased budget oversight and transparency in the use of public funds.
In addition, the IAF secretary general urged authorities to combat poverty and unemployment, linking citizens’ difficult living conditions with the need for tougher anti-corruption measures.
The former MP insisted that the demands are not Islamists’ pre-conditions for future cooperation with authorities, but rather the standards by which the current and future governments will be judged.
“These are not only our demands - these are the demands of the Jordanian people,” Mansour told The Jordan Times.
National unity was a common theme in Friday’s event, attended by some 1,000 independent activists and Islamist supporters, as speakers stressed that Jordanians from cities, camps, villages and the badia would all benefit from greater democratic reforms.
Ghaleb Abu Summaqa of the Tribal Coalition for Reform - a grouping of activists from the Bani Hassan, Bani Sakher, Daaja and Ajarmeh tribes - said calls for political and economic change are not restricted to single segment of Jordanian society.
“Many people say tribes are against reform, but we are here to say that they are wrong: we want change and we want change now,” Abu Summaqa told The Jordan Times.
“We are the foundations of this country, so we believe reform should start with us.”
Abu Summaqa dismissed any ideological or social barriers preventing tribes from partnering with the Islamist movement, claiming that independents, Islamists, leftists and conservatives are united in their pro-reform demands.
“We are all Jordanians and we will gladly work with anyone to improve the situation in our country,” he said.
The two-hour rally, which also featured speeches by Rahi Suleimat of the Bani Hamida tribe and Hamzeh Issa of the Popular Youth Movement, was noticeably devoid of Islamist rhetoric, with speakers choosing to focus on domestic issues rather than regional or moral concerns.
According to observers, the tone of Friday’s rally is in line with a strategic shift within the Islamist movement to distance itself from its traditional focus on the Palestinian cause and concentrate on local social, economic and political issues.
The event ended the Islamists’ three-week absence from the streets, which according to sources was prompted largely by an internal debate within the movement over its stance on the new government.
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