|
Deadly
Jordan Crackdown Seen As Stark Warning for Pro-Iraq Uprising
 |
|
King
Abdullah II clearly believes that his impoverished kingdom cannot
afford the luxury of a repeat of its 1991 Gulf War refusal to join
the U.S.-led coalition against Iraq
|
AMMAN,
November 11 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - A deadly Jordanian
crackdown on an impoverished Islamic stronghold is intended to send a
stark warning to potential dissidents as the authorities prepare to
take a deeply unpopular pro-U.S. tilt against Iraq, analysts said
Monday, November 11.
A
curfew was imposed on the town of Maan and the army was called in
after thousands of riot police failed to capture a handful of wanted
militants despite the deaths of at least four people, reported Agence
France-Presse (AFP).
Analysts
said the intensity of the security action was a clear signal from the
authorities that they would brook no protest from a generally pro-Iraq
population as they prepare to side with the United States in any
military action against Baghdad.
Despite
public statements opposing any U.S.-led strike, King Abdullah II
clearly believes that his impoverished kingdom cannot afford the
luxury of a repeat of its 1991 Gulf War refusal to join the U.S.-led
coalition against Iraq, when it paid dearly for being seen to side
with Iraq, they said, reported AFP.
"As
war with Iraq looms, Jordan has every intention of backing the winner,
that is to say the United States, which is going to inflame the
Islamists who violently condemn U.S. policy in the region," one
academic told AFP.
The
Maan operation was "a preventative measure to limit the impact on
internal stability of a military strike against a country which is
enormously popular in Jordan," an official acknowledged.
Islamic
currents form the main opposition group in parliament and although the
moderate Islamic Action Front (IAF) has no connection with the
hardliners of the banned Takfir wal-Hijra (Atonement and Flight) group
being hunted down in Maan, the movement could clearly see the writing
on the wall.
Both
the IAF and the Muslim Brotherhood, demanded that the security forces
"end the siege" of the town, describing the casualty toll as
"deplorable" and a symptom of the government's "martial
mentality".
However,
analysts say it is not just the Islamists who are targeted by the
government's warning shots, but also groups which take a pan-Arabic or
internationalist stance in a country where Palestinian refugees make
up a significant proportion of the population.
One
of the poorest towns in Jordan, Maan threatened to create a
"dangerous alliance" between Islamists and Arab nationalists
which the authorities were determined to stop, another analyst told
AFP.
"The
message is clear - the state will no longer tolerate troublemakers and
is determined to impose its authority over the whole country."
Jordanian
officials from King Abdullah II down have been hammering home the
message for weeks, warning that they will no longer tolerate the
pro-Iraq or pro-Palestinian sympathies of either Islamists or
pan-Arabists taking precedence over the interests of the kingdom.
In
an interview with the Saudi-based television statement MBC on October
11, the king criticized what he called the "unacceptable"
foreign ties of most of Jordan's historic political parties, including
the communist and Baath parties as well as the IAF.
"The
presence in Jordan of parties with non-Jordanian references or that
receive orders or financing from abroad is unacceptable," he
said.
Analysts
said the aim was to get rid of parties with such
"non-Jordanian" parties and replace them by a "loyal
opposition" which would cooperate in the "responsible"
and "constructive" development of the country.
|
