Lawmakers seek end to ‘Maan crisis’

AMMAN — A Lower House committee entrusted with finding a solution to the stand-off between Maan residents and authorities, which left the southern town a scene of sporadic clashes between protesters and law enforcement agencies.  

City residents have accused the government of using an iron-fist policy against the town, 220km south of Amman, citing a “security campaign targeting the town” of around 80,000.  

Members of the committee, which was formed two weeks ago, met on Sunday for closed-door discussion with Interior Minister Hussein Majali and heads of security agencies to explore means to resolve the issue. 

The committee plans to meet on Monday with the local government in Maan including governor and members of the city council, an MP said.

“This is a fact-finding mission in a bid to ease tension and ultimately find a way out of the current chaotic situation in the southern city of Maan,” committee member Deputy Mustafa Shneikat told The Jordan Times Sunday.

He said that the panel’s efforts will continue in the next few days with several meetings and discussions with Maan community leaders.

“This is an urgent national issue and in order to address it in a proper manner, we must examine every element in it,” Shneikat added, stopping short of revealing more details about their discussions or plans. 

The government has repeatedly said that it is not targeting Maan, but wants to arrest and take legal action against 19 outlaws wanted for criminal charges, urging residents not to harbour fugitives. 

During an attempt to arrest one of these earlier this year, a man died and his wife succumbed to injuries this week. Four Gendarmerie officers were injured in the incident and others have been target of sporadic shootings and attacks. 

Intellectuals in the city have reportedly taken the initiative to solve the problem by cooperating with authorities in their hunt for suspects in return for a loosened security grip.  Other residents reportedly carried out, from their own pockets, maintenance to public buildings that have been attacked by rioters and assailants. 

The name of the city has also been associated with supporters of terror group like
Al Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) as Maan was the only town where a small group rallied in support of IS, triggering an outcry in the city itself. However, analysts say that Maan is not an incubator of terrorists. In his column at Al Rai daily, Saleh Qallab said Sunday that such a link between Maan and Islamic militants is a “media bubble” that will burst any time.

The House committee met last week to set up its work plan, which includes holding intensive meetings to listen to the different parties involved to come up with a workable solution to the crisis.

The House committee is confident that it will be able to mend the fences between authorities and the local community, but it needs some time to do that, a parliamentary source said.

He declined to set a time frame for the task, adding: “The MPs will exert their utmost to reach a just solution for the crisis, but, they will make sure that such a solution will ensure that the state’s authority and rule of the law is not compromised.”