Security is a top priority

Sunday’s shake-up in the state security system, culminating in the resignation of the minister of interior, Hussein Majali, and the retirement of the directors of the Public Security Department and Gendarmerie may appear sudden, but must have been in the pipeline for some time.

As Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour said in a statement carried by the official news agency Petra, it was the accumulation of a series of decisions and incidents proving slackness and lack of coordination between the minister of interior and the directors of the said two departments that led to the inevitable decision to introduce changes to the public security system in the country.

It was not only the perceived state of lawlessness in the southern city of Maan, the scene of frequent clashes between police and fugitives, or the death of a prisoner, reportedly from torture, in the northern city of Irbid, while in police custody, as people and analysts were speculating the day after, but a build-up of factors, including the failure to assert the rule of law to the aspired level.

According to officials, authorities are seeking an integrated security system that would have all three security branches working in unison and full coordination.

That was not the case with the three officials who left or were made to leave their top posts Sunday, according to the prime minister’s statement as well as various other reports.

The three officials who left their posts have no doubt their excellent track record in serving the country, its security and stability, but it seems they were lacking in teamwork and harmony.

Such lack of coordination cannot be tolerated from any official, and particularly not from those working to safeguard the stability and security of the country and its citizens in these sensitive times in the region.

Jordan has been for ages an oasis of peace and stability for all, Jordanians and guests alike, in a turbulent region, and all efforts must be exerted to ensure that it continues to be so.