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AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday asserted that the Jordanian citizen is at the heart of the country’s comprehensive reform process, which he described as a strategic plan that requires the engagement of all, according to a Royal Court statement.

During a meeting at Al Husseiniya Palace with members of the National Action Front bloc of the Lower House, King Abdullah stressed the need to endorse pieces of legislation pertaining to reforms and economy-related laws, which he said are a top priority. 

In order to activate the role of the parliamentary blocs, Lower House performance should be constantly assessed and developed, and programmes that help draw up effective policies and contribute to the building of Jordan should be advanced, in cooperation with the executive authority, the King told the gathering.

During the meeting, attended by Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour and Royal Court Chief Fayez Tarawneh, the Monarch stressed the importance of fostering partnerships among the three branches of power to deal effectively with various challenges and boost the country’s drive towards reform. 

King Abdullah emphasised that the economic situation and challenges facing the Kingdom are top priorities, highlighting the need for continued cooperation with all concerned parties to alleviate economic pressures and improve the living conditions of citizens. 

Discussions also addressed other public interest issues, in addition to the latest developments at the Arab and regional levels, especially those pertaining to the Middle East peace process and the crisis in Syria. 

Regarding the peace process, King Abdullah affirmed that Jordan has ongoing contacts with various relevant parties, and is constantly kept abreast of details related to the peace negotiations under way between Palestine and Israel, in a manner that safeguards the Kingdom’s national interests. 

The bloc members lauded the King’s openness and his meetings with the Lower House members. 

They similarly commended the King’s support to the reform process and his foreign policy, which they said has helped preserve Jordan’s national interests. 

They also stressed the importance of strengthening the state and the rule of law, adding that the Lower House will work hand-in-hand with the government to endorse legislation that imposes stricter penalties that deter future violations. 

Highlighting the repercussions of the large influx of Syrian refugees into Jordan, they called on the international community to play a larger role in supporting Jordan, especially in helping the host communities and municipalities in the northern governorates. 

Discussions also covered issues related to governorate development and the empowering of local communities in a way that would positively reflect on people’s lives, stressing the importance of heeding de-centralisation practices to increase public participation in the decision-making process.  

Furthermore, they called for collective efforts in cooperation among various institutions and concerned bodies to create new jobs in the governorates in a bid to eliminate poverty and unemployment. 

Dealing with the economic conditions, they referred to the energy issue, which remains a key challenge facing the economy. In this regard, they stressed the need to expedite the implementation of alternative and renewable energy projects. They also highlighted issues pertaining to higher education and the agricultural sector. 

Ensour expressed the government’s appreciation of the Lower House members and their role as monitors and legislators, noting that the government will take into account their remarks and views. 

The National Action Front bloc is comprised of 19 deputies and is chaired by MP Abdul Hadi Majali. 

AMMAN – Fighter jets from the Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF) on Wednesday attacked and destroyed several vehicles that crossed the Jordanian border from Syria, a statement issued by the Jordan Armed Forces (JAF) said.

The incident, which the army said, took place at around 10:30am, involved a number of camouflaged vehicles trying to illegally cross the Jordanian border from Syria through rugged terrain, a JAF official said.

The army official said in a statement posted on the JAF website that a number of RJAF fighter jets fired warning shots at the vehicles, which ignored them and continued to move towards the border.

In line with the rules of engagement, the jets destroyed the vehicles, the official said.

The army did not say whether the vehicles belonged to the Syrian regime or the rebels.

Later on Wednesday, Agence France-Presse reported that the vehicles destroyed in the air strikes did not belong to the Syrian army, quoting Syrian state media. 

“No military or armoured vehicles belonging to the Syrian army moved towards the Jordanian border, and so what was targeted by the Jordanian air force does not belong to the Syrian army,” state television said in a breaking news alert, citing a military source, according to AFP.

Reuters quoted a security source as saying that the targets appeared as Syrian rebels.

AMMAN — Libyan authorities on Wednesday said they still have no news about the fate of Fawaz Aitan, the Jordanian ambassador who was abducted in Tripoli on Tuesday morning.

“We have nothing new to report about him, but we will not spare any opportunity to find his whereabouts,” Said Lassoued, the Libyan foreign ministry spokesperson, told The Jordan Times over the phone on Wednesday.

Aitan was kidnapped in Tripoli on Tuesday by an anonymous armed group.

Reportedly the kidnappers demanded in exchange the release of a Libyan who is serving a life prison sentence in Jordan, a Libyan security source told Reuters.

Meanwhile, the Council of Ministers on Wednesday discussed the kidnapping of the ambassador at a meeting that was chaired by Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour. The members were briefed on the latest security and diplomatic relations conducted by the relevant parties to secure the release of the ambassador and to ensure his safety. 

Stressing the government’s support for the Libyan people and its authorities’ efforts to restore stability, the Cabinet asserted that Jordan will spare no efforts to ensure the diplomat is freed. 

Also on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh received a phone call from his Libyan counterpart Mohammed Abdul Aziz, during which they discussed the latest developments regarding ambassador’s abduction, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Judeh also made contacts with Arab League chief Nabil El Araby and several Libyan politicians. The Arab League issued earlier a statement denouncing the abduction.

Meanwhile, the Security Council on Tuesday condemned the kidnapping of the envoy.

In a statement, the council said its members condemned in the strongest terms the attack against the Jordanian diplomatic convoy in Tripoli, which resulted in the abduction of the Jordanian ambassador, whose driver was wounded in the attack.

“The members of the Security Council expressed their deep concern over this attack and called for the immediate release of the Jordanian ambassador,” the statement said, adding that the members of the council reaffirmed the unjustifiable nature of such attacks, regardless of their motives. They underlined the need to bring the perpetrators of the crime to justice.

Members of the Security Council also called on the Libyan authorities “to protect diplomatic and consular property and personnel, to respect fully their international obligations in this regard and to work towards the safe release of the ambassador”.

AMMAN — The Ministry of Education on Wednesday launched the final phase of the Canadian-funded School and Directorate Development Programme (SDDP) which aims at institutionalising a school-based development programme.

The SDDP final phase will reach out to 531 new schools in education directorates in Amman, Irbid, Tafileh, Zarqa, Karak, Madaba and Balqa governorates, according to the ministry.

More than 2,600 public schools have been trained, through the Canadian-funded SDDP to work together with their teachers, students and parents to identify local school priorities, and develop and implement individual school improvement plans.

The SDDP was developed by the Education Ministry, with 25 million Canadian dollars in technical and financial support from the School and Directorate Improvement Project (SDIP), through Canada’s department of foreign affairs, trade, and development (DFTAD), ministry officials said.

In remarks to The Jordan Times, Ziyad Tweisi, deputy director of the SDDP, said the project aims at prioritising the exact needs of each school, based on data provided by students, parents and teachers, to set up educational plans and policies.

Tweisi added that 35 education directorates have benefited so far from the SDDP in which they each received JD25,000 to improve their educational tools, environment, and community engagement and interactions.

Michael Callan, deputy head of mission and regional director for DFTAD, said Canada’s long-term support for education in Jordan is beginning to show real results in the way field directorates, schools and communities are working together to resolve local problems and innovate in cost effective ways to improve the quality of schooling.

“The project offers what we have learned in Canada about improving the quality of education to the Jordanian Ministry of Education, in order to foster sustainable strategies for continuous improvement in Jordanian schools,” Callan said.

Speaking at Wednesday’s launch ceremony, Education Minister Mohammad Thneibat emphasised the importance of involving parents and the community in supporting schools to improve the quality of education, highlighting the recent legislation to guide the engagement of community-based education councils.

SDIP Country Director Joan Donaldson said that the SDDP has been successfully implemented in 28 field directorates and over 2,600 schools.

She said the SDDP engages the community in many ways through involvement in school assessment, training all parties involved to support positive interaction and establishing educational development councils.

AMMAN — The Ministry of Water and Irrigation is drilling 15 new wells in the north of the Kingdom in anticipation of a rise in demand for water during summer, according to government officials.

The new wells are being drilled in Mafraq, Ramtha, Irbid and the Northern Badia to generate 3.7 million cubic metres of water per year, the ministry’s spokesperson, Omar Salameh, said on Wednesday.

The wells are expected to be completed within nine months after an agreement was signed earlier this week to drill the new wells, Salameh said.

Meanwhile, Water Minister Hazem Nasser said in a statement recently issued that drilling the new wells seeks to alleviate the impact of over-population in the northern governorates, which host hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees.

Nasser highlighted that the wells are part of the ministry’s “resilience plan”, which seeks to address the exceptional surging demand for water in light of scant rainfall and the influx of more Syrian refugees into the country.

The resilience plan proposes the implementation of new water infrastructure projects in case Syrians continue to take refuge in the Kingdom over the next few years, according to the ministry.

“Despite all the measures taken to improve supply and cope with the increasing pressure on water supply, the ministry is incurring huge burdens in meeting the increase in demand for water,” Nasser noted.

Drilling the new wells will cost 4 million euros, according to the minister, who said the German Development Bank is funding the project.

He said that a local contractor will be in charge of drilling the new wells, noting that wells in Al Dafyaneh and Um Hussain (Al Rfaiyat) areas in Mafraq, some 80km northeast of the capital, are scheduled to be ready before the start of summer to increase water availability.

Jordan has so far given sanctuary to some 600,000 of the 2.5 million Syrians who have fled their country since the onset of the conflict in March 2011, UN figures show, but unofficial figures suggest they could amount to one million.

The Zaatari Refugee Camp, around 90km northeast of Amman, is now home to 100,000 Syrians.

Another 700,000 Syrians who do not hold the refugee status also live in the Kingdom, some of whom came before the crisis erupted in 2011.

AMMAN — The Lower House on Wednesday endorsed amendments to its Rules of Procedure, with the aim of enhancing the Chamber’s performance and time management during its sessions.

During Wednesday’s session, several MPs said they have wasted their time during previous House sessions, particularly when they engaged in “nonessential” debates and discussions over various draft laws.

Therefore, making certain changes in the House’s rules to regulate deputies’ discussions is crucial to speeding up the work and ensuring a better performance in general, they added.

“We have 100 draft laws in our drawers and we must deal with all of them,” said MP Abdul Munim Odat (Irbid, 1st District), head of the House’s Legal Committee, in his remarks to defend the amendments his committee adopted.

Under the new amendments, the MPs limited the right to discuss draft laws during the sessions to those who submit a written proposal in advance. 

This amendment obliges the Lower House speaker to allow the deputy who presents a proposal, to speak under the Dome.

MPs also agreed to announce the names of the ministers who decline to answer deputies’ questions within the eight-day legal time frame.

This was a new provision added to the Lower House Rules of Procedure, based on a suggestion by MP Kheirallah Abu Saalik (Amman, 4th District), who heads the House’s Investment Committee. 

This provision is aimed at ensuring that ministers respect MPs’ questions and answer them on time. In previous cases, the government provided answers to such questions after eight months from the date of submission. 

Also at Wednesday’s session, deputies rejected a previous suggestion to deduct JD100 from any deputy’s financial benefits if he/she declines to attend a Lower Hose session for no valid reason. 

Instead, deputies decided to strip these MPs of their right to represent the Lower House in trips abroad or take part in conferences.

In other major changes to the Rules of Procedure, MPs decided to limit the number of members in each permanent committee to between seven and 11, and to agree on the members through the executive office in 14 days from the start date of the ordinary session. 

If no agreement is reached through the executive office, MPs will then elect members of the committee during a Lower House session.

Under another amendment, the Lower House budget will be drafted by the executive office from now on without a need to present it under the Dome for endorsement.

AMMAN — The difference between child discipline and abuse remains a grey area under the current Penal Code, putting children’s well-being at risk, experts said earlier this week. 

Article 62 of the Penal Code stipulates that parents can punish their children for disciplinary purposes in accordance with “general norms”, a term that leaves the issue open for interpretation, according to experts, activists and pathologists.

In her experience in the field as a pathologist, Rula Afaneh noted that there is a “broad” difference in social concepts when it comes to reasonable chastisement, making the term “general norms” a “shield” of sorts for parents and guardians to hide behind. 

“Some families believe that giving a child a stern look or a shout is a severe form of punishment, while others see all types of corporal punishment as acceptable and lead to correcting the child’s behaviour,” Afaneh said at a workshop held by the National Council for Family Affairs (NCFA) on Monday. 

According to a study released by the NCFA last year, children constituted 30.2 per cent of total abuse victims, while a Social Development Ministry report said it dealt with 30,000 domestic abuse cases over the past 15 years, 75 per cent of which involved children.   

Other studies also indicate that physical abuse is the most common form of domestic abuse in Jordan, standing at 85 per cent. 

Hanan Thaher, head of the NCFA’s legislation department, said annulling the article is not enough as people need to be aware of alternative disciplinary methods. 

Thaher called for revisiting the law while taking into account international family-related studies and research.

“It is a well-known fact that children who grow up with physical and psychological abuse are more likely to exhibit aggressive behaviour,” she noted. 

During Monday’s workshop, attended by a UNICEF delegation, Muslim scholar Ahmad Harasis from the iftaa department highlighted Islam’s perspective on corporal punishment, which he said is prohibited unless in extremely rare situations in which parents believe it is the only way to correct the child’s misbehaviour. 

He added that corporal punishment in Islam is parents’ last resort, noting that there are strict rules limiting its application. 

The World Health Organisation identifies violence as the deliberate use of physical force either by threatening or actual use by one person against himself or another person, group of persons or society, which could lead, or threaten to lead, to death, psychological injury, underdevelopment or deprivation.

AMMAN — Anti-Narcotics Department (AND) agents on Wednesday foiled an attempt to smuggle a shipment of half-a-million Captagon pills that was destined for a neighbouring country, official sources said.

Two men, a Jordanian and a Syrian, were arrested in a raid by AND agents on a shop in Irbid, 80km north of Amman, and agents found the pills hidden in flour bottles, a senior AND agent told The Jordan Times.

The official said authorities are searching for more suspects but declined to give the number of individuals involved.

“We received a tip that a group of men had rented a shop claiming to store flour bottles for trade purposes, but in fact we suspected that they were involved in activities related to illegal drugs,” the official added.

AND agents monitored the shop and the suspects for a while and “decided to raid the premises when they learnt that the gang was planning to transport the illegal shipment to Amman in order to smuggle it to a neighbouring country”, according to a statement by the Public Security Department (PSD).

“Dozens of flour bottles were emptied and illegal pills were found carefully wrapped in plastic bags inside them,” the PSD statement added.

The AND official said this is not the first time this method of smuggling has been used.

“We have faced a similar attempt in the past, where a group of individuals used the same exact method to smuggle drugs,” he added.

Captagon (fenethylline) is a synthetic stimulant similar to amphetamine.

Although banned in most countries in the 1980s, illegally produced and smuggled Captagon — sometimes containing amphetamine instead of fenethylline — is a common drug abused in the Middle East, according to web sources.

A total of 8,945 suspects were involved in around 6,504 drug cases last year, according to official figures. The authorities seized over 22 million Captagon pills, 444 kilogrammes of hashish and 5,007 kilos of marijuana in 2013.

AMMAN — The door is open for local and international companies to submit bids to the Energy Ministry to develop the Risheh gas field near the border with Iraq after British Petroleum ended its project there, according to a senior official.

“Any company working in the field of gas exploration can apply to develop the field, especially since BP withdrew from the project and is expected to fully end operations in Jordan in June,” Energy Minister Mohammad Hamed told The Jordan Times at the International Oil Shale Symposium 2014, which concluded Tuesday at the Dead Sea.

BP, which was given an exploration and appraisal period of between three and five years in 2010 after it received a concession that covered an area of around 7,000 square kilometres and included the Risheh gas field, announced earlier this year that it will end its operations as it said “results were not satisfactory” to complete the project.

Jordan, Hamed said, will float a tender this month to invite local and international companies to submit bids to explore for gas, oil and shale gas in three different areas across the Kingdom, mostly in the eastern region.

“We are in the final process of preparing the tender that will be floated this month. After four months, we will announce the winning bidder,” he added.

Hamed said the ministry is awaiting approval by the Cabinet to go ahead and sign a deal with Royal Dutch Shell under which the energy giant will provide 590 million cubic feet of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per day to a floating storage re-gasification unit that the government recently rented, and then gas will flow to the LNG Terminal in Aqaba.

LNG is expected to start flowing to the $65 million terminal by the end of 2014, according to the minister.

On Egyptian gas, Hamed said the natural gas supply from  Egypt is still halted, increasing the burden on the country’s rising energy bill.

“The disruption in Egyptian gas costs Jordan $3 million per day to buy more expensive heavy fuel and diesel for power generation. We hope the Egyptian authorities will fix the pipeline, which was bombed several times over the past three years by saboteurs, very soon,” he said. 

AMMAN — Half-a-million Syrian refugees living in urban areas in Jordan are struggling more than ever to cope with inadequate housing, high debts, rising living costs and educational challenges for their children, according to a recent study.

A CARE International household assessment that included more than 2,200 Syrian refugees showed that 90 per cent of the refugees are indebted to relatives, landlords, shopkeepers and neighbours, with rents having increased by almost a third in the past year.

The study, a copy of which was sent to The Jordan Times on Wednesday, said the world’s attention is focused on the enormous refugee camp at Zaatari, but more than 80 per cent of Syrian refugees live in cities, towns and villages. 

“Unable to work legally in the countries where they have sought asylum, they survive off their savings, gifts from family or neighbours, and, worryingly, black-market jobs,” the study said.

According to the international organisation, 36 per cent of the families registered with CARE are headed by women. 

“They have fled without their husbands, who are either still in Syria, injured or have been killed. They have to take care of their young children and older relatives, but have difficulties [in earning] money,” the study said.

These women, it added, worry about how they can cover their monthly expenses and deal with medical emergencies.

CARE’s study also showed that only 52 per cent of Syrian refugee boys are currently attending school (compared with 62 per cent of girls). This is an improvement of CARE’s findings in last year’s urban assessment, where 40 per cent of children were enrolled at school. 

“Three years after the Syria crisis started refugee families are becoming more and more destitute. The longer they live in neighbouring countries, the more financially vulnerable they become,” said Salam Kanaan, CARE Jordan’s country director, in a statement sent to The Jordan Times.

“Families have fled months or years ago, they do not have any savings anymore,” he added. 

The study also showed that the influx of Syrian refugees increasingly impacts Jordanian host communities, who are battling with the same challenges — increased accommodation and living costs, and access to outstretched public services. 

Twenty per cent of the most vulnerable Jordanian families interviewed, said they struggle to meet their food needs. 

“A lot of support has been provided by the international community as well as the host communities. However, with no end to this crisis in sight, Syrian refugees and vulnerable host communities continue to need our support, otherwise millions of people are pushed further into poverty and destitution,” Kanaan noted.

Since the crisis started, CARE has provided nearly 300,000 Syrians and vulnerable host communities in Jordan and Lebanon with humanitarian assistance. 

The organisation says its primary work is providing cash assistance to the poorest.

“It is one of the simplest and most efficient ways to help urban refugees meet their urgent needs, and it supports both the displaced and the economies of the communities that have taken them in. And yet the organisations providing support for Syrian refugees find themselves drastically under-funded.”

The main aim of CARE’s study is to enhance understanding of the needs and capacities of urban Syrian refugees, in particular women and girls, and vulnerable host communities in Jordan. 

It uses two baseline assessments, “Baseline Assessment of Community Identified Vulnerabilities among Syrian Refugees living in Amman” (2012), and “Syrian Refugees in Urban Jordan: A Baseline Assessment of Community-Identified Vulnerabilities among Syrian Refugees Living in Irbid, Madaba, Mafraq, and Zarqa” (2013), to identify trends.