Persian Realm

Jordan's King Abdullah II announced sweeping reforms in a nationally televised address Sunday, promising to establish a parliamentary majority government -- a key demand of protesters calling for changes to the regime. ( See Related CNN News & On BBC News)

Christian Amanpour Interview with King Abdullah II :

(NOTE : To Watch Double Click Here)

Mohammed Saleh, Jordan: I like my king! (Dubai Debates):

Mohammed Saleh, student at the American University in Dubai, with his take on the current edition of DubaiDebates.com, talks about Jordan and the positive effect legitimate criticism can have.

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A Kingdom at Crossroads

( Miscellaneous Interviews Reports)

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Christian Amanpour Interview with Queen Rania (ABC News):
(NOTE: To Watch Double Click Here)

New faces seek to find a voice in Jordan élection (2010):

With a boycott by the main opposition party, the result of Jordan's parliamentary election may be a foregone conclusion, but not everyone is fighting on the same platform. Thisyear, several disabled candidates are seeking election and the number of seats for women will doubled to 12, meaning there will be more than a few new voices after Tuesday's vote.

(NOTE :To Watch Double Click Here)

Jordan Elections in 2010 and Tribal Influence:

Jordan Elections in 2010 and the Muslim Brotherhood’s Boycott calls:

Polling stations in parliamentary elections in Jordanback in 2010.

The main opposition - the Muslim Brotherhood - is boycotting the vote, saying it suspects fraud.

A low turn out is also expected among many Jordanians of Palestinian origin. 

Al Jazeera's Nisreen El-Shamayleh reports from a Palestinian refugee camp in the capital of Amman.

 

Jordan's King Abdullah II announced sweeping reforms in a nationally televised address Sunday, promising to establish a parliamentary majority government -- a key demandof protesters calling for changes to the regime.

"Today, and on this occasion, we announce our reform vision for the Jordan of the future, in which democracy and popular participation take root as a consistent approach for the sake of building the Jordanian state, in which promoting justice is a purpose, tolerance is a mission and respect for human rights is the goal," Abdullah said.

As part of the announced reforms, Abdullah emphasized that the new law should"guarantee the fairness and transparency of the electoral process through a mechanism that will lead to a parliament with active political party representation; one that allows the formation of governments based on parliamentary majority and political party manifestos in the future."

Theking also announced economic reforms, including changes to the country's tax system in order to "raise the level of competitiveness, enhance the atmosphere for investment, secure work opportunities for youth and maintain the state's active, observatory role in an open market economy."

It was not clear when the reforms would be implemented.

The address comes six months after protests broke out in the country. Most ofthem, unlike demonstrators in Arab countries that have seen uprisings, have notbeen seeking regime change but changes to the regime.

In February, Abdullah fired his prime minister and cabinet and instituted a number of economic measures and promises of political reform in an effort to appease those demands. But the protesters' list of demands grew longer as many Jordanians felt emboldened by the popular uprisings in the region.

Jordan's economy has been hit hard by the global downturn and rising commodity prices,and youth unemployment is high. Officials close to the palace have told CNN that Abdullah is trying to turn a regional upheaval into an opportunity for reform.

U.S. tycoon helps jobless in Mideast

In his speech Sunday, Abdullah sought to paint Jordanians as one family, "and as head of the family, I favor no one individual or group ... or differentiate between them," he said.

"I am one of you, and I am all for you," he said.

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