Mr. Shubailat is the Latest Victim of the Jordanian Monarch Brutality

Laith Shubailat is the former head of the Jordanian engineers' union. He is also a self-described dissident, ex-political prisoner and former member of the Jordanian parliament. Mr. Shubailat was recently beaten in broad daylight on the streets of Amman by a gang of thugs representing the Jordanian Government’s security forces for allegedly insulting and criticizing the Jordanian regime.  Mr. Shubliat released a statement from his hospital bed, where he said that the thugs beat him in the face, back, and ribs, leaving him bleeding in the street, although he stopped short of accusing the regime for orchestrating this incident.

In the past, Mr. Shubailat, an advocate of non-violence and a genuine parliamentary democracy who believes that reform must come from within the establishment, has called on the King to accept genuine political reform, which should be based on wider political participation by Jordanian citizens.   

Having become totally disenchanted with the King’s unconstitutional practices, Mr. Shubailat went public with his concerns.  In a public speech that he delivered on the state of political affairs in Jordan, Mr. Shubailat rightly criticized the Jordanian monarch for registering public land in his name without being given a clear mandate from the Jordanian public. In his remarks, Mr. Shubailat, who considers himself a loyal citizen of Jordan and its people, continued his practice of reaching out to the regime’s supporters to solicit their support in convincing the King that his actions could be counterproductive, and might result in fueling public sentiment against the Hashemite Royal family.  Unfortunately, his appeal fell on deaf ears and got no response. In the same speech, he further suggested that the King’s close advisors do not have the moral courage to confront the monarch with disturbing news and provide him with a sincere and more accurate assessment about the extent of public dissention against aspects of his rule.

Unfortunately, the Jordanian security services’ (Mukhaberat’s) brutality against peaceful and innocent political and media figures is fast becoming the regime’s accepted way of handling dissent in Jordan. What we saw in Amman in this incident and other criminal activities reflect a high-level decision not just to muzzle a political dissident, but also to physically intimidate and punish anyone daring to protest or criticize the king’s actions and policies. By all accounts, it shows the level of mindless gangster activities that the regime has descended to

For additional information on the many brutalities and human rights violations perpetrated by the Jordanian regime, please visit:

http://www.jordannationalmovement.com/hrabuses.htm

This uncivilized, undemocratic behavior should not be tolerated in a close U.S. ally – one which touts itself as a democratic constitutional monarchy.  For its part, Washington can exert its influence by using economic aid earmarked for Jordan to remind the regime that this brutal, illegal behavior against innocent citizens is not acceptable under the Obama Administration.   The hundreds of millions of US dollars the United States gives Jordan annually in aid should unequivocally be tied to progress on political reform and with the clear implication that the money will be diverted to grassroots projects in Jordan that promote democracy if reform is not genuinely adopted and implemented.  Washington should get some acknowledgment that the regime is committed to political reform that will promote democracy, in return for all their aid. And what does Washington really have to lose by following such a course? Actually, nothing. The regime is totally inept and powerless to challenge this stand.  Additionally, Jordan’s limited influence and credibility have been greatly diminished over the past few years. From Palestine to Iraq, Lebanon to Syria, it is the Saudi regime that is now calling the shots in the region, and ironically, there probably is no more dependable Washington ally in the Arab world than the Saudi regime.

With the exception of the regime’s sycophants and beneficiaries, who among the Jordanian citizenry would not be happy to see  the regime getting a metaphorical slap in the face, bearing in mind the very physical slaps and worse so many of them have to suffer at the hands of the regime’s thugs every day?

There is a possibility that the regime’s allies and apologists in Washington and other western capitals would argue against this course of action. They would point out that Mr. Shubailat and other cohorts hold strong negative views of the United States and its allies, especially Israel. Also, they might use Mr. Shubailat’s stand against the US invasion of Iraq or his public stand against the Wadi Araba Agreement. This may be correct, but in a true and genuine democracy such views do not constitute crime.  Regarding the Iraq war, the current president of the United States, Mr. Obama has often and publically stated his criticism of that war. As for the Wadi Arab protocol, Mr. Shubailat believes and correctly so that Wadi Arab did not give Jordan the tangible benefits that it was promised. Also, his views that the successive Israeli governments are not serious about forging a genuine peace agreement with their Palestinian counterparts are held by most Jordanians (including supporters of the regime) and are even shared to varying degrees by many Israelis and American Jews.  Such an argument therefore cannot be used to justify the regime’s brutal suppression of this public figure and other like-minded Jordanians.

In standing up for Mr. Shubailat and his basic human rights, Mr. Obama would be supporting a homegrown and popular constitutional reform aimed at the creation of a parliamentary system of government to be chosen in a fully democratic election.  Jordanians can then see whether Mr. Obama is serious about defending the cause of freedom in the Middle East that he passionately advocated in his Cairo speech