Al-Jazeera Follows This Blog

...not intended to be a factual statement. But al-Jazeera Arabic did post a more in-depth article on Jordan after I posted yesterday.

In order to appease discontented protesters, King Abdullah put together a "National Dialogue Committee" tasked with identifying needed reforms. In a speech last week, the King already expressed his willingness to go along with the committee's directives pertaining to the party system and the appointment of cabinet members and prime ministers (currently the sole discretion of the King).

But as one critic pointed out in an interview with al-Jazeera, the committee was formed and overseen by the government, keeping control in the government itself and away from the people. He sees this shortcoming of the committee as exacerbating mistrust between the government and the Jordanian people.

Scholars and activists are also debating whether reforming policies will be enough, given the over-bureaucratization and pervasive corruption that hinder most efforts to reform. Some point to deeper problems inherent in the system of government that make it weak, hesitant, and slow--problems that must be addressed aggressively, instead of spreading a veneer of reform over the surface of an essentially unchanged crisis.

I agree with many international observers in thinking that the fact that King Abdullah is willing to cede some powers is a good sign for Jordan. It's a sign of, as the al-Jazeera article puts it, "the existence of the political will to achieve reform." What remains to be seen is if intensive efforts to root out corruption will be implemented effectively.

If you look at the photo at the top of the al-Jazeera article, both protest signs refer specifically to corruption. The one on the left says "In the presence of corruption, all pay the price." The one on the right reads "Toward a Jordan free from corruption."