King: Monarchy is maintaining its role as the symbol of national identity

Amman, March 20 (Petra)--His Majesty King Abdullah II said that the Monarchy is maintaining its role as the symbol of national unity and the voice of all Jordanians in defense of the core values of our national identity.

In an interview with the Associated Press (AP) conducted by its Amman Bureau Chief Jamal Halabi the King said the Monarchy’s paramount objective is to safeguard Jordan’s prosperity, stability, security, and unity, and work for the wellbeing of Jordanians, so they can meet their aspirations.

"We are writing a whole new chapter in our history, and I am not writing it alone – the people and their representatives, political forces, civil society are writing it with me, he added.

The King said that our reform roadmap has a clear trajectory, with milestones and prerequisites. "Part of this trajectory involves keeping on developing our electoral system, through our constitutional institutions, so that it becomes more representative, maintains pluralism, provides a level playing field, and is conducive to the formation of party-based parliamentary governments,".

In reply to a question on economic challenges facing Jordan, the King said that the global crisis had already hit our economy, then came the Arab Spring - tourism and investments slowed, Syrian refugees further strained our resources and infrastructure, trade through Syria all but halted.

"The coup-de-grace was the interruption in the supply of Egyptian gas, accounting for almost 80% of our electricity generation needs, at a time of globally record-high oil prices," he said, noting that this alone has been costing the government more than US$2b a year.

"Add to this the costs of hosting about half a million Syrian refugees, or 9% of our population". It’s as if over 30 million refugees flooded into the US, the majority having crossed in less than 12 months." On the repercussions of the Syrian crisis on Jordan, King Abdullah added that the direct costs of hosting Syrian refugees are US$550 million annually at current refugee levels, which are expected to almost double over the next 6-8 months.

He said that the radicalisation of Syria, together with the deadlock in the peace process, would ignite the entire region. "Another extremely dangerous scenario is the fragmentation of Syria, which would trigger sectarian conflicts across the region for generations to come. And also the huge risk that Syria could become a regional base for extremist and terrorist groups, which we are already seeing setting strong footholds in some areas".

Jordan, the King added works within Arab consensus and international consensus and legalities. "I am totally against sending Jordanian troops inside Syria and this has always been Jordanian policy. I am also against any foreign military intervention in Syria, he said.

In reply to a question on the future of Syria and whether Bashar Assad may ultimately be able to survive the civil war, the King said: "I believe we are past that point, too much destruction, too much blood. But ultimately this is something for the Syrian people to determine. The key question is whether Syria will plunge into chaos or there will be a transition, and what kind of transition."

Dipetik dari - Jordan News Agency (Petra)