The Jordanian Opposition Coalition
PRESS RELEASE
King Abdullah II, Why Won’t You Open the Parliament?
House of Representatives Swearing in Ceremony Fails to Take Place, Raising Questions
Jordanians Ask: The King Has Not Been Seen Publicly in A Month–His Media Is Using Old Footage and Pre-Recorded Videos Only, Is He Clinically-Dead as Sources Confirm?
(Amman, Jordan) – The Jordanian Opposition Coalition (JOC) today did what no others have – they directly challenged King Abdullah with this question: There has been a Parliamentary Election and the members must be sworn in by the King. But, for some reason, the King won’t undertake his responsibilities as the Constitution requires. Why? Historically, Hashemite Kings have been opening newly elected parliaments within a week of ending the elections.
The Jordanian Constitution requires that elections be held, members elected and that the King swear in the elected Members before it can start work on the myriad of issues facing the Hashemite Kingdom. The Parliament was supposed to be sworn in November 29, 2020. No new date has been established. Why?
“The issue facing Jordan’s future range from A to Z,” Mudar Zahran, Jordanian Opposition Coalition Secretary General said. “The king has not sworn in the Parliament, so they cannot meet and do what they were elected to do.” “Additionally, the king-appointed Prime Minister has to be confirmed by a sitting parliament. So far, neither could happen because the king is a no-show, Jordan has neither legitimate legislative nor executive powers in place – it’s a power vacuum that has been taking our country down a very dangerous route”.
“The king is missing and all of the intelligence we have shows that he is clinically-dead and under guard in a certain facility outside of Amman,” Zahran continued. “With him out of the picture, Yousef Al-Essawi, the head of the King’s Royal Court [Office], has taken over and is apparently running the country as if he was the head of state. This man has no mandate to do so – the power in our country has been hijacked against the will of our people”, Zahran said. “This man’s job description states that he is merely the king’s office manager.”
On behalf of the Jordanian people, we demand that the King open the Parliament in front of a national audience consisting of members of the press or that everyone who does business with the County and the Royal Family be put on notice that groups and their leaders resist participating in the conspiracy that is being undertaken against the Jordanian people. That includes not just meetings, but by making false statements about visits and meetings with King Abdullah II, including the taking and dissemination of fake pictures and videos with the “king’s doubles” in an effort to deceive the Jordanian people and encourage Al-Essawi and the king-appointed Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh to continue undermining Jordan’s political system.
The problem become dangerous when the Jordanian army and intelligence apparatus are at odds with Al-Essawi. This factored in; it is noted that they have not been following his requests, which warrants even more serious concern for Jordan’s already deteriorating security and growing unrest.
By concealing the truth about the state of health of king and keeping the Parliament closed, Al-Essawi is committing a betrayal of the homeland and insulting the Jordanian people. Jordan’s Opposition leader, Mudar Zahran is already warning both, Al-Essawi and the king-appointed Prime Minister: “The Jordanian people will soon hold those responsible once they get hold of their government and future, the new Jordan’s courts and laws will punish them with the most severe penalties, those two and everyone who participated in this conspiracy against Jordan and its people.”
“Al-Essawi should be tried for the crime of joint usurping of power and carrying out acts of the head of state without a representative or legal capacity,” Zahran continued. “The opposition strongly warns Al-Essawi that running Jordan in the name of the head of state is a crime that amounts to high treason and punishable under the Jordanian Penal Code (16) 1960.
Because of this, the JOC has begun legal procedures against Yousef Al-Essawi and the illegalities found under the Jordanian Constitution.
At the same time, the JOC is challenging Al-Essawi to come clean about the king’s health situation, in their statement the JOC said: “In the name of the Jordanian people, the JOC calls upon Al-Essawi to tell everyone the truth – tell us what is really going on with the King and his family” . “The Jordanian people, and world, deserve to know the truth – is he alive or dead, and what did he die of, and when?”
According to Zahran, “Failure of the Royal Family or current government leaders to provide transparency and let the Jordanian people know what is happening with the king and their nation, is a violation of the Jordanian Constitution and clear breach of contract the Hashemites have with the people they are supposed to serve.”
“We are witnessing a power struggle that is shrouded in a continuing conspiracy,” Zahran added. “They are concealing the truth about Abdullah’s condition and death, which has created a power, legislative and implementation vacuum.”
According to intelligence sources, the JOC has collected the following information:
1) That the King is brain dead as a result of a stroke; he’s clinically dead and is on life-support in a military facility 120 miles outside of the capital Amman.
2) The King’s wife, son and three other children have permanently left the country and is now living in the UK.
3) Deaths in Jordan from the COVID-19 virus has brought the country to a stand-still; with a huge increase in cases, reaching thousands per day at a recent point, according to the government’s own statements.
4) A power struggle has developed between Al-Essawi, and the military, the Jordanian army is refusing orders from Al-Essawi, stating he has no mandate.
5) With utter government failure, the Jordanian military is now securing the country’s stability and doing the policing and some tasks usually assigned to civil authorities.
6) With months of oppression systematically escalated by the regime; Jordanians are being arrested, placed in jail and unfortunately forgotten about; jails have never been so crowded.
7) Actions by the Hashemite family of 82 individual have violated their social contract with the people of Jordan. They are now deemed illegitimate and disqualified by most Jordanians.
“To overcome this travesty, the JOC will be releasing a new Constitution for consideration by the Jordanian people,” Zahran continued. “This document stems directly from our platform, and will not only eliminate the Monarchy, but empower the government to make changes in several areas.”
Legislation is being prepared for introduction in the parliament. The JOC has written the outlines and is working with Parliament members to introduce the legislation.
The intelligence community has been awash with rumors about the king and his condition, especially since he has not been seen in weeks. On one hand, many say that he is in hiding because of the Corona-19 Virus. On the other hand, many have said he was overwhelmed by Jordan’s problems, and had a stroke brought on by rumors of drug abuse, alcoholism and poor physical health.
“This stern demand goes out to the Palestinian Authority’s President Mahmoud Abbas,” Zahran said. “At this time, he should not be participating in any type of conspiracy against the Jordanian people; him claiming he’s visited the king in Jordan is an absolute lie, he’s complicit in this ongoing deception”
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The UAE totally supports the abdication by the King and it was the first to make p3eace with the King. So I do not believe it is collaborating with the King to keep him in power. More likely that they are assisting in his departure.
For the last month Mudar has been incomunicado.
I am merely posting his tweets.
Having said that, the thing to watch is that the newly elected Members of Parliament have not yet been sworn it. Therefore there is a government vaccum. The time is right for Mudar to make his move. So just be patient.
I should point out that the leadership in all 13 refugee camps in Jordan in addition to the largest Bedouin Clan joined this coalition 7 years ago.
@ Adam Dalgliesh:
I have never deleted your comments.. I found it in Spam and approved it. There is a limit to how long a comment can be. That may have been a problem
From today’s (DEc. 4) Jordan times: A photo, said to have been taken yesterday, of the KIng meeting officials from different parts of the country. The article summarized a speech that he delivered to the assembled group. It noted that present at the meeting was the senior officer of the Royal Court and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. This sounds to me like an attempt to dispel rumors that Abdullah is in trouble with the army or his own courtiers.
The king’s speech seems rather defensive in tone, admitting that many Jordanians were living in poverty and the COVID19 epidemic was taking a heavy toll in lives as well as harming the economy. He claimed he is working hard to try to solve these problems, and promised to appropriate more funds to relieve the suffering of the unemployed, including lack of food. The officials, during question time, urged the King to do more to relieve poverty and illness in their districts.
Reading between the lines, it sounds like the king was in political trouble, but is now working to dig himself out of a hole and regain the confidence at least of his own officials.
The Israeli foreign minister, Gabi Ashkenazi, and his Jordanian counterpart met somewhere in Jordan territory yesterday, as announced by both the Jordanian and Israeli foreign ministries. The official announcement said that they discussed the Palestinian issue and Jordan’s desire for a two-state solution. But the timing is interesting, since such high-ranking Israeli and Jordanian officals haven’t had publicly announced meetings in several years. Perhaps a Jordanian succession crisis was also on their agenda.
The Khaleej Times, published in Dubai, and the Jordan Times both reported that Abdullah attended a conference in Abu Dhabi with the Sheikhs of the UAE, and the King of Bahrain, said to have been held between November 18 and November 20.. A video published by the Khaleej Times appears to show the King in a few shots, all but one of them still. The Jordan Times has not published any current photographs of the King for several weeks, however. There are references to his having made phone calls to Biden and Mahmoud Abbas, but no photos of him. The JT reported that Abdullah’s son had been sworn in as Prince Regent “in the presence of a cabinet member,” just before the King flew to Abu Dhabi for the conference. Since then, the JT has reported several public appearances by the Prince Regent, but none by the King. He has retained his temporary title of Prince Regent now for moe than two weeks. Sounds to me that Abdullah is either two ill to work full time, or is awaiting a decision by someone or other, possibly the army chiefs or his court officials, concerning whether he will remain king or abdicate in favor of his son. I also suspect he is still in Abu Dhabi and has yet to return to Amman.
Ted, why did you delete my longer comment, explaining the King’s recent visit to the UAE and what it may tell us about his health and/or political status? Please reinstate it.
@ Bear Klein: Source?
Assuming the report to be accurate, the King could have been” attending ” via teleconference from anywhere, including the UAE. And if it was a “teleconference” rather than a video conference, it is possible that someone was impersonating the King.
“UAE, Bahrain and Jordan seek full Mideast peace
At the Abu Dhabi meeting, the leaders of the UAE, Bahrain and Jordan emphasised the strong fraternal relations between their countries and the importance of accelerating them to higher levels to fulfil the aspirations of their people for progress and prosperity.
At the summit held in Abu Dhabi, the three leaders reviewed means for stepping up cooperation and integration in various fields, particularly healthcare, food, medicine and security, and the efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus and mitigate its economic, health and social impacts.
At the Abu Dhabi meeting, the leaders of the UAE, Bahrain and Jordan emphasised the strong fraternal relations between their countries and the importance of accelerating them to higher levels to fulfil the aspirations of their people for progress and prosperity.
Also present were Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, National Security Adviser; Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs; Ali bin Hammad Al Shamsi, Deputy Secretary-General of the Supreme National Security Council; and members of the delegations accompanying the King of Bahrain and the King of Jordan.
The UAE and Bahrain signed the Abraham Accord with Israel on September 15, thus becoming the first among the GCC countries to establish diplomatic ties with Israel.
Reem Al Hashimi, the UAE’s Minister of State for International Cooperation, said at an online conference that the UAE continues to consider the issue of a Palestinian state as the most important one but “without impeding opportunities for dialogue and open communication”.
She said it does matter to the Muslim and to the Arab world that a Palestinian state exists.
reporters@khaleejtimes.com.”
A brief video attached to the article shows the persons at the conference. One of them is identified as Abdullah, although since he is wearing a face mask and they are mainly distance shots it is hard to be sure.
Although there are everal photos, mainly still, on the video that appear to show Abdullah listening while another individual dressed in a white Abayah is talking to him, from a few feet away, the video appears to show other persons present as more involved in the deliberations at the conference. One brief video sequence shows three Abayah-clad individuals sitting close together, their heads almost meeting, on what looks like a bench (or couch?) talking animatedly. Abdullah is not among them.
The video shows Abdullah’s host, the sheikh of Abu Dhabi, escorting him from his plane down a path after his arrival. However, there is no photo of Abdullah boarding his plane to return to Jordan.
An article in the Jordan Times, the official government newspaper in Jordan, confirms that Abdullah flew to the Abu Dhabi for a conference with leaders of the UAE and Bahrain on November 18, 2020. and It notes that his eldest son was sworn in as “Prince Regent.” Since then, there have been several reports of public appearances by the Prince Regent in Jordan, but none by the king. No photos of him.
The king was reported to have spoken on the phone to Biden and to Mahmoud Abbas and to have affirmed his continued support for the Palestinian cause. But no photos of him talking on the phone.
My guess is that Abdullah is still in Abu Dhabi, “resting,” since the last photos (or alleged photos) of him were taken sometime between November 18 and November 21. The UAE is an ideal place for a king to rest, since it is full of mansions, many of them unoccupied, numerous recreational facilities, beautiful beaches, etc. I he is sick, there are excellent hospitals. In a UAE hospital, he would have more privacy than in a Jordanian hospital. It would be asier for him to receive medical treatment whille covering up the fact that he is sick.
Now that the UAE and israel have normalized their relations, Abdullah could have the best Israeli specialists fly to treat him, without attracting the notice of the jordanian and Israeli press.
One media source, I can’t remember which, stated recently that Abdullah was suffering from severe depression. If that is the case, the finest Israeli mental health specialists could be flown in to treat him,in either an in-patient or outpatient setting.
If it is true that the Jordanian Army is planning overthrow him, he can certainly get a comfortable “head start” on exile in the UAE.
King appears alive!!!!