Jordan celebrates Independence Day
AMMAN — Their Majesties King Abdullah and Queen Rania attended a ceremony marking the Kingdom's 59th Independence Day on Wednesday.
The country won its full independence on May 25, 1946 following the end of the British mandate.
Several Royal family members, diplomats, ministers, senior officials and army officers attended yesterday's ceremony, hosted by Prime Minister Adnan Badran and his wife at the Palace of Culture.
In his address at the ceremony, Badran emphasised that citizens were the target of development programmes, saying the government would always embrace dialogue as its primary approach to resolving issues.
The premier also called for activating a true partnership with society to tap into Jordan's full potential, making the country and its citizens role models for others to follow.
“The type of reform we are seeking will preserve the national and cultural identity of the country and entrench pluralism, equality and respect for the law,” Badran told the guests.
He reiterated the government's support for the Steering Committee for the National Agenda, which is tasked with setting guidelines for the Kingdom's development for the next 10 years. It groups a former prime minister, incumbent and former ministers, leading MPs, politicians, academics and businesspeople.
The premier said the government would follow and build on the efforts of the previous government, in line with King Abdullah's directives and the national interest.
Addressing the audience yesterday, Senate President Zeid Rifai reviewed landmarks in the Kingdom's progress since independence.
Acting Lower House Speaker Mamdouh Abbadi addressed the King in his speech, saying MPs were “delighted” by the King's recent statements, in which he said dissolving Parliament was “out of the question.”
The King told the London-based Arabic daily Al Hayat, that dissolving Parliament would not “solve the present crisis between deputies and the government.”
The Monarch was referring to a petition signed by 48 MPs, objecting to the government's formation, particularly its economic team, and threatening to withhold the vote of confidence.
“I respect the position of the House and value the wisdom and stand of the prime minister [Adnan Badran],” the King told Al Hayat Editor-in-Chief Ghassan Sharbel earlier this month.
“The government and Parliament should deal with any problem through dialogue and democratic means. Our democracy absorbs all opinions.”
The King's statements, Abbadi said, indicate his support for the Parliament and should enhance the relationship between the legislative and executive branches of government.
Focusing on the reforms under way in the Kingdom, the deputy said such change was an “inherent need in the community,” which is always developing, but that the nation's religious and national constants should be left intact.
Meanwhile, King Abdullah received cables of good wishes from several Arab and foreign heads of state on the occasion.
Thursday, May 26, 2005