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Jordan, but what really happened in the royal family

“In light of the developments of the last two days, I place myself in the hands of His Majesty the King, stressing that I will remain in the era of fathers and grandfathers, faithful to their heritage, following their path, faithful to them and to His Majesty.” If it is not a turnaround, it is certainly a re-entry into the ranks of the prince Hamzah bin Hussein. The King is her half-brother, Abdallah II of Jordan which has reigned since 1999, when, shortly before his father died, King Hussein took the title of crown prince away from 19-year-old Hamzah, son of the fourth wife Noor, to give it to him then 37.

Hamzah, now 41, is the most illustrious name at the center of last week’s alleged conspiracy that appeared to endanger the Jordanian kingdom. In reality, the outlines of the story are not clear and the information is very limited. “The version that arrived from the United States spoke of an attempted coup, the Jordanian version speaks of a plot, the first seems to define an organized action, the second more activity of disturbing, interfering and destabilizing the security of the country “, he explains Paolo Maggiolini, associate researcher of Ispi, Institute for International Political Studies.

The Jordanian kingdom continues to indicate the second way and has already chosen the way of family mediation. Hamzah, the rebel prince, declared himself loyal to the king and the king entrusted the management of the affair to his uncle, Hassan bin Talal. They are dirty clothes that are washed in the family, how dirty they are and why they got dirty and to understand. “The fact that the army is not involved greatly limits the hypothesis of the coup d’etat and accredits that of theinterference to re-enter roles of greater importance riding on the situation of the country which is in a difficult economic situation »adds the teacher.

Prince Hamzah himself spared no criticism, even direct, of the Jordanian political class. Others came to attack the king. However, it has already happened since 2015. The line that cannot be overcome is support for the king and this has already been confirmed by the prince by putting “In the hands of His Majesty”. Another line that cannot be crossed and not crossed is that of the relationship with the United States, formalized at the time of President Eisenhower and reconfirmed a few days ago, and with the European Union. “It is no coincidence that the United States was the first to report what was happening and at the same time reconfirming the link with King Abdallah.”

After the death of King Hussein Hamzah he was crown prince. His brother replaced him a few years ago with his and her eldest son regina Rania, now 26 years old. Hamzah never rebelled against these choices and even now his mother, regina noor, and his wife Princess Basmah Bani Ahmad defend his position by speaking of “an evil slander” and saying to pray for “truth and justice to prevail.”

There is certainly a family issue, but there is also a form of discontent in the growing country. “If we replace the word moderation, often associated with Jordan, with the word democratization, the theme changes”, explains Paolo Maggiolini, “because from 2018 onwards, as dissent increases, albeit not organized in an organized critical mass, the government has begun to strictly enforce some existing laws such as that on online terrorism and media control and has reduced the spaces of dissenting associations“. Journalists, artists and cartoonists have been accused of harming security and the teachers’ union has been dissolved. The elections last October were very low profile. «The limitations that already existed take off faster and become real impositions. It is increasingly difficult to express dissent in this country ».

There is also an example in the case of Hamzah. There is a ban on talking about the affair by audiovisual media and social networking sites. The publication and circulation of any images or video clips relating to this topic are prohibited. Those who do so “are under penalty of criminal responsibility”.

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