Interview with His Majesty King Abdullah II
Corriere della Sera: Your Majesty, you have instantly called the killing of the Hamas spiritual leader a crime.
King Abdullah: I have always strongly opposed any suicide operations, as well as targeted assassinations. These are the things that fuel the spiral of violence between Palestinians and Israelis.
Corriere della Sera: You have asked the international community to intervene, to assume their own responsibility. What are your intentions at the moment?
King Abdullah: When the situation goes from bad to worse, there is a desperate wish on both…need to galvanise the two sides in order to return to dialogue. Otherwise, I repeat, we may witness the explosion of more violence and aggression. We are confident that the great majority of Israelis and Palestinians want peace and prosperity; they want to get back to normalcy and live their own lives.
Corriere della Sera: Do you think that this spiral of violence will contaminate the entire region?
King Abdullah: No, the instability in the Middle East is strictly connected to the core issue in the region, which is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Slashing back at terrorism and extremism, the way it is being done, does not mean the eradication of terrorism. We need to solve the Israeli-Palestinian problem first, and then we will succeed in neutralising the recruiters.
Corriere della Sera: The other day, you had a secret meeting with the Israeli Prime Minister at his ranch in the Negev. What did Sharon tell you? And what did you tell Sharon? After what has just happened, do you still consider the unilateral withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza acceptable?
King Abdullah: At that time, the discussion we had was related to the future of the peace process, as I wanted to understand exactly what their plan is for withdrawal from Gaza, which was optimistically presented by the Israelis as a step in the right direction. Having said this, I want to add that today's attack has created such great confusion and increased animosity, rendering the respective objective more difficult to obtain.
Corriere della Sera: Do you have confidence in the commitment of Prime Minister Sharon?
King Abdullah: He told me he's committed to trying to find a solution. We do not have to talk too much because, for us, very important issues are at stake: the withdrawal from Gaza, the future of the Wall, the return to the negotiation table. You can see that the incoherence has already happened.
Corriere della Sera: At this point, is the roadmap still on? Or is it dead?
King Abdullah: We are determined to go on with the roadmap; the only way out is finding a solution for the two states to live in peace and security. On the other hand, we have Sharon's decision to withdraw from Gaza, though now we do not see how it is going to be. It is obvious that an earnest unilateral withdrawal would change the terms of the roadmap. This is a problem we will discuss in the United States, to understand where we are and if the roadmap is still alive.
Corriere della Sera: When will you be travelling to Washington?
King Abdullah: In April, I believe the 20th of the month.
Corriere della Sera: Your Majesty, the terrorist attacks in Madrid, organised and carried out by fanatic Islamists, have frightened Europe. People fear that they might start a campaign of terror that can alter our lives and impinge on our freedom. What do you think?
King Abdullah: I believe the dangers should be considered in the context of a threat. No one is secure. Jordan is not safe. Neither is Spain, which has been hit hard. This is a threat to the security of Europe.
Corriere della Sera: Do you think that now the terrorists could have other countries as objectives, which, like Italy, have their soldiers in Iraq? What is your advice? To stay and wait or to leave?
King Abdullah: I have not related the problem to the presence or departure of soldiers from Iraq. I have said that this is part and parcel of a more complex pattern, connected to a battle within Islam, where extremists are trying to create East-versus-West conflicts and inter-religious wars. Their objective is not the destruction of the Western world, but rather the destruction of moderate Islam and taking hold of power. Europe is but a secondary objective: with a weakened Europe, they want to shape the future of the Muslim world within the international community.
Corriere della Sera: In 2000, you and your family were one of the first objectives of Osama Bin Laden. Fortunately, the attempt failed. Do you wish to push forward the image of a moderate Islam? Yet the question is: the support and sympathy for those fanatics have increased?
King Abdullah: I trust the great majority of Arabs are aware of the danger they represent. The “sympathy” is connected to a perception that the West, and in particular of the USA, is always behind Israel, and that whatever the Arabs do is discredited. I do not agree with this, yet the empathy should be considered in terms of the perception among Arabs of no other alternative being delivered. Therefore, we need to work towards changing this perception in the first place.
Corriere della Sera: One year has passed since the beginning of the war. You have done the impossible to avoid the war; nevertheless, the United States did not listen to you. Iraq is presently extremely unstable. How do you see its future?
King Abdullah: I believe that the Iraqi society has the capacity to secure its stability by itself. More than that, the faster the Iraqis may be allowed to decide on their own future, above all in matters of security, the faster the country will normalise. We all desire this. It will need time.
Corriere della Sera: I know that Jordan has extended its assistance in the reorganisation of security in Iraq, by training 35,000 police and thousands of military people of the future army.
King Abdullah: As a matter of fact the training is pushing us to reflect. In fact, it is impossible to train ordinary police in two weeks, and the commander of an army battalion in six months. I do not wish to make hasty considerations; nonetheless I do not think it is realistic either. It is better to go back two steps to be able to make an important step forwards. 2004? Too early. 2005? Perhaps.
Corriere della Sera: You met yesterday the Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs Zebari, who insists the war has been justified.
King Abdullah: I think that for the majority of the Iraqis the change of the regime and the possibility to decide on its own future are positive elements in the long run. Nevertheless, because of the current instability it is difficult to feel more secure. The present is bleak, the future is promising.
Corriere della Sera: What will be on the agenda of next week's summit in Tunis?
King Abdullah: There are three issue: 1. Palestine; 2. Iraq; 3. The reforms. Our position is clear, despite the fact that some parties who accuse us of going ahead with the reforms because of American pressure. We say to everyone to go ahead with the reforms before you are forced to do them. I could now keep my mouth shut; yet I am a responsible leader and a friend of many Arab partners, and I will not be silent.
Corriere della Sera: You have implemented numerous reforms: economic, social and political ones. Recently you have changed the government; there are three lady ministers in the new government. Are you satisfied with the standard of democracy reached in Jordan?
King Abdullah: We started the social and economic reforms 5 years ago. Definitely, we could have done more. From levels A, B and C, we have reached level B. We shall come to the political reforms one or two years later, because I believe that the economic and social reforms must come first. Having partly achieved the first one, it becomes easier to go ahead with the second. I believe we have achieved good results in political reform. We have 30 parties; in the future we will have less. For the next elections, the King will tell his people to vote solely on the base of one's conviction, and not because one candidate comes from this place or that tribe.
Corriere della Sera: Do you think you are a model for the countries in the region?
King Abdullah: Only if we succeed. This is our restraint when we speak with our European friends. And now I wish to thank Prime Minister Berlusconi for the support he extended to us and to our social and economic reforms. At this moment, we believe that if we fail, the old guard of the Middle East may say: it does not work. If we succeed, other countries will understand that this is the right direction.
