Exits of Jordan minister and police chiefs set precedent

Interior minister resigns due to "lack of coordination" over issues concerning citizens' security.

A file photo shows Jordan's minister of interior Hussein Al Majali in Washington. AFP Photo

AMMAN // Jordan’s King Abdullah accepted the resignation of the interior minister and two police chiefs were asked to retire following the bungled handling of tensions in a southern city and reported prisoner abuse in the north.

The resignation of Hussein Al Majali was due “to the lack of coordination among the country’s security agencies over issues concerning citizens’ security and stability”, according to a statement from the prime minister, Abdullah Ensour.

The statement, published by government news agency Petra late on Sunday, did not specify what exactly led to Mr Al Majali’s resignation, but stressed that security agencies under his control had failed to perform their roles properly.

The resignation came a day after a government security meeting in Ma’an, an impoverished city 220 kilometres south of Amman where some residents are known for sympathising with extremist groups.

While tensions in Ma’an are not new, they spiked earlier this month after two residents stole a security official’s car and set it on fire.

The two men, who are brothers, also raised an ISIL flag, in an apparent attempt to provoke security forces, according to the head of the Ma’an municipality, Majed Sharari.

“It was to punish the government because the security forces killed their brothers,” Mr Sharari said.

Two of the men’s brothers, both of whom were wanted and had criminal records, were killed during a security forces crackdown in Ma’an launched two years ago, he said. Another of the men’s brothers was paralysed following a shoot-out with police in 2013.

Last week, security forces intensified the manhunt for the brothers who stole and burnt the car. A police battalion was sent into the city and a surveillance plane was seen overhead.

Mr Sharari said security forces used excessive force during the search. “They demolished the houses of the wanted men and other houses in Ma’an were also damaged during the raids. The mission failed and the raids have terrorised women and children. After the resignations, people are happy in Ma’an.”

According to reports on social media, residents distributed sweets and there were marches in support of the king.

Before his resignation, Mr Al Majali had vowed on Saturday to arrest those who threatened the security of citizens and said the search for the wanted men in Ma’an would continue.

Mohammad Abu Saleh, who heads a local committee in Ma’an that follows political and social issues, said he believed the excessive use of force was not necessarily government policy. “It is an individual practice based on wrong assessments. Those behind the use of excessive force should be held accountable.

“If the resignations are in response to the discontent in Ma’an then we welcome this step. But if it is due to the failure of the security agencies to perform their duty, then things will head for the worst.”

Sheikh Abdullah Salah, 57, head of the Ma’an chamber of commerce, said the “crisis” in the city showed no signs of ending. Its problems are social and economic marginalisation, soaring poverty and unemployment, but what exacerbates tensions, he said, “is that government deals with Ma’an in a security-minded manner”.

In a separate incident earlier this month, a 19-year-old died in police custody in Irbid, in Jordan’s north, after being arrested on drug charges. A coroner’s report said he had bruises all over his body, indicating that he might have been beaten in custody.

The teenager died at a government-run hospital where he had been taken in an attempt to resuscitate him, according to a doctor who read the report.

Four policemen have been detained and referred to general prosecutor in connection with the case, police said.

The government made no reference to the incidents in Ma’an and Irbid, but its decision to accept the interior minister’s resignation and ask two police officers to retire sets a precedent in Jordan. It is trying to maintain a careful balance in the country as it participates in military campaigns in Syria, Iraq and Yemen while also struggling with poverty and unemployment, soaring public debt, the influx of Syrian and Iraqi refugees, and a crackdown on extremist sympathisers at home.

“When the government acknowledges its shortcomings, this a positive move,” said Jamil Nimri, a member of parliament.