Jordan journalists blast halting of weekly publication

May 1, 2007, 6:19 GMT

Amman - The Jordan Press Association (JPA) on Tuesday criticised the government's halting of the publication of al-Majd weekly newspaper as 'illegal' under the recently enacted press and printing law.

'The new press and printing law includes a clause that considers censorship of printed media illegal,' the JPA chairman Tareq Momani said.

The Amman-based Centre for Protection of Journalists and Press Freedom has also condemned the government's move.

According to al-Majd's editor-in-chief, Fahd Rimawi, the Jordanian security authorities on Monday intervened to prevent the printing of the weekly because the new edition 'included a report about a plan forwarded to the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that strengthens his position versus the rival Hamas group.'

'The report also envisaged elevating Abbas' power to the level where he can fire the Hamas-led government and call early elections later this year,' he added.

Rimawi alleged that the authorities offered to allow him to publish the paper's new edition if he agreed to remove that article, but he 'refused.'

The government has so far withheld comment on Rimawi's remarks.

Abbas and the Hamas-led government concluded an agreement with Saudi brokerage in Mecca in February that put an end to 12 months of power struggle which developed into bloody fighting between the president's Fatah group and Hamas.

The Mecca accord paved the ground for forging the present Palestinian national unity government with portfolios shared by Fatah, Hamas and independent politicians.

The Jordanian government has backed Abbas and refrained from establishing official communication with Hamas, which scored a sweeping victory at the January 2006 elections in the Palestinian territories.

However, King Abdullah II and other senior officials have repeatedly expressed keenness on unification of Palestinian ranks and avoiding a repetition of feuds that triggered inter-Palestinian fighting.

Jordan has also adopted a traditional policy of preventing the publication of reports that could injure the country's ties with other Arab and friendly countries.

Two weeks ago, the Jordanian authorities seized a videotape for an interview that was conducted by the Doha-based al-Jazeera television with Prince Hassan, the king's uncle.

The videotape reportedly included remarks that could negatively affect Jordan's ties with Saudi Arabia.