TIME: Almanac 1993/TIME Almanac 1993.iso/time/072291/0722003.000

Text File | 1992-08-28 | 8.8 KB | 218 lines

                                                                                WORLD, Page 42

JORDAN

The Great Survivor


Ostracized for not joining the anti-Saddam coalition, KING HUSSEIN
of Jordan looks back in exasperation, but refuses to lose hope
that peace will come to the Middle East

By JOHN STACKS and DEAN FISCHER/AMMAN and King Hussein


    Q. Your neighbors in the gulf are angry at you, the U.S.
Congress is angry at you, and Jordan faces very difficult
economic problems because of the gulf crisis. Do you have any
regrets about your refusal to join the coalition?

    A. None whatsoever. Not in the sense that Jordan's
objective was to avoid war and to reverse the occupation of
Kuwait peacefully. We were never for the Iraqi invasion, never
a party to it and never aware it was going to happen. But a
majority of the world, including the U.S., adopted an attitude
that you are either with us or against us. Let me be very, very
clear: we were against Iraq's action, and we were against Iraq's
intransigence in not taking any of the opportunities to resolve
this question peacefully. We never conspired against anybody.
When people realize this, maybe they are going to feel what any
decent people would: that they have wronged a country and
wronged the people and wronged the leader of those people, a
friend of theirs for many years.


    Q. You were publicly critical of the U.S. during the
crisis, but you sent a very tough letter to Saddam Hussein in
September that has never been disclosed. Would you share it?

    A. In a very short time, a white paper will be published.


    Q. Doesn't this letter suggest that you were a good deal
tougher on Saddam than is widely known?

    A. I was frank and honest, right from the word go. If I
didn't succeed, it is to my sadness and regret.


    Q. Have you had any communication with Saddam recently?

    A. We haven't talked even on the telephone since the first
few days of his occupation of Kuwait. From time to time, an
Iraqi official passes by. I am very frank in expressing my
views.


    Q. What course would you now recommend regarding Iraq?

    A. It is very difficult to see what advice I might give
that would make any difference. It seems to me that lines are
set. But I would like to do everything I can to ensure Iraq's
integrity and to see that Iraq's future in terms of the rights
of its people is given a chance. I think they should resolve
their own problems internally within the context of a dialogue.
But I don't believe the situation in Iraq is going along these
lines; in fact, it is the opposite.


    Q. Do you think the sanctions should be lifted?

    A. Whatever I say won't make much difference. But I really
think that when we have reports that 100,000, maybe 150,000
children under the age of five will die within two months
because of malnutrition, sickness and disease, it is a shame to
all of us not to do something about it. There are ways and means
by which to ensure that help gets to the people.


    Q. Can the situation in Iraq possibly improve as long as
Saddam remains the leader?

    A. Let me put it another way. Throughout this crisis, I
have suggested time and again that if I ever felt I was a
hindrance or a burden to my country, I wouldn't stay another
minute. This is what I believe should happen. It is no great
achievement to last, because nobody lasts forever.


    Q. Do you see any hope of improvement in your relations
with the gulf states?

    A. Our relations have deteriorated with a number of gulf
states, with the exception of Oman. We had excellent relations
with Oman throughout. As far as the rest are concerned, I think
they were charged up with a lot of wrong information. Our view
is that sooner or later the truth will come out, and things
will change. And they will. There is no doubt about that.
Because whatever premise they base their relations with us on,
we are still one Arab family. During this terrible period -- it
is hard to believe it's only a year; it seems like 10 or 20
years -- it has been difficult to find out exactly who did what
or hurt whom. What happened? I can't understand it.


    Q. You have had some communication with President Mubarak
lately. Does this signal an improvement in your relations with
Egypt?

    A. We are in normal contact from time to time. I believe
personally that it is vital for our people to be in touch with
each other. Somehow the opportunity will arise at some point for
leaders of this region to sit face to face. I am not afraid of
that. In fact, I welcome it. And I have sought it so that the
air can be cleared.


    Q. Jordan is moving toward greater democratization. Was
the timing dictated at all by the gulf war, or is this
something you had planned to do all along?

    A. I think we beat the Soviet Union on starting this
process. We are proud of the changes. We have a new national
political charter here. It took nine months. We had people from
the extreme right and the extreme left getting to know each
other, discussing and debating. What they produced has put us
on the threshold of having political parties. Experiences [like
the war] illustrate the need to create democratic institutions
in this region. I hope our example might show the way -- a
country where people share power, express their opinions,
discuss and debate, where there is respect for human rights,
where there is democracy. Because that is the only guarantee
that things don't go haywire and that demigods are not created
of leaders.


    Q. President Bush hoped that once Saddam was defeated, the
Arab-U.S. alliance would somehow unlock the peace process. Is
it your judgment that things are going nowhere?

    A. I don't think that things are nowhere. I think there is
a bit more knowledge of what the difficulties are. I hope there
is a determination to continue to try to resolve them. I
believe the chances won't be with us very long before there will
be an acceleration toward extremism as a result of the gulf war
and the suffering of people.

    We have been as positive as we could be. Essentially we
are agreed that there should be two tracks -- one a
Palestinian-Israeli track, the other an Arab-Israeli track --
and that they should meet at the end. We certainly favor a
Palestinian delegation chosen by the Palestinian people, because
you can't have people representing them except those of their
own choice. However, if there is a problem there and it can be
overcome only by providing an umbrella of a joint
Jordanian-Palestinian delegation, then we will do that based on
talks with the Palestine Liberation Organization and with the
Palestinians. A real Palestinian nationalist in my book is
somebody who is hanging on to his land, and has been enduring
hardship for years and years, much more so than somebody who is
sitting outside the occupied territories pontificating about
nationalist matters from a position of comfort.


    Q. But can negotiations really work this time?

    A. I don't know whether a shock every now and then is what
is needed. We also need Europe to act. We need people who have
access to every party to this conflict. We are ready, willing
and hopeful. We believe in a comprehensive settlement. It can't
be just between Jordan and Israel, and Jordan cannot be
Palestine.


    Q. Can the process go forward without Syria?

    A. It could, if out of the blue Syria were insistent on
not being a party to the solution. This question has been put
to us time and again: Are you tied to Syria's position? We are
not tied to anybody's position.


    Q. Some people feel that this is the last chance for
peace. Do you agree?

    A. I believe it is our last chance. We don't have much
time. According to some estimates, the Israelis now occupy 65%
of the West Bank and Gaza.


    Q. What is the alternative? Is another war inevitable?

    A. If there is no peace, things cannot remain the way they
are. You can't tackle some of the really serious problems we
face except in a context of peace -- things that affect people,
such as water, the economy, progress, people settling down. You
can't tackle extremism. This madness will bring about eventual
disaster.


    Q. After 38 years on the throne, you have been running
your country longer than anyone else in the world.

    A. In earlier years there was an expectation of ending it
within weeks or days or whatever. Somehow time passes. But the
important thing is the regret that after all these years we
haven't been able to achieve peace that generations after us can
accept.


    Q. You sound exasperated and discouraged.

    A. Not discouraged. The world has changed in many
respects, and I hope that will soon have a positive impact on
this region. After all, it is important to the world.