PRINCE HAMZAH SIGNS LETTER AGREEING TO SUPPORT THE KING

Tue 06 April 2021:

Jordan’s Prince Hamzah has signed a letter in which he promised to abide by the traditions and approaches of the ruling Hashemite monarch family, the royal court said in a statement, as a rift that saw the prince placed under house arrest appeared to ease.

“I place myself in the hands of his majesty the king,” the letter read, according to the Jordanian royal court on Monday.

“I will remain committed to the constitution of the dear Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and I will always be of help and support to his majesty the king and his crown prince.”

Prince Hamzah, a former crown prince, signed the letter after he met with Prince Hassan, the king’s uncle, and other princes on Monday, the royal court said.

“The interests of the homeland must remain above every consideration. We must all stand behind the king in his efforts to protect Jordan and its national interests,” the letter said.

At the bottom left of the letter, Hamzah — the oldest son of Jordan’s late King Hussein and his American-born wife Queen Noor — signed off with a note indicating that he is at his uncle Prince Hassan’s house.

Prince Hassan had been appointed by King Abdullah II to deal with the dispute, according to an earlier statement from the Royal Court on Monday, and Hassan also signed the letter.

The signed letter came after King Abdullah II agreed to enter mediation to heal a rift within the royal family, the palace said.

There was no independent word from Prince Hamzah himself, who says he has been placed under house arrest inside his Amman palace. Earlier, he struck a defiant tone, insisting he would continue to defy government threats ordering him to stay at home and refrain from public statements.

“I don’t want to make moves and escalate now, but of course I’m not going to obey when they say: ‘You can’t go out, you can’t tweet, you can’t communicate with people, you’re only allowed to see your family,’” the 41-year-old said in an audio recording posted on Twitter late on Sunday.

US and Arab governments quickly sided with King Abdullah following the arrests on Saturday, a reflection of Jordan’s strategic importance.

Prince Hamzah’s criticism of the ruling class

Prince Hamzah is not seen as a threat to the monarchy, which enjoys the support of the army and security services, but has gained sympathy among Jordanians sceptical of the government’s accusations about his foreign links, saying it was a campaign to defame him.

“This is character assassination without evidence,” said Ali R al-Tarawneh in a tweet.

Prince Hamzah’s unprecedented criticism of the ruling class – without naming the king – could lend support to growing complaints about poor governance and human rights abuses in Jordan.

Public anger has increased since nine COVID-19 patients died when oxygen ran out in a newly built state hospital, exposing negligence blamed on official mismanagement and corruption.

Protests were broken up with tear gas.

Hamzah, who looks and sounds like Hussein, has become increasingly popular in the kingdom amid unrest over economic stagnation, political impasse and the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

When six coronavirus patients died in a government-run hospital in the town of al-Salt because of failing oxygen supplies, King Abdullah got a mixed reception upon visiting the medical facility. While some supporters of the Hashemite monarch were in the crowd, others shouted: “The country has drowned!”

Shortly after the king’s visit, a tanker with supplies of oxygen turned up at the hospital.

When Hamzah paid his condolences to the family of one of the patients who died in al-Salt, he got a very different reception – as Mamoun Khreisat, the eldest son of the deceased, expressed his thanks to the prince for his generous gesture, officials say. It was the first such open rift in the royal family in many years.

Abdullah and Hamzah are both sons of King Hussein, who remains a beloved figure two decades after his death. Upon ascending to the throne in 1999, Abdullah named Hamzah as crown prince, only to revoke the title five years later. Hassan, the uncle, also had been crown prince but was removed shortly before Hussein’s death.

While Abdullah and Hamzah are said to have good relations generally, Hamzah recently had forged ties with powerful tribal leaders in a move seen as a threat to the king.