Iraqi exiles celebrate Asian Cup victory

Iraqis in Amman celebrate their team's first Asian Cup triumph (Photo by Nader Daoud)

By Paul Tate

AMMAN — Thousands of Iraqis poured onto the capital’s streets last night to celebrate their national team’s victory in the Asian Cup final.

However, the festivities were marred by several incidents of violence when security forces armed with wooden batons broke up large gathernigs of cheering fans.

In Gardens Street traffic came to a virtual standstill for hours after the match as hundreds of Iraqi exiles packed into cars beeped their horns and waved national flags in celebration at their squad’s historic 1-0 victory over Saudi Arabia.

“The team has proved what the human spirit is capable of against all the odds,” said Iraqi engineer Dafar Bashar, currently in Jordan visiting his daughter who is studying at the Amman Ahliyyah Private University.

Jordan is host to some 750,000 Iraqis, who over the past four years have sought refuge from the daily violence racking their country.

“This victory disproves the myth that Iraq is divided along sectarian lines. If only the government could unite Iraqis like this we would be in a much better situation,” added Bashar.

Iraq’s team, which includes a mixture of Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds, reached the final after knocking out tournament favourites Australia and South Korea in Wednesday’s semifinal.

Hassan, an Iraqi student, who fled to Jordan with his family two years ago, said the victory was a rare moment of happiness in their lives.

“Today we are all Iraqis, we are all Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds. We are one people struggling to be free,” he said, adding that his joy was tempered by feelings of sadness at the everyday plight of poor Iraqis both inside and outside his country.

Since the US-led invasion of March 2003, over two million people have fled Iraq, mostly to Jordan and Syria. Millions more are internally displaced.

In one incident, celebrations were marred as security forces broke up a peaceful gathering of hundreds of cheering Iraqis outside a furniture store in the centre of West Amman.

Police officers kicked and beat the crowd with wooden batons as people panicked to flee to saftey. Some youths were taken away by intelligence officers in unmarked cars. Security forces then proceeded to smash up the drums and tamborines that lay discarded on the pavement. The crowd included many women and children.

“Why did they do this? They just started attacking people for no reason. They took away my friend and all he was doing was having fun for a change,” said Ahmad, an Iraqi doctor working in Amman.

A police officer on the scene told The Jordan Times the gathering was broken up due to reports of people firing guns into the air.

However, local shop owners denied these claims.

“I have been watching this celebration from my apartment since the game finished and there has been no firing of guns,” said one local resident, who declined to give her name.

Another officer said police were forced to intervene after revellers had blocked the main road, a claim refuted by eyewitnesses.

Support for Al Qaeda plummets in Jordan

By Paul Tate

AMMAN — Support in Jordan for the Al Qaeda network has dropped sharply over the past four years in line with an increasing rejection of extremism across the Muslim world, a global poll revealed on Tuesday.

The decreasing support for Islamic extremism was also reflected in a drop in Osama Ben Laden’s approval ratings, with just 20 per cent of Jordanians expressing a lot or some confidence in the Al Qaeda leader, down from 56 per cent four years ago.

“Among the most striking trends in predominantly Muslim nations is the continuing decline in the number saying that suicide bombings and other forms of violence against civilians are justifiable in the defence of Islam,” said the survey by the Washington-based Pew Research Centre.

Support for suicide bombings had declined by half or more in Lebanon, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Indonesia, revealed the 2007 Pew Global Attitudes survey, based on polling data from 47 countries.

Ibrahim Saif, head of the University of Jordan’s Centre for Strategic Studies (CSS), said the poll’s findings reflect a growing repugnance among Jordanians and the wider Muslim world towards the daily slaughter of civilians by suicide bombers in Iraq and elsewhere.

“The unfolding events and mass killings by people allegedly linked to Al Qaeda are forcing people to sit back and take stock. They are realising that these actions are not in line with Islam or any human morals,” he said.

Public opinion in Jordan towards Al Qaeda shifted dramatically following the November 2005 suicide attacks against three of the capital’s hotels. The bombings, claimed by the group’s Iraq wing, killed 90 people and injured hundreds more.

A study published by CSS a month after the attacks revealed that only 20 per cent of Jordanians continued to regard Al Qaeda as a legitimate resistance group, down from 67 per cent in 2004.

Saif said the group’s image had also been dented by its inability since September 11, 2001 to launch attacks against high-profile targets.

He also said a campaign by influential clerics in the Arab world to discredit extremist ideology was making inroads. “More voices are now opposing this interpretation of Islam through the media and they are gaining more followers.”

However, the global survey revealed that in the Palestinian territories suicide bombings continue to enjoy wide popular support, with 70 per cent of the people believing such tactics against civilians can be often or sometimes justified.

The poll also revealed that the majority of people in Muslim countries continue to regard the United States as the biggest threat.

British authorities charge Jordanian doctor over failed terror attacks

By Paul Tate and agencies

AMMAN – A Jordanian doctor arrested in the wake of the failed car bomb attacks in London and Glasgow was remanded in custody on Friday charged with conspiracy to cause explosions.

Mohammad Asha, 26, appeared before the City of Westminster magistrates court in London and was charged with conspiring with Bilal Abdullah, Kafeel Ahmad "and others unknown" to cause explosions and damage to life and property.

He was remanded in custody and is due to appear at the Old Bailey on July 27.

Doctor Asha was arrested with his wife on June 30 on the M6 motorway in Cheshire, England. His wife, Marwa, 27, was released without charge on July 12. The couple have an 18-month-old baby.

The trainee neuro-surgeon is the fourth person to be charged in connection with the alleged attacks, which involved two car bombs that failed to detonate in central London on June 29 and an attack on Glasgow airport the following day.

The suspect's father, Jamil Asha, declined to comment. He had previously protested his son's innocence and called on Jordan's King Abdullah to personally intervene.

The first person to be charged in connection with the attacks was Iraqi doctor, Bilal Abullah, 27. Abdullah was charged on July 6 with conspiring to cause explosions after a jeep he was allegedly driving rammed into the main terminal of Glasgow airport. He is also due to appear at the Old Bailey on July 27.

His alleged accomplice in that attack, Kafeel Ahmad, remains critically ill in hospital under armed guard after suffering sever burns.

On Monday, Sabeel Ahmed, 26, appeared at City of Westminster magistrates court charged with withholding information that could prevent an act of terrorism. He was arrested in the northwest city of Liverpool on June 30.

Prior to his arrest he was employed at Halton hospital in Runcorn, Cheshire. He was remanded in custody and the case will be reviewed at the same court on Monday, before a committal hearing on August 13.

The fourth person to be indicted is Mohammed Haneef, 27, a distant cousin of the Ahmad brothers. Haneef, an Indian doctor, was charged in Brisbane, Australia, with providing support to a terrorist organisation.

A total of eight people were detained following the botched attacks. Three have been released without charge.

British police given more time to question Jordanian terror suspect

By Paul Tate and agencies

AMMAN — A judge in Britain granted police an additional week on Saturday to question a Jordanian doctor over the failed bomb attacks in London and Glasgow.

Mohammad Asha, 26, was detained with his Jordanian wife Marwa, 27, on the M6 motorway in Cheshire, England, on June 30.

He is currently being held at London’s high security Paddington Green police station along with two other trainee doctors aged 25 and 28, whose identities are still unknown.

His wife, Marwa Asha, a laboratory assistant, was released on Thursday night without charge.

Under UK anti-terrorism legislation, police have up to 28 days to question suspects before charging them, but must seek periodic permission from a judge to continue their detention.

Mohammad’s father, Jamil Asha, told The Jordan Times yesterday he had no knowledge of the judge’s decision.

“I haven’t spoken to Mohammad for five days now and the only news we get is through the television,” he said.

He also said Marwa’s family had not heard from their daughter since her release on Thursday night.

“We are waiting by the phone for news but so far we haven’t heard anything,” he said.

Marwa’s family were not available for comment.

Before his arrest, Mohammad Asha was working at North Staffordshire Hospital in Stoke-on-Trent, in northwest England. The couple have an 18-month-old son.

So far, three people have been charged in connection with the failed London and Glasgow car bombings.

Britain’s Metropolitan Police yesterday charged Sabeel Ahmad, 26, with possession of information which could have prevented an act of terrorism. He will appear at City of Westminster Magistrates Court in London on Monday.

Ahmad, from Bangalore, India, was apprehended in the northwest city of Liverpool on June 30.

Also on Saturday, Indian doctor, Mohammad Haneef, 27, appeared in an Australian court charged with providing support to a terrorist organisation, the British Press Association reported.

Haneef, who works at the Gold Coast Hospital, is charged with supporting terror suspects Kafeel Ahmad and Sabeel Ahmad.

The third suspect, Iraqi doctor Bilal Abdullah, 27, is accused of conspiracy to cause explosions and was remanded in custody last week at Westminster Magistrates Court.

Abdullah, faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment if convicted. He is due to appear at London’s Old Bailey Court on July 27 for an initial hearing.

Kafeel Ahmad, 27, also from Bangalore, is currently under armed guard at specialist burns unit at Glasgow Royal Infirmary.

He was arrested along with Abdullah after a Jeep was driven into the doors of Glasgow International Airport’s main terminal building and burst into flames on June 30.

The attack happened 36 hours after police discovered two cars in central London packed with fuel, gas tanks and nails. Police believe all three incidents were linked.

Archaeologists call for urgent plan to preserve Petra

By Paul Tate

AMMAN — As Jordan basks in Petra's glory in becoming one of the world's new seven wonders, leading experts are warning that urgent action is needed to preserve the ancient site against the expected influx of tourists.

According to some of the country's foremost scholars in Nabataean studies, Petra currently faces an array of challenges, ranging from a lack of basic infrastructure and tourism facilities to the growing black market trade in stolen artifacts which are sold openly on the city’s streets.

"We welcome Petra's nomination but the real question is: What next? If we are expecting a big increase in visitors then we need to provide adequate services and take measures to safeguard the site," said Khairieh Amr, deputy director for technical affairs at the Jordan Museum.

The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities on Monday said it expected annual tourist numbers to double as a result of Petra’s nomination, which was announced in the early hours of Sunday in Lisbon, Portugal. Petra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, already attracts around 400,000 visitors per year, making it the jewel of the country's tourism industry.

But despite increasing tourism and growing international attention, experts say little has been done to improve the site's facilities, provide better information to visitors, or preserve its historical monuments.

"We have a situation where a lack of proper regulations and the absence of clearly defined tourist tracks are causing damage to the site. This will only get worse as visitor numbers increase," said Amr, considered one of the world's foremost experts in Nabataean studies.

Specialists such as Amr and Professor Ziad Salamin, the director of the Centre for Nabataean Studies at Al Hussein Ben Talal University in Wadi Musa, stress they are not against more tourists and are aware of the site’s contribution to the country’s economy.

But what they do want, they say, is for the government to outline a clear strategy for Petra’s future development, one that brings together all concerned parties.

Among new measures they would like to see introduced are: clearly defined pathways, better signposting and information boards, adequate car parking facilities, the opening of a new exit to relieve pressure on the Siq, better trained tour guides and more security to prevent the increasing problem of illegal digging.

They also say more attention should be given to the surrounding area, which is rich in archaeological treasures stretching back over 10,000 years from the Epipaleolithic time through to the Islamic period.

"The problem is that the ministry does not coordinate with us or even within its various departments. The end result of this is a lack of facilities, tour brochures that contain factual errors, and guides who are not even aware that over the past year there have been ten new excavation digs," said Salamin, who has lived and studied in the area all his life.

No government officials were available to comment. In a press conference on Monday, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Osama Dabbas said a strategy to address these problems had been in place for several months and would result in "a new edge to the visitor experience". He gave no further details.

Salamin said yesterday his university knew nothing of the plan. "We have seen a lot of projects on paper and heard much talk but what we haven't seen is practical steps on the ground,” he said.

"They even held celebrations to mark Petra's nomination and didn't bother to inform us. We urgently need to strengthen ties and unify our efforts following Petra's victory in order to meet future challenges," he added.

University of Jordan Archaeology Professor Safwan Tel, who headed the ministry's Department of Antiquities from 1990-1994, said the reason for so little progress in upgrading the site was a lack of coordination between his old department and the ministry itself, which he said had the last word on all matters.

"I know from my own experience about the absence of effective cooperation. I believe if we are to make any progress the department should be given some form of autonomy… This is a big moment for us to act, but unfortunately so far the government has not taken things seriously," he said.

UN calls for more aid to refugee-hosting countries

By Paul Tate with agencies

AMMAN — The United Nations has made an urgent plea for more aid to countries hosting Iraqi nationals, saying Jordan and Syria are still awaiting assistance despite pledges of support.

“It is unconscionable that generous host countries be left on their own to deal with such a huge crisis,” United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees spokesman, Ron Redmond, told a press conference in Geneva.

There are an estimated 750,000 to one million Iraqis now living in Jordan after feeling conflict in their war-torn country.

In Syria, the figure is as high as 1.4 million, with 30,000 new refugees streaming across the border every month.

The huge influxes have placed a massive strain on the two countries’ resources, particularly schools and medical facilities.

“The growing refugee population and the communities that host them are facing enormous hardships that will only get worse if the international community doesn’t put its money where its mouth is,” said Redmond.

The Jordanian government has put the cost of hosting Iraqis at around $1 billion a year.

So far, according to the UN, donors have given $70 million and pledged another $10 million at a conference in April.

A government commissioned report by the Fafo Foundation, a Norwegian research institute, is due to be released this month detailing the number of Iraqis in Jordan, their living conditions, and impact on the economy.

According to UN figures, around 30,000 Iraqis in Jordan have been given asylum-seekers’ documents and are currently awaiting a third country to host them.

However, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told The Jordan Times on Saturday that just 900 Iraqis had so far received refugee status.

To date, Western countries have been slow to open their doors to the estimated two million people who have fled Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion to topple former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.

According to the UNHCR, only 2,673 Iraqi refugees have been resettled in third countries such as Australia, Britain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and the United States.

Although Jordan acknowledges that the influx of Iraqis has placed additional pressure on the state budget and the country’s scarce resources, a report released on Thursday by the University of Jordan’s Centre for Strategic Studies said it was not the cause of the country’s soaring inflation.

“It is unsurprising that many Jordanians would associate the very visible arrival of almost a million Iraqis… with the serious economic issues that arose,” the report said.

Citing government figures, the study said inflation rose to 6.25 per cent in 2006 from 1.6 per cent in 2003.

“It appears that the end of subsidised fuel from Iraq, high international oil prices, exports of the domestic food supply and rising costs of food... have done far more to spur inflation in Jordan over the last two years,” said the study, adding that the return of Iraqis to their country “would do little to alleviate inflation”.

Before the US-led invasion in 2003, Jordan was dependent on Iraqi oil, importing 5.5 million tonnes annually, half of it for free and the rest at a preferential rate.

The study, however, noted that rural areas of the Kingdom have borne the brunt of the negative economic consequences of the war.

“Whereas business is brisk in Amman’s restaurants and hotels, which have benefited handsomely for the Iraqis' spending, rural areas have seen little of that economic growth,” it said.

Sunday, July 8, 2007

Father of terror suspect denies British media reports

By Paul Tate

JABAL ZAHOUR - The father of a Jordanian doctor being held on suspicion of involvement in the failed UK terror attacks denied media reports Wednesday that he was friends with the father of the Iraqi national arrested after ramming a jeep into Glasgow airport.

Jamil Asha, whose 26-year-old son Mohammad is currently being questioned by police at Paddington Green in England along with his wife Marwa Dana, 27, said he had never met Abdullah's father and had no Iraqi friends.

Speaking at his home in the Jordanian capital, Mr Asha said: "These reports are all lies. I have never met this man and neither has my son, adding that there are no Iraqis living in his neighbourhood and he had never visited Iraq.

The Times of London on Wednesday quoted intelligence sources as saying that Dr Abdulla had met Mohammed Asha through their fathers, who were friends.

"The two young doctors kept in touch after they came to Britain two or three years ago," the paper said.

Mr Asha said he hopes the whole ordeal will be over by July 12, when his son and wife were due to fly back to Amman.

"We are hoping it will all be cleared up by then and our family will be reunited, he said, adding that his two-year-old grandson, Anas, is currently being looked after in foster home in England.

"If we have to we will fly over to Britain to collect the child we will. We have been in touch with the foreign office and they have assured us he being taken care of."

Family shocked by son's arrest over UK terror plots

The Asha Family home in east Amman


By Paul Tate

JABAL ZAHOUR, AMMAN - The Asha family home in the Jabal Zuhour district of east Amman is much like any other in this largely rundown working-class neighbourhood, the only distinguishing feature being a large cage to the left of the building's main entrance where the family breeds chickens.

But on Monday this two-storey house became the focus of world media attention after it emerged that a family member had been arrested in connection with the failed terror attacks in London and Glasgow.


Mohammed Jamil Abdel-Qader Asha, a 26-year-old neurologist, was detained along with his wife, Marwa Dana, 27, on the M6 motorway in England after police forced their car to pull over on the hard shoulder.

The couple have been living in the UK for the past couple of years, where Dr Asha is on a scholarship training to become a surgeon. In order to support his wife and two-year-old son, Anas, Dr Asha has also been working at a hospital near his rented property in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

His brother and neighbours in Jordan expressed shock at the news of his arrest, saying he was a hard-working and conscientious person who never exhibited any extremist views.

“Mohammad was only focused on his studies. It is not possible that he could be caught up in anything like this. He was religious but not in a fanatical way," said his 31-year-old brother Ahmad, who is also a doctor and has a Russian wife who is a practsing Christian.

Like many residents of Jabal Zahour, the Asha family is of Palestinian decent and left Hebron in the West Bank in 1948 following the creation of Israel.

The parents, both teachers, spent most of their life in Saudi Arabia, where Mohammad was born, and returned to Jordan in 1990 following the outbreak of the Gulf war when Palestinians were expelled on mass for their perceived support of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.

By all accounts Dr Asha was a gifted student from an early age. He excelled in secondary school and was quickly enrolled at the prestigious Jubilee School in Amman, an independent coeducational boarding school for gifted youngsters set up by Queen Noor and the late King Hussein.

It was at this school where he met his wife, Marwa.

The two went on to higher education with Mohammad graduating top of his year with a degree in medicine from the University of Jordan and his wife receiving a degree in Laboratory Science from the Jordan University of Science and Technology.

Students who remember them described the pair as polite but slightly introverted.

"They were from one of the poorer neighbourhoods of Amman and did not mix much with other students, said one of Marwa's former classmates.

Along with his elder brother Ahmad, Dr Asha has two sisters and three brothers, one of whom is also a doctor.

Speaking at the family home, Ahmad said he was "completely shocked" by news of the arrests, as he proudly showed-off certificates of his brother's academic achievements.

"Mohammad was only interested in his studies. He has spent his whole life working to be a surgeon. It is impossible that he could be caught up in something like this," he said.

"He always brags to us about his British friends and sends us photos of himself with them …. We spoke to him three days ago and told us he will be coming on July 12 and asked us if we needed anything from there."

Across the road from the family home, the owner of the local grocery store, Abu Khalid, 62, said he had known Dr Asha for 16 years and always thought of him as polite and hardworking.

"Any father would be proud to have a son like that. I do not believe this young man who I have known all these years is involved in something like this. He was a source of pride for his family.

"He was timid boy and kept to himself. I have never seen him arguing with anyone or expressing any signs of violence."

Another neighbour, 34-year-old truck driver, Ahmad Hussein Afanah, expressed his disbelief at the news.

"It is impossible that he has done it. He was always a very shy boy and well liked by everyone."

Jordanian authorities also voiced surprise about the arrest, saying he had no intelligence record or previous criminal background.

Washington still needs Blair

By Paul Tate

The only possible logic behind former British Prime Minister Tony Blair's appointment as Middle East envoy must be: if you break something then you have a duty to try and put it back together again. How else could a man who has spent the best part of his second term in office waging illegal wars in the Middle East be assigned such a role?

Of course, Blair does have some experience in peacemaking, although arguably much more in warmongering.

He should take some credit for bridging the sectarian divide in Northern Ireland and bringing old adversaries into a power sharing agreement, albeit after the groundwork had already been laid by his predecessor, Conservative Party leader John Major.

But in terms of the Middle East, Blair’s track record has been one of failure on a monumental scale. It was his ill-judged adventures in this region and his growing unpopularity with the British electorate as a result that forced him to hand over the reins of power to Gordon Brown in the first place — something he did only begrudgingly after a long drawn out process.

As well as being discredited among his own people, Blair is loathed in every Arab capital from Baghdad to Rabat.

He is loathed for his part in the illegal invasion of Iraq, for his refusal to speak out against Israeli policies in the occupied territories, and for his backing of Israel’s 2006 assault on Lebanon.

And now this same politician — with an arrogance indicative of his ilk —believes he is the right man to finally bring peace to the Middle East and solve the Israeli-Palestinian question once and for all. Blair aims to put right what Balfour got wrong. So what qualifies him for this post?

It is usual practice when applying for a new job to submit a CV of past achievements relevant to the position, together with a covering letter explaining why you are suited to the job.

But even a man of Blair's considerable persuasive talents would have trouble here. A Blair CV of foreign policy achievements in the Middle East would make interesting reading indeed.

One wonders whether he would attempt to omit his role as Bush's cheerleader for the Iraq war; and his use of fake evidence about weapons of mass destruction? How could he explain how he managed to take a stable state and turn it into a hotbed of extremism and sectarianism? How could a man applying for the position of peace envoy explain that his policies over the past four years had resulted in the deaths of 650,000 Iraqi civilians?

It seems the Blair philosophy is that peace can only be obtained through war. He said as much during the Lebanon crisis of 2006 when he refused to call for a cessation of violence on the grounds that it was “premature”. So the bombing continued and hundreds more people died because the new man of peace thought more deaths would increase the chances of a permanent solution.

Of course, we all know now that allowing this conflict to continue merely escalated sectarian tensions in Lebanon which continue to this day.

But the reality is that Blair did not have to submit his CV for his new post as peace envoy. His old master in Washington had already seen to it that the position was his.

And this is the rub of the matter. Blair may have handed over the UK premiership on Wednesday to Gordon Brown, but George W. Bush is not finished with him yet.

Friday-Saturday, June 29-30, 2007