Jordan concerned over prolonged crisis in Egypt

According to a report by the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper, Jordanian decision makers are becoming increasingly concerned about the ongoing political crisis in Egypt and the prospect that the country may be heading towards imminent chaos or a new revolution.

Security officials recently warned that a prolonged and unresolved political crisis in Egypt would likely become more complicated, particularly with the growing security threats and economic unrest.

Senior government officials share the same concerns, believing that the interim Egyptian authorities have become less capable of resolving the crisis and restoring stability.

Meanwhile, the fierce anti-regime protests that rocked Jordan throughout the past two years have now disappeared, a development which government officials attribute to their non-confrontational tactics towards peaceful protesters.

Concerning the interim Egyptian government’s designation of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) as a “terrorist organisation”, a senior Jordanian official was quoted as saying that the decision came as a “surprise, against all expectations”. He added that the current crisis in Egypt has now reached a serious level that the regime will not be able to overcome in the foreseeable future.

Al-Hayat newspaper quoted a spokesperson for the Jordanian government as saying that the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood, licensed since 1945 in Jordan, “would not be affected by the ban of its counterpart in Egypt”.

Even though the King of Jordan supported the toppling of the Egyptian MB, and was the first to visit Cairo after the ouster of President Mohamed Morsi, the MB in Jordan opposed what they consider a coup against their mother organisation. However, this disagreement did not escalate into a renewed confrontation between the Islamist opposition and the ruling establishment in Amman.

The former spokesperson of the Jordanian government, Sameh Al-Ma’aytah, told Al-Hayat that Jordan is “against the continuation of the Egyptian crisis in this way” and expressed his concern regarding the ongoing bombings and the security vacuum that is prevailing in Egypt today. He affirmed that, “Amman continues to support the present regime and its roadmap; but if you examine the situation in Egypt now, you will see how it’s more difficult than expected.”

“The developments in Egypt are not confined to peaceful protests and have escalated to violence and the use of weapons. Jordan is aware, more than before, that the crisis is expected to last longer than initially estimated,” he added.

Source: Assabeel