The image of Epinal of a united royal family has fizzled. For two days, the Jordanians have been watching, dumbfounded, the settling of scores within the Hashemite dynasty unfolding in broad daylight. The arrest, Saturday, April 3, of personalities close to King Abdullah II, and the concomitant revelation by his half-brother, Prince Hamza Ben Hussein, that he was under house arrest, plunged the country into a state of stupor and incomprehension, against the backdrop of rumors of a coup d’état and terse press releases. The accusations made public on Sunday afternoon by Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi against Prince Hamza raised more questions than they answered, and further polarized opinion.
Without uttering the word “coup”, the head of Jordanian diplomacy and Deputy Prime Minister Safadi explicitly associated Prince Hamza Ben Hussein, the former adviser to King Bassem Awadallah, the special representative to Saudi Arabia Cherif Hassan Ben Zaid and “14 to 16 other people” in an attempt “Coordinate” destabilization of the State, without giving more details. These conclusions, he said, are the result of surveillance by the security services. “For a long time”, which brought to light ” [des] interventions and [des] contacts with foreign parties aimed at destabilizing Jordan’s security ”, not to mention which ones.
A scapegoat
Washington, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Tel Aviv… The foreign partners of the Hashemite kingdom hastened to express their “Support” the measures taken by King Abdullah II to “Maintain the stability of the country”. Within the kingdom, on the other hand, the official version arouses skepticism among analysts and part of the population. “I don’t think it’s a “Game Of Thrones” Jordanian. In my opinion, this turmoil has more to do with the massive rise in popular discontent, in the political and economic fields, and with the fear that this generates in ruling circles. I have the feeling that Prince Hamza is a scapegoat, that the government exaggerates the threat, to discourage any public discussion of corruption ”, considers a good connoisseur of the royal family.
At 41, Prince Hamza is a thorn in the side of King Abdullah II, eighteen years his senior. To consolidate his power, the sovereign did not hesitate, in 2004, to withdraw his title of crown prince for the benefit of his son Hussein, going against the wishes of their late father, King Hussein and his fourth wife, the Queen Noor, mother of Hamza. If he has moved away from the circles of power, after a brilliant career within the Sandhurst military academy and then a career as a distinguished pilot, like his father, the prince has cultivated his links with the powerful Jordanian tribes. “He is popular and charismatic within society, especially among the tribes, because he is close to the people and critical of the kingdom’s policies and the corruption that have impoverished the people.”, explains journalist Osama Al-Sharif.
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