Who Holds Ultimate Power, Hussein Or Commandos?

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32321, 12 June 1970, Page 17

Who Holds Ultimate Power, Hussein Or Commandos?

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright) AMMAN. Disgruntled Arab commandos battling with King Hussein’s troops are again spot-lighting the critical question: Who holds ultimate power in the desert kingdom of Jordan? New clashes in the Jordanian capital of Amman are the latest in a series of crises and tensions between the commando groups and the 34-year-old British-educa-ted monarch. While monarchs have toppled throughout the Middle East, King Hussein has preserved his throne for 17 years. The basic issue at stake is: Who will control the real sources of power in Jordan? Some Arabs are talking of “dual power”—wielded by the commandos as well as by the king. Some expert observers take the view that the struggle is between the “haves” and the “have-nots.” The “haves,” led by the King, are said to be the entrenched conservative politicians, the Army establishment and the original Transjorda-

nian population, including a big Bedouin element. The “have-nots” are the Palestinian refugees, who make up more than half Jordan's population of 2.3 m. and a sizeable proportion of the Army. They want better living conditions and a greater share in the running of Jordan’s politics and economy. Above all, they want their Palestinian homeland back. Some of the king’s critics claim he is more concerned with preservation of the monarchy than with the Arabs’ return to their homeland. The Palestine Liberation Organisation was formed in 1964. Its declared aim was to mobilise Palestinian Arab refugees in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon and prepare them

for the day when they would “liberate” Palestine. Formation of the Arab commando groups followed. A big Increase in their activity came after the slxday Arab-Israeli war of June, 1967. The war resulted in Israeli occupation of large areas of Egypt and Jordan, together with a slice of Syria. Jordan has been the main base for actions by the commando group into Israeliheld areas.

Curbs Tried Today there are 11 Arab commando organisations. The biggest of them, Al Fatah, now has 7000 commandos and another 5000 under training in various Arab countries. It is led by Yessir Arafat, aged 40, who is also chairman Of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation. The organisational structure of the commandos enables them to act as easily against the Jordanian Army as against Israel. In February, King Hussein had a major confrontation with the commandos who opposed new security measures he had introduced, including a ban on the carrying of arms and the storing of explosives. The 10 commando groups in Jordan accused him of trying to "liquidate the Palestine revolution” —their catchphrase for the commando cause. Clashes followed in which, according to some reports, 80 persons people were killed. The crisis was resolved when the king agreed to freeze all measures behind the tension. Nevertheless, tension remainedjust underneath the

surface. It flared into fighting again early last month. Last month Lebanon also against Palestine commandos tightened security measures in the south of the country after guerrilla raids into Israel provoked heavy retaliatory Israeli shelling.