Jordan’s king agrees to restrict Hamzah’s contacts and residency
Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Thursday sent a letter to the “One Jordanian Family” agreeing to the recommendation of the Royal Family Law Council to restrict Prince Hamzah’s communications, residence and movements.
“I write to you with the hope of turning a dark page in the history of our country and family”, the king said in a statement. “As you know, when the details of the sedition case were revealed last year, I chose to deal with my brother Prince Hamzah in the framework of our family, in the hope that he would realize his mistake and return to his senses, as an active member in our Hashemite family. “However, after a year and a half, during which I exhausted all chances of returning to my senses and abiding by the course of our family, I came to the disappointing conclusion that he will not change what he is”.
“I became convinced after every deed and word from my younger brother, who I always saw as a father’s view of his son”, the statement said. “I made sure that he lived in an illusion that he saw himself as the guardian of our Hashemite heritage and that he was being systematically targeted by our institutions. His repeated addresses reflected his denial of reality and his refusal to take any responsibility for his actions”.
“Over the past years, I have exercised the utmost tolerance, restraint and patience with my brother. I sought excuses in the hope that he would grow up one day and that I would find support and assistance in the performance of our duty to serve our people and protect our homeland and its interests. I was patient with him, but I was disappointed time after time”.
“The issue of sedition last year was not the beginning of Hamzah’s delusion”, the statement said. “He chose to deviate from his family’s biography for many years, claiming that he accepted my constitutional decision to restore the Covenant to its original constitutional base, but has shown all his actions since that time other than that, as he adopted a negative behavior, which was clear to all members of our family, and surrounded himself with people who have been promoting opposition to the decision without moving a knife to stop them”.
“There is no time to lose in dealing with the vicissitudes and ends of Prince Hamzah”, the king said. The challenges are great and the difficulties are many.
“The interests of our people are greater than any individual, and I will not accept that the country is captive to the whims of someone who has offered nothing to his country”, he said. If Hamzah’s irresponsible actions are repeated, they will be dealt with, he said, adding that he “tried to impose friction on the activities of the Royal Guard on the morning of Eid al-Fitr”.
“We will provide Hamza with what he needs for a decent living, but he will not get the space he used to abuse the country”, the king said. “Hamzah will remain in his palace in compliance with the decision of the family council and to ensure that his irresponsible behavior is not repeated”.
