Jordanian authorities said on Sunday they thwarted a “malicious plot” by a former heir to destabilize the kingdom with foreign support, contradicting allegations by this prince who was being punished for speaking out against corruption and incompetence.
Faced with opposing narratives, the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait, quickly sided with King Abdullah of Jordan, reflecting the country’s strategic importance in a turbulent region.
At the national level, Prince Hamzah’s unprecedented criticism of the ruling class, without naming the king, could support growing complaints about bad government and human rights abuses in Jordan.
At the same time, the monarch’s harsh reaction – putting his popular half-brother under house arrest and accusing him of serious crimes – illustrated the limits of the public dissent he is willing to tolerate.
“The stability and security of the kingdom transcends everything,” Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ayman Safadi said in accusing Hamzah and two senior officials of conspiring with foreign elements to destabilize the kingdom. “The plot is completely contained.”
However, Safadi’s press conference on Sunday did not address the dramatic events of the weekend. On Saturday night Hamzah said, in a video secretly recorded and delivered to the media, that he was under house arrest.
Abdullah and Hamzah are children of the late King Hussein, who remains a beloved figure two decades after his death. Upon ascending the throne in 1999, Abdullah appointed Hamzah as Crown Prince, but recanted five years later. While the two are said to have good relations overall, Hamzah has sometimes spoken out against government policies and, more recently, has forged ties with powerful tribal leaders to an extent considered a threat to the king.
In his video, Hamzah, 41, accused Jordan’s ruling class of corruption and suffocation of free speech.
Safadi did not provide details about the alleged plot or say which other countries were allegedly involved. But he said between 14 and 16 Hamzah associates had been arrested, in addition to two exalted officials, Bassem Awadallah and Sharif Hassan bin Zaid, a member of the royal family.
Labib Kamhawi, a Jordanian political analyst, said strong support for Abdullah reflects his overall good relations in the region, as well as concern that similar problems could affect other countries.