Speech of His Majesty King Abdullah II On the Occasion of Jordan’s Independence Day

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate,Brothers and Sisters,
Dear Citizens,

Peace be upon you, God's mercy and blessings,

It is with pleasure that I address you today, with a salutation of pride, I greet you wherever you are, at work and on construction sites, in the rural areas and the Badia, the camps and the cities, and on every span of our cherished homeland.

I greet you and extend warm wishes, to each and every brother and sister as you celebrate the most precious and dearest occasion of all to our hearts, Independence Day. It is an occasion that denotes freedom and belonging and sacrifice for the homeland and for a free and dignified life. Many happy returns of the day to you all, and to our homeland.

Dear Brethren,

Independence is not just a time bound achievement. Rather, it is a vocation, construction and an accumulation of achievements. Independence does not mean the liberation from external forces that chains the will of peoples alone. Alongside all of this, it is the struggle against poverty, ignorance and unemployment, and all facets of corruption and favouritism. Independence is achieving comprehensive development in a society where justice and equality, equal opportunities and respect of human rights prevail.

Brethren, Dear Citizens,

Parliamentary elections will be held in the next several days. In Jordan, we seek to promote democracy through the development of political and partisan activities, and the reinvigoration of civil society institutions, which form the basic core of the renaissance and comprehensive development that we strive to achieve. We realise that Jordan's strength lies in safeguarding its excellence in the region as an example of political and economic openness, and its pursuit of comprehensive development. The time has come to intensify our efforts in order to accelerate the political development process, reinvigorate the role of political parties, and continue to preserve public freedoms. I will personally follow up on this issue with utmost interest. Thus, we have to keep the pace of opening up on the world around us, utilise the experiences of others, and the scientific, technological and cultural inputs of this age. This demands putting in place legislation and laws, plans and programmes that would enable us achieve this goal, and join the spirit of the era, alongside economic and social development that would positively reflect on the lives of people and secure a dignified life for each and every citizen.

It is not the mission of an individual or one party, to instigate the required change, and achieve the aspired development. Rather it is the mission of all members of society. Therefore, the focus should be on the youth, caring for them and reactivating their role and participation in the development process, encouraging them to instigate change and build the future within a comprehensive and clear vision and with a loyal team spirit that believes in its mission and ability to achieve national goals.

Accordingly, the most meagre degree of belonging and committed citizenship demands of every brother and sister in this nation to perform their duties and practice their rights in participating in these elections. When selecting the appropriate candidate, we are obliged by our sense of belonging and national duty to choose objectively, the best and most qualified, and the most capable of assimilating national vision, towards achieving the aspired comprehensive development.

The capable representative, who can shoulder this hefty national responsibility should be in possession of a certain measure of science, knowledge and awareness, and integrity and genuine belonging to this nation, one who places national interests above all others, whether personal, partisan or factional. I have full confidence in your perception that is never fooled by glittering mottos, ideologies or ideas that have been outdated and proven failures, both in the distant and near past, nor by promises, used by some to influence some electoral, and to gain their votes, through doubting the soundness of the course, perturbing others and propagating fear of the future. I would like herewith to assure everybody that with Allah's grace we have transcended the crisis that befell the region in the recent past, with wisdom and away from emotional decisions that appeal to stance registering people, gaining false popular support, on account of the higher national interests.

Brethren, Dear Citizens,

I promised you before that the elections will be free and impartial. We herewith fulfil our promise. The government has taken all necessary arrangements and procedures to guarantee the impartiality and integrity of the elections, as well as the ease with which it will be run. We call upon each brother and sister to take the lead and perform a national duty, to practice their rights and select the candidates that represent them, with knowledge and objectivity, within the frame of our national vision, to achieve the renaissance, comprehensive development and the future we aspire for. We are confident of our ability to reflect Jordan's prosperous and civilised facets, through safeguarding our national unity, commitment to order and discipline, fair competition rules, high Jordanian morals that incarnates brotherhood, love and cooperation, amongst the united Jordanian family at large.

Dear Brethren,

Jordan has been and will remain, God willing, devoted to the Arab nation, honouring its pledges and commitments to it, and defending its just causes, at the forefront of which is the Palestinian cause. Based on this we will continue to support our Palestinian brethren, in their stance regarding the Road Map that shall lead to the establishment of their independent Palestinian state, on the Palestinian soil.

As for Iraq, we will do our utmost to ensure its territorial integrity, as well as the dear Iraqi brethren sovereignty over their whole lands, their right to choose their own independent leadership and future, and the return to their normal status in their Arab ambience.

Once again, we extend our warm wishes to each and every one of you on this precious occasion, to the gallant men in our armed forces and security corps, for they symbolise independence and are the nation's shield, exercising vigilance in the service of its security and stability. Many happy returns of the day to you all, and to our dear nation.

Peace be upon you, God's mercy and blessings.