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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 9 Feb 1999

Vol. 500 No. 1

Death of King Hussein of Jordan: Expressions of Sympathy.

King Hussein of Jordan was the Middle East's longest serving leader. During his 47 year reign, Jordan played a vital political role in the region, disproportionate to its size and wealth. This reflected Jordan's strategic geographical position, in the midst of some of the most influential countries in the Middle East, but it was also due in great measure to the wisdom, personal vision and tenacity of the King who, for many years, was a central figure in the quest for Arab-Israeli peace.

At his funeral yesterday, the huge gathering of world leaders was a testimony to the extent of King Hussein's influence on regional and world affairs. As one report put it yesterday, "Kings, princes, presidents and even sworn enemies gathered together" to bid farewell to this exceptional man. President McAleese and the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Deputy Michael Woods, represented Ireland at the formal ceremonies which demonstrated the great respect and affection in which the King was held in Ireland and throughout the world. Most importantly, this respect was shared by his own neighbours, both Arab and Israeli. The representation at the funeral was an acknowledgment of King Hussein's achievements in promoting the well-being of the people of Jordan and of neighbouring countries.

King Hussein worked tirelessly for over 40 years for peace in the Middle East. He negotiated for his people a landmark peace treaty with Israel in 1994. Just last October, he left his hospital bed to help advance the negotiations which ultimately led to the Wye River Memorandum between Israel and the Palestinians.

President Clinton said that it takes a rare kind of courage to be a peacemaker – the courage to learn from the past and imagine a better future. He, more than anyone, knows what the late King Hussein contributed to the search for peace in the region. As President Clinton said, "when peace finally comes to the Middle East, his name will be inscribed upon it."

During my recent visit to the Middle East, I had the opportunity to see at first hand the situation in the region and to meet with some of the leaders who are working to shape a better future for their respective peoples. When I discussed the peace process with them, King Hussein's positive influence and contribution was stressed on many occasions.

In my conversations with the leaders whom I met, I reaffirmed the commitment of the Irish Government to support and encourage all those seeking peace. I underlined our wish to see a resumption of the implementation by all sides of the Wye River Agreement. I find it particularly sad that King Hussein, having played an important role in bringing about the Wye Accord, has died without seeing its full implementation.

It is through maintaining the momentum of the Wye River Agreement and working towards the full achievement of an acceptable and lasting solution to the situation in the Middle East that the best tribute could be paid to the memory of King Hussein. It is important that the example he set is followed by all the parties in the Middle East peace process.

In February 1997, the King and Queen Noor paid a visit to Ireland. Those who met him found him to be perceptive and caring. King Hussein had many friends and well-wishers in Ireland and we are grateful for the contribution he made to the warm relations between our countries.

He grew from boyhood to manhood as King and his country grew with him. After 47 not always easy years on the throne, King Hussein has left a void which will be very difficult to fill. Our thoughts are with the fourth Hashemite monarch in Jordan, King Abdullah. I trust his task will be made easier by the assistance of Crown Prince Hamza. King Abdullah has promised to continue the work of his father in support of peace in the Middle East. We salute his commitment and wish him well.

The Government extends its sincerest condolences to King Abdullah and to all the bereaved family of the late King Hussein.

I wish to join with the Taoiseach in expressing the sympathy of this House to the people of Jordan and to the family of His Majesty, King Hussein Bin Talal of Jordan. The King began his career as a leader of his people at a very early age and in the most difficult circumstances. He came to office in the midst of war and strife and, despite his youth, he succeeded in keeping his people together and maintaining the prosperity and the tolerant approach to international relations of his country.

I had the opportunity of meeting the late King Hussein on three occasions. I met him at the summit on terrorism in Sharm el Sheikh, at the funeral of Prime Minister Rabin of Israel and I received him as Taoiseach on his visit to Ireland. He struck me as somebody who was, in the real meaning of the term, a natural leader. He had a dignity that was inherent in his person and if there is such a thing as natural nobility – some would argue it does not exist – clearly the King of Jordan had that quality.

It is important not to underestimate the extent of King Hussein's achievements. He came to office at a time when he was leader of a Bedouin people with a Bedouin state. Suddenly, as a result of the creation of the state of Israel and the first war between Israel and its neighbours, the population content of the state he led changed dramatically. The Bedouin were no longer the sole inhabitants and there was a large number of refugees of Palestinian origin living in the state. These were two groups not naturally easy to assimilate and it is one of the great achievements of the King that he was able to assimilate two very different Arab peoples in one nation and win the loyalty equally, despite having to take some difficult measures, of all those in Jordan, both of Palestinian origin and of Jordanian and Bedouin origin. That achievement of unifying people of different traditional political beliefs shows him to be an example not just to other countries in the Arab world but to countries such as Ireland which is seeking, as part of our peace process, to reconcile different political traditions and allegiances.

It is important also to recognise the extreme difficulties under which King Hussein had to work, the huge economic dislocation his country had to endure and, as we know, economic dislocation always brings political difficulty for those seeking to rule. He was somebody who was able, by his person and through his ability as a leader, to keep his people together despite the hardships they had to endure as a result of the various wars, the most serious of which in recent times was the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and the consequences which flowed from that.

The King took an interest in the development of links between his country and Ireland. During his visit here he was very interested in the fact that a large number of Jordanian students are studying medicine and other subjects here. I know he personally took an interest in this and in the work of various Irish companies working in Jordan. Many people who have visited Jordan have been conscious of the welcome they received from the Jordanian people led by the King himself.

I join with the Taoiseach in expressing sympathy to the people of Jordan and wishing the new King, and all those who are assisting him in his work, his government and others, success in their efforts to bring peace to that most troubled part of the world.

On behalf of the Labour Party I too would like to extend to the people of Jordan our sympathies to them on the death of King Hussein after a reign of 47 years. King Hussein provided extraordinary leadership at a time of great turbulence over that 47 year period and lived in the eye of the storm on more than one occasion. He brought to the people of Jordan a degree of stability that their neighbours did not enjoy and, as Deputy Bruton said, he managed to bring together two quite different Arab peoples in a manner that can be celebrated in the country of Jordan.

It is true to say that the King was a personal friend of this country. He had developed personal links through his interest in ham radio and he was aware of the many Jordanian students studying here. He was also a good advocate of closer Irish-Jordanian business links.

On behalf of the Labour Party, I wish his successor, King Abdullah, his son, success in what will be a difficult and trying period. I hope that during the course of this King's reign, Jordan will move towards a constitutional monarchy where the values of democracy will prevail. We have to make the observation that democracy is synonymous with economic prosperity and, in the main, democratic states which live side by side with each other do not have a propensity to declare war upon each other. The best prospect for economic prosperity and political peace in the Middle East is for the Arab nations, including Jordan, to join with the state of Israel, for all of its internal difficulties, and become democratic constitutional monarchies which will hopefully lead to peace and stability in the region.

On behalf of the Progressive Democrats Party, I join the other party leaders in paying tribute to the late King Hussein of Jordan. Anyone who watched his burial in Amman could not have failed to note the high esteem in which he was held as a man and a mon arch by the diversity of political leaders who attended. He will be mourned not only by his family, but by people throughout the whole world who have an interest in the stability of the Middle East.

King Hussein sadly failed in his battle against cancer, but succeeded in so many other ways. His principal concern was to protect his people, even when that meant taking decisions with which his neighbours and others fundamentally disagreed. A military man, he saw it as his duty to fight for his country and to make peace when that seemed to be the rational path to take.

As the Taoiseach said, he visited Ireland with his wife two years ago. There was, of course, a political context to his visit, but there was also a family context because his daughter was training to be an Olympic showjumper in a stud in Meath. She accompanied him on many of his official visits.

He was a peacemaker and a statesman, and he worked ceaselessly for Arab-Israeli peace. He acceded to the throne as a teenager and spent his life in the cause of peace in the region.

I wish his successor all the best in continuing the method and manner of his father's leadership and statesman-like behaviour in the world of international affairs.

On behalf of the Green Party, Comhaontas Glas, I join the Taoiseach and spokespersons of the other parties in sympathising with King Abdullah, the family of the late King Hussein and the people of Jordan on the death of their king.

The most lasting tribute which was paid to the late King of Jordan at his funeral was the extent to which so many of the mourners who regard each other as enemies were able to stand side by side and show their respect for his memory and appreciation for his life. The Green Party pays tribute to his work for peace and acknowledges his courage in fighting the cancer which in the end caused him to pass on. We wish his successor well and peace and prosperity to his country. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam uasal.

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