Fact International FN:: Secret Dead Sea casino deal: MP’s contemplate action

Friday 30 July 2010 , 19 Sha'ban 1431

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Jordan

Secret Dead Sea casino deal: MP’s contemplate action

AMMAN– Jordan’s MP hold different views with respect to the matter of the Dead Sea casino. Some are of the opinion that government officials should be called to account while others felt that no hasty decisions should be taken and the issue should be dealt with in a calm and sober manner. Prime Minister Nader Dahabi and the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Maha Khatib, met with the Lower House of Parliament’s Legal Committee on Monday to discuss the issue of licensing a casino on the shores of the Dead Sea. Abdul Karim Dughmi, who heads the committee, said that he sent a letter to Speaker of the Lower House, Abdul Hadi Majali, requesting him to meet with Dahabi and Maha al-Khatib in order to discuss the matter so as to put an end to the rumours circulating about the issue. Several reports surfaced in the media early this month about a decision taken by Dahabi’s government to cancel an agreement with an Iraqi investor of British nationality to build a casino in the Dead Sea area. The proposed casino was to be part of a tourism project that included the establishment of a five-star hotel in the area. The committee heard a detailed account by Dahabi on the Dead Sea deal which was concluded between the previous government of former premier Marouf al-Bakhit and the Iraqi investor. The committee members wanted to know why the deal was kept so highly confidential by the Bakhit government. The most forceful point was made by MP Ali Dalain who called for the establishment of investigation committee and said that any government officials found to be involved in the matter should be charged and brought to court. During his meeting with the committee, Dahabi said that the government could be fined up to $400 million if it did not honor the casino agreement between the Bakhit government and the Al-Wahah Company owned by a British investor with Kurdish origins, from Iraq. According to some MP’s who attended the meeting, Dahabi described the agreement as “unjust”. In a statement to Fact International he said that the establishment of a casino is un-Islamic and also violates the Jordanian constitution which holds that Islam is the religion of Jordan. According to Article 33 of the constitution such an agreement cannot be concluded without parliamentary approval, said the lawmaker. The deal did not only violate the constitution but it also transgressed Jordan’s sovereignty and contravened the principles, ethics and traditions of the people of Jordan. Another member of the committee, MP Samih Beino, was somewhat less harsh in his criticism. He said that since the House of Representative is now in recess, the house standing committee is not authorized to summon any government official for questioning before his involvement in the matter was verified. The committee which will be established by the house will collect information and undertake further investigations on the issue in order to make sure whether it is a case of corruption or not and thereafter the officials involved will be summoned accordingly, said Beino. He appeared to be angered by some media reports which brought the name of a former tourism minister into the issue before credible information about this emerged. “Only a parliamentary committee has the authority to do this,” he told FI. MP Nassar al-Qaisi gave a different viewpoint. He said that there are clear signs of corruption in this matter and the former minister of tourism is the one responsible for the terms included in the agreement. The terms of the deal were unfair to the state as state-owned land was to be leased for 50 years, he said in remarks to FI. The head of the Legal Committee, MP Khalil Attiyeh, pledged that anyone who was involved in the deal would be brought to court. The head of Islamouna’s Religious Commission said that if the casino was to allow alcohol and gambling then this is prohibited by Islam. However, if it is only designed as a place of leisure for tourists and families visiting the Dead Sea area then there is no problem. The central point is that there must be no activity that is against Islamic Shariah, he said in remarks to FI.