Officials prepare roadmap for Jordan's king

A group of more than 100 former Jordanian officials are preparing a political "road map", to be proposed to King Abdullah. which outlines their vision of how to address public demands aired during the current wave of protests in the Kingdom, according to a report published in al-Arab al-Youm newspaper in Jordan. The head of this group is Marawan al-Hamoud, son of the well-known national figure, Abd al-Halim Nemr al-Hamoud, while the group includes other names such as the former prime minister Maarouf al-Bakhit, former deputy prime Minister Ragaie al-Meashar, former interior minister Samir Habashne, and former media minister Abdullah Abu Rumman. The report informed that members of the group may ask to hold a meeting with King Abdullah about their proposals. The report also suggested  that while the King may have intentions to apply serious reforms, this is not being translated in real terms by the government, especially with regards to addressing financial corruption.  The members of the group suggest the beginning of the next month (April 2012) as a deadline for the government and parliament to show a more effective attitude towards these issues.  If not,  the report suggests, they should resign to open the way for a new "national consensus government". Close sources to this group have assured that they don't believe in the imposition of a state of emergency in the country. The report said that the alleged road map suggests that the King should assign an accepted national figure to set  up a transitional government for two months, culminating in parliamentary elections to be  held according to the law of 1989 (with some amendments) , which should produce a parliament that can shape a serious and effective reform process. The Jordanian political parties and the government are yet to comment on those alleged suggestions.