‘State must enforce rule of law to end social violence’

Columnists on Tuesday stressed that enforcing the rule of law is the key to rebuilding the state’s prestige, restoring confidence among Jordanians, and putting an end to the "worrying” trend of social violence.Highlighting the need for social equality, they called for radical solutions to be put forward to address the issue of social violence in the Kingdom.Citing incidents over the past few weeks in which groups of protesters demanding jobs, land, or favours from the state have shut down major roads in the Kingdom, burnt tyres, attacked vehicles and damaged public property, commentators said these occurrences are harmful to the state’s image.Al Ghad columnist Mohammad Abu Rumman said the relationship between the government and citizens has become distant, which he attributed to a series of mistakes successive governments have made in crafting policy to respond to political and social developments in the country. "The state has lost its status and image due to all these mistakes and decisions, but this should not be rectified through security policies," said Abu Rumman, at the same time warning the state against caving to extortion by interest groups.It is unclear whether the government is willing to enforce the rule of law and deal with people on this basis, he added, stressing that having an effective, independent and just judicial system is essential in achieving such a state of affairs. "Using different standards to deal with different incidents would make people believe that the government has double standards, which would push them to resort to violence or intimidation to gain more benefits or to see their needs met," Abu Rumman underlined. Ad Dustour's Hamdan Al Haj agreed, citing recent events that he said were meant to undermine the authority of the government. “This is unacceptable and illogical," he said, explaining that if authorities give in to extortion by some groups, this will encourage others to employ the same tactics.Jordan must take steps to uphold the rule of law by building citizens’ confidence in state institutions, Mohammad Sbeihi said in his column published in Al Rai yesterday, warning that if this confidence is lost, lawlessness will become common practice."Transparency is fundamental to regain people's confidence,” he highlighted.Al Rai's Rouman Haddad attributed the growing phenomenon of social violence to people’s disillusionment with the lack of concrete action to ensure that development gains are distributed fairly, despite years of repeated promises."Some citizens who have not benefited from development in the country take that as a reason to give up belonging to the state," he said.