King Abdullah II urges reform

Jordan's King Abdullah II urged political figures to speed up reforms yesterday (27.01.11).

The monarch made his remarks 24 hours before demonstrations planned for today (28.01.110) by a coalition of opposition parties, trade unions and activists who are demanding major reforms after allegations of government corruption according to arabnews.com.

The king - who has been married to Queen Rania since 1993 - said: "All officials concerned should shoulder their responsibilities and take their decision in a daring, transparent and clear manner. I don't want to hear someone says that he has directions from the head."

During his speech yesterday he also discussed allegations of corruption and favouritism and declared they should be addressed in a public manner.

He said: "All files should be opened to the public, doubts should be cleared and mistakes corrected."

Thousands of Jordanians demonstrated across the country on the last two Fridays despite a decision by the government to subsidize basic goods and cancel taxes on certain types of fuel.