"We Cannot Accept to Be Treated This Way"

By King Hussein with Dean Fischer.

Sporting a white beard in conscious imitation of his Hashemite ancestors, Jordan's King Hussein last week spoke with TIME Cairo bureau chief Dean Fischer about the Arab-Israeli peace negotiations and his diagnosis of the Middle East's political ailments. Excerpts:

On growing disenchantment with peace negotiations: Initially there was a great deal of enthusiasm and hope within Israel and the Arab world. But none of us has shown the capabilities to deal with the challenges. I feel that Israel is able to focus on only one subject at a time. Maybe that is the reason for the delays on the other tracks. I hope that we will see Arafat back on Palestinian soil as soon as possible. But the sad part was that an agreement ((between Israel and the P.L.O.)) was made without filling in all the details. As a result, there has been a delay. In the meantime some terrible things have happened in the region. We can't afford to have this.

On the impact of the Iraqi trade embargo: The cooperation and commitment that we have given to achieve a comprehensive peace in this region do not justify the treatment Jordan has received. The embargo has done tremendous damage to Jordan. We have lost a lot of our traditional markets. Insurance premiums have been almost impossible. We even have to pay for the inspection of the ships. And we have noticed an increase in this last year rather than a decrease in these inspections and interceptions offshore. We have lost 16 regular lines * that used to serve the port of Aqaba, our only access to the sea. We have lost over $1 billion so far. And not a single ship that was interdicted since the beginning of this problem was found to be carrying anything that was illegal. We cannot understand why this continues. Is it the Security Council? Is it the United States? Who is it that is imposing this policy and for how long can we tolerate it? We cannot accept to be treated this way.

On Islamic fundamentalism: What we are seeing ((in Algeria, Egypt and Turkey)) is also occurring elsewhere in the world. In Europe, in the former Eastern bloc, and in many parts of the world, there is instability. I believe the Arab-Israeli problem is the root cause of instability in this region. If that is adequately resolved, it will contribute greatly toward decreasing the tensions, the frustrations and the anger and despair. With peace, there will be the breaking of a new dawn as far as the quality of life of people is concerned. Almost every eruption in this area that has occurred in recent history had Palestine as the objective in some form or another. It has been the ladder to power of adventurers time and again. We have to address it.