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CNN Live Today

Jordan's Queen Rania of Jordan

Aired April 23, 2003 - 10:39   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: As Iraq is struggling to get on its feet, embarking on a future without Saddam Hussein, Arab countries throughout the region are watching with a very keen eye and a vested interest. One country that has articulated its wishes is neighboring Jordan.
Our Rym Brahimi sat down for a one-on-one interview with Jordan's Queen Rania, and joins us with more on that.

Rym, hello.

RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Daryn.

Indeed, Queen Rania of Jordan very concerned about the humanitarian situation. The Jordanian government has been keen to show its support for the Iraqi people, especially for the humanitarian aspect of this crisis. Queen Rania has been trying to evacuate children out of Iraq who've been either traumatized or injured during the U.S.-led bombings. She spoke to me a lot about her concern about how to bring in humanitarian aid into Iraq when the situation is still not safe. She's motioned an appeal to try to get secure corridors on the road from Amman to Baghdad in order to allow that to happen.

Jordan has also sent in a field hospital that they're setting up right now on the outskirts of Baghdad in order to contribute to that humanitarian relief effort.

That said, there are a lot of questions. Queen Rania, of course, concerned the lack of stability in Jordan would prevent Jordan's efforts to try and help in any way and try be a launch pad for humanitarian aid to come into Iraq, and also concern that lack of stability or lack of a cohesive government for the moment in Iraq would maybe affect Jordan.

As for what kind of cohesive government, they would want to see, well, here's what Queen Rania had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

QUEEN RANIA, JORDAN: We will accept whatever government Iraqi people recognizes. They are the ones who have lived under the previous regime, they're the ones who have suffered for 23 years during three wars and for 12 years, under economic sanctions. They're the best people who can judge what kind of government that they would want.

And you know, one of the main important elements that needs to be established is establish trust with Iraqi people. And in order to establish this trust, there need to be clear lines of communication with the people to try to give them some of the ability into the future.

Iraqi people have experienced a massive upheaval. there's I great uncertainty in the country. They need to be able to know where they're heading.

BRAHIMI: There is a lot of doubt among Arabs inside and outside of Iraq about the motivations of the coalition when it comes to this war. There are very high expectations from the Iraqi people.

RANIA: Because they view America as a powerful country with many resources at its disposal, and therefore, the ability to bring about quick changes puts its mind to it. So therefore, you have to manage expectations as well. It will tack a long time to build the trust. But it's very important for the coalition forces to make it their top priority to build the trust with the Iraqi people.

BRAHIMI: What does the coalition and the U.S. in particular have to do to gain some measure of trust from the Arab people?

I think one of the most crucial things that need to be done is trying to make progress on the Israeli-Palestinian track. The lack of progress in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process has left a deep undercurrent of cynicism in the Arab world, and has allowed wounds to fester for far too long. And this has resulted in a lot of anger, a lot of frustration, and therefore, a rise in extremism, and terrorism in many cases.

All of the world needs this peace process to move forward. And I think giving up on a peace process will be giving up on the futures of millions of people in our region.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRAHIMI: So as you can see, Daryn, as Queen Rania put it to me, a very complex situation, every single aspect is linked, the humanitarian, the political and the entire region -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Absolutely, and just to put it into perspective a little bit, Rym, here, the queen herself is Palestinian, and there is that large Palestinian population within Jordan. So of course it's going to be at the top of her agenda.

BRAHIMI: Absolutely. And also Jordan is in a strategic situation, but it's also in a very fragile position in many ways, because it is -- there's a huge Palestinian population. It's neighboring Israel and the Palestinian Authority. It's neighboring Iraq. And there are a lot of Iraqis, here, too, and there were a lot of demonstrations during the war. A lot of people asking for the government to show more support for the Iraqi people. And a lot of people also saying, well, if the U.S. is going to do this in Iraq, well, they have to deliver on the peace process and on that road map between the Israelis and the Palestinians -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Rym Brahimi, thank you so much, from Jordan.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired April 23, 2003 - 10:39   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: As Iraq is struggling to get on its feet, embarking on a future without Saddam Hussein, Arab countries throughout the region are watching with a very keen eye and a vested interest. One country that has articulated its wishes is neighboring Jordan.
Our Rym Brahimi sat down for a one-on-one interview with Jordan's Queen Rania, and joins us with more on that.

Rym, hello.

RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Daryn.

Indeed, Queen Rania of Jordan very concerned about the humanitarian situation. The Jordanian government has been keen to show its support for the Iraqi people, especially for the humanitarian aspect of this crisis. Queen Rania has been trying to evacuate children out of Iraq who've been either traumatized or injured during the U.S.-led bombings. She spoke to me a lot about her concern about how to bring in humanitarian aid into Iraq when the situation is still not safe. She's motioned an appeal to try to get secure corridors on the road from Amman to Baghdad in order to allow that to happen.

Jordan has also sent in a field hospital that they're setting up right now on the outskirts of Baghdad in order to contribute to that humanitarian relief effort.

That said, there are a lot of questions. Queen Rania, of course, concerned the lack of stability in Jordan would prevent Jordan's efforts to try and help in any way and try be a launch pad for humanitarian aid to come into Iraq, and also concern that lack of stability or lack of a cohesive government for the moment in Iraq would maybe affect Jordan.

As for what kind of cohesive government, they would want to see, well, here's what Queen Rania had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

QUEEN RANIA, JORDAN: We will accept whatever government Iraqi people recognizes. They are the ones who have lived under the previous regime, they're the ones who have suffered for 23 years during three wars and for 12 years, under economic sanctions. They're the best people who can judge what kind of government that they would want.

And you know, one of the main important elements that needs to be established is establish trust with Iraqi people. And in order to establish this trust, there need to be clear lines of communication with the people to try to give them some of the ability into the future.

Iraqi people have experienced a massive upheaval. there's I great uncertainty in the country. They need to be able to know where they're heading.

BRAHIMI: There is a lot of doubt among Arabs inside and outside of Iraq about the motivations of the coalition when it comes to this war. There are very high expectations from the Iraqi people.

RANIA: Because they view America as a powerful country with many resources at its disposal, and therefore, the ability to bring about quick changes puts its mind to it. So therefore, you have to manage expectations as well. It will tack a long time to build the trust. But it's very important for the coalition forces to make it their top priority to build the trust with the Iraqi people.

BRAHIMI: What does the coalition and the U.S. in particular have to do to gain some measure of trust from the Arab people?

I think one of the most crucial things that need to be done is trying to make progress on the Israeli-Palestinian track. The lack of progress in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process has left a deep undercurrent of cynicism in the Arab world, and has allowed wounds to fester for far too long. And this has resulted in a lot of anger, a lot of frustration, and therefore, a rise in extremism, and terrorism in many cases.

All of the world needs this peace process to move forward. And I think giving up on a peace process will be giving up on the futures of millions of people in our region.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRAHIMI: So as you can see, Daryn, as Queen Rania put it to me, a very complex situation, every single aspect is linked, the humanitarian, the political and the entire region -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Absolutely, and just to put it into perspective a little bit, Rym, here, the queen herself is Palestinian, and there is that large Palestinian population within Jordan. So of course it's going to be at the top of her agenda.

BRAHIMI: Absolutely. And also Jordan is in a strategic situation, but it's also in a very fragile position in many ways, because it is -- there's a huge Palestinian population. It's neighboring Israel and the Palestinian Authority. It's neighboring Iraq. And there are a lot of Iraqis, here, too, and there were a lot of demonstrations during the war. A lot of people asking for the government to show more support for the Iraqi people. And a lot of people also saying, well, if the U.S. is going to do this in Iraq, well, they have to deliver on the peace process and on that road map between the Israelis and the Palestinians -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Rym Brahimi, thank you so much, from Jordan.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com