Jordanian Prime Minister Abd-al-Salam al-Majali has welcomed the announcement that Iraq is going to release all Jordanian detainees held in Iraqi prisons, but criticized the manner of the announcement.

In remarks broadcast live on Jordanian TV on Monday, al-Majali told parliament in Amman that the notification of the releases had come via the media.

"While we welcome the release of the Jordanians and expect their safe return, we had hoped that the Iraqi authorities would have informed us of this through the channels used among fraternal countries and not in a statement to the media.

"Neither the Jordanian Government, nor the Jordanian Embassy [in Baghdad] has yet received a memorandum on this issue," he said.

"In any case, the statement did not portray the real efforts and contacts in this respect, particularly that the Jordanian leadership, government, and people have supported and continue to support the Iraqi people in their tribulation, have offered them all forms of support and assistance, and have made sacrifices to lift the injustices done to the Iraqi people and end their tribulation," he said.

"The Jordanian Government, from this rostrum, extends its sincerest thanks and appreciation to His Majesty King Husayn, the leader of the homeland, and the one who leads it to resurgence, and to His Highness Crown Prince Hasan, the apple of his majesty's eye, for their ongoing efforts to protect Jordanians wherever they may be.

"These efforts are to be added to their many noble gestures."

BBC Monitoring (http://www.monitor.bbc.co.uk), based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.  
 

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