Jordanian protest against fuel hikes and cabinet reforms continue

Activists join families of detainees in sit-in outside al-Husseini mosque, Amman Amman – Osama Al Rantissi Jordanian protests demanding the decision to raise fuel prices be rolled back resumed on Friday. The severe cold and rain did not deter an increase in demonstrations in most provinces as protesters claim that “successive cabinets do not seem to be concerned with the country and citizens or with undertaking any real reforms.” They also said the fuel price-hike “wagered the country to the unknown.”
Hundreds of activists were joined by families of detainees in a sit-in outside Amman’s al-Husseini mosque following Friday prayers. The protest is held under the heading of \"The Eye of Freedom\" in reference to the released protestor Adnan al-Hawasha who was injured in one eye in the protests dubbed \"The Teshrin Uprising.\"
The sit-in was conducted amid heightened security presence and was attended by a number of members of the \"Loyalty to the Homeland and to its Commander\" group.
Demonstrators demanded a freeze on price hikes and denounced the decision to lift state subsidy on petroleum products.
For the first time in two years, the protest was also attended by the Circassian Youths Movement.
In the city of Irbid [100 km north of the capital] hundreds took part in a march which set off from the Noah al-Kudah mosque. Entitled \"March Against 11,\" the demo rejected the elections and called for a boycott. “What is built on falsehood is false,” the protesters said, branding the outcome of the prospective elections “illegitimate.”
They chanted against Prime Minister Abdullah al-Nassour to whom they referred as a “butcher” who was brought in to raise prices.
A number of activists spoke at the protest, declaring the continuation of the non-violent movement against “the corruption that continues to wreak havoc in Jordan.”
The province of al-Karak [130 km south of the capital] also saw demonstrations in downtown Karak City as well as at the town of al-Mazar al-Janoubi. Participants criticised he government and attacked what they called “methodical corruption” and “inattention to reform demands for dignity and food security.”
On the subject of the elections, the protesters said it would not produce a different result as long as the one-vote law persists. They held the electoral law for “breaking up” Jordanian society and “enabling those who have influence and money to sit under the parliamentary dome.” They also vowed to continue with their protests until their demands are met.
In downtown al-Karak City, the local Popular and Youth Movement held a demonstration at the Imary mosque arena. Demonstrators carried banners bearing the image of late Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser and chanted against the government whom they accused of helping “starve and humiliate” the Jordanian people.
The sit-in organisers released a statement blaming the current conditions in Jordan.
“The majority of official policies, especially those pertaining to the recent decisions, have wagered the country to the unknown,” the statement said.
“What concerns the successive cabinets in remaining in power and controlling the country’s resouces,” the statement went on, adding that the hike in fuel prices indicated “continuing tampering with these resources” and “disturbing the equation of the social ladder.”
The statement went on to accuse the successive Jordanian cabinets of ignoring popular demands in order to “entrench subjugation to financial and capitalist powerhouses,” a police, the statement added “which has brought the country and its people nothing but harm.”
The statement pointed out the passage of two years since the start of the protest movement in Jordan “with no reforms worth mentioning” and with government “purposefully issuing decrees that can be classified as being hostile to Jordanians.” The opposition group also criticised “the application of martial law” in order to “preserve power in the hands of the class alliance” which the statement described as “corrupt.”
The statement went on to demand the resignation of the current cabinet and the formation of a “cabinet of national salvation committed to changing the economic and political route which has led the country from one crisis to another.”
At al-Mazar al-Janoubi, another protest group held a demonstration in the Jaafer ben abi Taleb mosque courtyard. Participants called for a boycott of the elections, saying its results “would not be in the Jordanian people’s best interests.”
They also appealed to voters to steer clear of “national blocs” which they described as “unpatriotic” for comprising individuals “that have nothing to do with the people’s cares and aspirations for a dignified existence.”