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Protesters gather across the country, demanding the prime minister step
down.
Amman, Jordan, January 29, 2011 – Thousands of people in Jordan have
taken to the streets in protests, demanding the country's prime minister
step down, and the government curb rising prices, inflation and
unemployment.
In the third consecutive Friday of protests, about 3,500 opposition
activists from Jordan's main Islamist opposition group, trade unions and
leftist organizations gathered in the capital, waving colourful banners
reading: "Send the corrupt guys to court".
The crowd denounced Samir Rifai's, the prime minister, and his unpopular
policies.
Many shouted: "Rifai go away, prices are on fire and so are the
Jordanians.''
Another 2,500 people also took to the streets in six other cities across
the country after the noon prayers. Those protests also called for
Rifai's ouster.
Members of the Islamic Action Front, the political wing of the Muslim
Brotherhood and Jordan's largest opposition party, swelled the ranks of
the demonstrators, massing outside the al-Husseini mosque in Amman and
filling the downtown streets with their prayer lines.
King Abdullah has promised some reforms, particularly on a controversial
election law. But many believe it is unlikely he will bow to demands for
the election of the prime minister and Cabinet officials, traditionally
appointed by the king.
Rifai also announced a $550 million package of new subsidies in the last
two weeks for fuel and staple products like rice, sugar, livestock and
liquefied gas used for heating and cooking. It also includes a raise for
civil servants and security personnel.
Record deficit
However, Jordan's economy continues to struggle, weighed down by a
record deficit of $2bn this year.
Inflation has also risen by 1.5 per cent to 6.1 per cent just last
month, unemployment and poverty are rampant - estimated at 12 and 25 per
cent respectively.
Ibrahim Alloush, a university professor, told the Associated Press that
it was not a question of changing faces or replacing one prime minister
with another.
"We're demanding changes on how the country is now run," he said.
He also accused the government of impoverishing the working class with
regressive tax codes which forced the poor to pay a higher proportion of
their income as tax.
He also accused parliament as serving as a "rubber stamp'' to the
executive branch.
"This is what has led people to protest in the streets because they
don't have venues for venting how they feel through legal means,"
Alloush said.
Source: Agencies
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