By Joel Greenberg, Published: July 22
AMMAN, Jordan — At the weekly anti-government demonstration after Friday prayers here in Jordan’s capital, Malik Gheith held up a poster showing a caricature of a fearsome-looking policeman wielding a club, captioned, “Your dignity ends here.”
The message, a week after police beat peaceful protesters and journalists at a similar march in downtown Amman, was clear. “There can’t be any political reform with repression,” Gheith said. “The security forces have to stop their brutality.”
Motivated by shows of political strength by neighbors in Egypt, demonstrators in the Middle East and North Africa are taking to the streets of many cities to rally for change.
Friday’s march ended without incident, as unarmed police officers flanked the protesters, preventing any contact with a small group of pro-government demonstrators nearby. Riot police, responsible for last week’s beatings, were nowhere to be seen, and newspaper headlines highlighted King Abdullah II’s condemnation of their assaults on reporters.
After six months of weekly demonstrations inspired by the Arab Spring, Jordan’s ferment is still a managed crisis, festering but not at a tipping point, with protesters unable to generate momentum to force swift change.
The opposition is divided between youth groups and leftists on one hand and the Muslim Brotherhood on the other. The Brotherhood is perceived by its potential allies as angling for a greater piece of the government pie, rather than seeking fundamental change.
Movement toward political change has been slow, with the king promising broader public participation, such as governments based on the parliamentary majority rather than royal appointment. But little has been done to carry out those pledges, aside from a recent cabinet reshuffle widely viewed as cosmetic.
Categories: Human Rights, Jordan