AMMAN —
Following a tense weekend that culminated in the fatal shooting of Deputy Maan
Police Chief
Col. Abdel Razzaq Al-Dalabeeh by an unidentified gunman late
Thursday, pressure has been mounting on Prime Minister Bisher Al-Khasawneh to
appear in public and suggest a political settlement that will end the 14-day
public transport and truck drivers’ strike that has spread from southern
governorates to most parts of the Kingdom, according to local media outlets.
اضافة اعلان
His Majesty King
Abdullah, while visiting Dalabeeh’s family to pay condolences on Friday,
reaffirmed that violence against the state, vandalism of public property, and
violation of Jordanians’ rights will be dealt with firmly, stressing that
assaults and acts of vandalism are dangerous threats to national security and
will not be tolerated.
Likewise, in his
press conference Friday afternoon,
Minister of Interior Mazen Al-Faraya vowed
to hunt down those behind Dalabeeh’s murder. However, he said that the
government is unable to reduce the price of fuel derivatives, as the strikers
have been demanding.
Lack of a solution
to the crisis has exacerbated the situation and by Saturday, a number of truck
drivers in Tafileh and Maan had announced that they were still striking and
would continue to do so until the government agrees to reduce the price of
fuel, especially of diesel.
In Karak,
representatives of the governorate’s commercial sector announced that they will
be holding a general strike today in solidarity with the striking public sector
transport drivers and operators.
Meanwhile, the
Karak Municipal Council issued a statement on Saturday in which it said that
the country is “facing serious circumstances and challenges”, and claimed that
the country has been “hijacked” by a group whose primary concern is
self-interest and the failure of the public sector through a deliberate
approach to destroy all the institutions of the country.
It condemned “the heinous crime” against “martyr
Col. Abdul Razzaq Al-Dalabeeh” and all acts of vandalism in the previous days.
It added that
“using the policy of oppression, silencing people, and displaying force, is not
the solution”, which lies in a real change in government policies, public
freedoms, and listening to the voice of citizens.
The council called
for a large protest on Monday in the city of Karak; it declared Monday a
national strike day in the governorate, and appealed to the rest of the
governorates to hold a strike on that same day “in order to preserve this
country”.
A number of
lawmakers have signed a petition supporting a vote of no-confidence in the
government, but it was not clear whether the number will be enough to present
the motion to Speaker of the Lower House Ahmad Safadi.
Deputy Firas
Al-Ajarmah was quoted by Jo24 as saying that the government refuses to respond
to the strikers’ demands to reduce the fixed tax on oil derivatives. He said
the government created the crisis and contributed to its exacerbation, asking
where the prime minister is and why he does not come up with solutions to get
out of the crisis.
MP Bilal Al-Momani
told Jo24 that the government is unable to come up with a solution to the
strike in the freight and public transport sector, stressing that not
addressing the issue is the worst scenario.
“We were expecting
the prime minister to come out and talk to the public about the country’s
situation and propose solutions before the martyrdom of Col. Abdel-Razzaq
Al-Dalabeeh,” he said.
Momani said that the Treasury’s revenues from kerosene alone
are estimated at about JD141 million. He pointed out that the equation of
profit and loss considered by the government is unacceptable, stressing that
the issue of lack of confidence in the government is being seriously discussed
by the deputies.
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