Recent protests in Jordan over rising fuel prices and calls for
government intervention have been met with an all too familiar response: Rather
than addressing underlying grievances, authorities are instead responding with
an iron fist.
اضافة اعلان
After demonstrations began on December 4 in the country’s south,
Jordanian security forces used teargas and began arresting organizers and
activists who showed solidarity. Protesters were called outlaws and saboteurs.
Videos on social media showed a mixed picture. Some drivers
demonstrated peacefully as their trucks sat idle on the side of the road.
But in several southern cities, as well as in Zarqa, 20km northeast of Amman,
angry protesters burned tires and pelted police vehicles with stones.
In phone interviews, people in Maan province, 225km south of
Amman where the unrest has centered, conceded that saboteurs have been present
but that their numbers are small. Unfortunately, the actions of a few have
perverted the demonstrations’ initial intent and given the government
ammunition to link the unrest to terrorism.
On December 17, the deputy police chief of Maan, Col. Abdul
Razaq Dalabeeh, was killed
in clashes with demonstrators, and two other policemen were injured. Authorities responded by
arresting dozens, temporarily banning TikTok, and shutting off internet in the
city.
Three more police officers were killed and five injured when
authorities raided the hideout of the main suspect in Dalabeeh’s killing. The
suspect was also killed in the shootout, and nine were arrested. The police
linked the suspects to a terrorist cell and said its members were
“takfiris” –
Islamist extremists who view other Muslims as infidels.
There is no denying that the deaths of security forces are a
tragic development in Jordan’s latest unrest. And there’s no doubt that
extremist groups often exploit festering grievances in marginalized areas to
advance their ideology and sow discord.
But the demonstrations in Jordan’s south, which have since
spread to Karak, Tafileh, and other areas, reflect the socioeconomic
failures of successive governments and have been fueled by public discontent
with declining living conditions and a lack of government transparency.
Currently, unemployment
stands at 22.6
percent, with youth unemployment a staggering 50 percent. Poverty is on the
rise and perceptions of widespread corruption persist. The situation is
particularly acute in southern cities, where complaints about government
neglect are growing louder.
“All doors are closed, and the prime minister is absent,”
Despite a cautious calm that has emerged since the police
deaths, tensions remain high and authorities have continued arresting
activists, including a former head of Maan municipality, Majid
Al Sharari.
A few days before his arrest on December 18, Sharari told me
that the crisis is escalating as the government has been trying to evade
its responsibilities by ignoring the protesters’ demands for a reduction in
fuel prices. “All doors are closed, and the prime minister is absent,” Sharari
said.
While the grievances are not specific to Maan, the city does
have a history of strife. In 1989, when the government lifted subsidies on
bread, riots erupted and spread to several other southern regions. The late
King Hussein responded by lifting martial law and resuming parliamentary
elections that had been paused since 1967.
The last large-scale protests in Jordan, in 2018 against austerity
measures and tax increases, brought down the government of former Prime
Minister Hani Al-Mulki. Indeed, dismissing prime ministers in response to
popular discontent, followed by pledges of reform, is a time-worn practice to
pacify the public. Sometimes these measures temporarily succeed. But addressing
root causes would be more productive than a security-minded approach.
At this point, however, the government seems intent on the
latter strategy. One reason: it does not have the money to slash prices. Authorities
are struggling with a record budget deficit, caused partially by declining
foreign aid. The government has already spent JD500 million (about $705
million) on capping fuel prices, and Prime Minister Bisher Al-Khasawneh told
parliament this month that the government does not have the ability to do more.
Diesel currently costs $1.26 per liter, up from $0.87 a year ago.
That said, because fuel prices are adjusted monthly in
accordance with global markets, many expect prices to go down at the end of
this month. Perhaps that is one reason why the recent protests have not
convinced the government to pursue meaningful policy changes.
This is a mistake. The space for public freedom is shrinking in
Jordan while people struggle to make ends meet. In October, inflation was 5.2
percent, and although this is moderate by global comparison, surging prices of
food, fuel, and other basic needs are hitting Jordanians particularly hard.
Reducing
sales tax, flat taxes and custom tariffs are among the measures that the
government must adopt to stimulate the economy. It must also allow
for greater public freedoms and encourage free speech, fight corruption and
instill good governance.
Jordan has embarked on an ambitious reform drive to move the
country toward democracy over the next decade. But it cannot do that while also
cracking down on dissent with strong-arm tactics. Jordanians want a stable,
prosperous country. Without genuine economic and political improvements, they are
unlikely to get one anytime soon.
SuhaMa’ayeh is a journalist based in Amman, Jordan. Her work has
been published in Foreign Policy and CTC Sentinel. She also reports for The
Wall Street Journal and other publications on Jordan and southern Syria.
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