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A man buried Sunday morning south of Amman was the first casualty in Jordan's three-month-old antigovernment protests. Officials say Khairy Jamil Saad, 55, died of a heart attack. Fellow demonstrators say he died of injuries sustained during Friday's attack by riot police and pro-government protesters on the estimated 2,000 antigovernment activists in central Nasser Square. Security forces and pro-government supporters launched into demonstrators who had been camped out since Thursday night, beating them with sticks, throwing rocks and using water hoses. The violence sent a collective shudder through a country that had until then avoided the chaos that has engulfed Yemen, Egypt, Tunisia, Bahrain and now neighboring Syria.
In the crosshairs of the government is the Islamic Action Front (IAF), Jordan's arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, which has held benign protests in the city every Friday since the so-called Arab Spring began in early January, mainly demanding fair and democratic elections and fewer restrictions and red tape in the formation of political parties. In response to the opposition's demands for democratic reform, King Abdullah replaced his Cabinet on Feb. 1, instructing new Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit to launch a "genuine political-reform process." On Friday night, Bakhit lamented the day of violence. He told state television that the day's events were "painful and harmed Jordan's image that we struggled to preserve over the past weeks." And he blamed it on the IAF: "We have convincing evidence that they were the organizers of the event, and I say to them now, Stop playing with fire." (See the top 10 autocrats in trouble.)
The Islamist group has been accused of trying to foment disorder while the country adapts to the new government put in place in February by King Abdullah. Many wealthier citizens dismiss the movement as extremists trying to stir up trouble. Last week, the IAF boycotted Bakhit's 53-member National Dialogue Committee, created as a forum to mull Abdullah's proposed political reforms, particularly in regards to elections and the formation of political parties, both of which have headlined activists' agenda. Tensions have run high between the IAF and the new government since it was named. The Islamists are joined in their protests by lower- and middle-class groups, including teachers who want unionization and poor day laborers seeking higher wages.
In the crosshairs of the government is the Islamic Action Front (IAF), Jordan's arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, which has held benign protests in the city every Friday since the so-called Arab Spring began in early January, mainly demanding fair and democratic elections and fewer restrictions and red tape in the formation of political parties. In response to the opposition's demands for democratic reform, King Abdullah replaced his Cabinet on Feb. 1, instructing new Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit to launch a "genuine political-reform process." On Friday night, Bakhit lamented the day of violence. He told state television that the day's events were "painful and harmed Jordan's image that we struggled to preserve over the past weeks." And he blamed it on the IAF: "We have convincing evidence that they were the organizers of the event, and I say to them now, Stop playing with fire." (See the top 10 autocrats in trouble.)
The Islamist group has been accused of trying to foment disorder while the country adapts to the new government put in place in February by King Abdullah. Many wealthier citizens dismiss the movement as extremists trying to stir up trouble. Last week, the IAF boycotted Bakhit's 53-member National Dialogue Committee, created as a forum to mull Abdullah's proposed political reforms, particularly in regards to elections and the formation of political parties, both of which have headlined activists' agenda. Tensions have run high between the IAF and the new government since it was named. The Islamists are joined in their protests by lower- and middle-class groups, including teachers who want unionization and poor day laborers seeking higher wages.
