Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Jordan Going Down

"Protesters and supporters of Jordan’s king clashed in the capital of Amman late yesterday, and about 35 people were hurt in one of the most violent episodes in three months of demonstrations.

About 2,000 Jordanians demanding government reforms joined an encampment at a central square. They were attacked by about 300 supporters of King Abdullah II, who threw rocks at the demonstrators....

Leftist groups joined youth who demonstrated through the day to press demands....

Many said they met through Facebook last month to launch a group called the Jordanian Youth Movement....

I'm beginning to wonder when the Web gets shut down.

The group changed its name yesterday to Youth of March 24, marking what members said was the start of an open-ended demonstration.

“Today is the dawning of the Jordanian revolution,’ said the group’s spokesman.

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"Meanwhile, in Jordan yesterday, protesters demanding reforms clashed with government supporters in the center of Jordan’s capital, pelting each other with stones until security forces charged in and beat protesters, as unrest intensified in this key US ally....

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"Jordanians yesterday mourned a 55-year-old man who died in a violent antigovernment protest two days earlier. Khairi Saad was the first person to die in nearly three months of unrest in Jordan.

The government insisted he was one of its supporters and that he died of a heart attack. But Saad’s brother said Saturday that he was among the protesters, and an Islamic opposition group said he was a follower of the Muslim Brotherhood and was beaten to death by police.  

And not a peep from AmeriKa.

Thousands of supporters of Jordan’s King Abdullah II took to the streets of Amman, the capital, on Saturday to express their loyalty.

The 7,000 people sought to put on a display that would counterbalance scenes a day earlier when security forces and government supporters clashed with protesters seeking political reforms and new elections.

The Jordanian activists have not sought the ouster of Abdullah, but they are demanding the removal of the prime minister, creation of a more reformist government, the dissolving of what is seen as a docile Parliament, and the dismantling of the intelligence department.

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Related:

"A judicial official said that 25 protesters blamed for Jordan’s most violent unrest in three months of prodemocracy demonstrations have been released. The official refused to say why they were freed. But the government is trying to ease tension with the opposition, which accuses it of ordering police to use force to disperse a peaceful protest calling for reforms.  

They think beatings will do that?

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