Jordan denies reports about attack on King Abdullah

Official spokesman says police scuffled with youths trying to greet King Abdullah Nervousness about the spread of “Arab spring” protests hit Jordan on Monday when the government moved to quash reports that demonstrators had attacked King Abdullah’s motorcade. Jordanian and western media quoted eyewitness accounts of vehicles in the royal convoy being hit twice by stones and bottles during a visit to the southern town of Tafileh, scene of demonstrations demanding the resignation of the government because of its failure to introduce reforms and fight corruption. Reports from the scene described clashes between crowds and the security forces, but the government quickly denied the story, saying the king had been warmly received. “This news is totally baseless,” said spokesman Taher Adwan. “There was no attack whatsoever with empty bottles and stones. What happened is that a group of young Jordanians thronged the monarch’s motorcade to shake hands with him. When police pushed them away, there was a lot of shoving.” The Amonnews website reported that at least 25 people had been injured by security forces. It was not in dispute that Abdullah had been on a fact-finding mission to inspect infrastructure projects and, according to the official Petra news agency, announce the creation of a £12.9m fund for job creation, infrastructure projects and the provision of free medical services. Tafileh has seen regular protests in recent weeks, including last Friday. The incident came as opposition groups reacted coolly to Sunday’s pledge by Abdullah to allow government minsters to be elected rather than appointed, at some unspecified point in the future. The Jordanian monarch became the latest Arab ruler to signal a readiness to implement reforms but gave no timetable for what would be a significant change. Abdullah said future cabinets would be formed according to the results of parliamentary elections. Currently he has the power to appoint the prime minister. Jordan saw unrest at the start of the Arab spring earlier this year but nothing on the scale of protests in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen or neighbouring Syria. Still, thousands took to the streets demanding better employment prospects, cuts in foods and fuel costs and an end to corruption. “We seek a state of democracy, pluralism and participation through political reforms … away from the dictates of the street and the absence of the voice of reason,” the king said in a televised speech. New legislation should “guarantee the fairness and transparency of the electoral process through a mechanism that will lead to a parliament with active political party representation”, he added. It should allow “the formation of governments based on parliamentary majority and political party manifestos in the future”. But he warned that sudden change could lead to “chaos and unrest”. The opposition, particularly the Islamic Action Front, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, has demanded sweeping reforms that would lead to a parliamentary system of government in which the premier would be elected rather than named by the king. In February the king sacked the prime minister, Samir al-Rifai, over the slow pace of reform and appointed Marouf al-Bakhit. Bakhit was asked to take “practical, swift and tangible steps to launch a real political reform process, in line with the king’s vision of comprehensive reform, modernisation and development”. In March, two protesters were killed and more than 100 injured when security forces intervened to end a clash between pro-monarchy and pro-reform protesters. “There was nothing new in the speech,” said Zaki Bani Rsheid, the head of the IAF political office. “The king has expressed hopes, as we have heard several times in the past, but he did not give specifics and there were no guarantees.” Labib Kamhzai, a political analyst, said: “The speech was positive on critical issues like electing a prime minister in the future. But we want to see more being done for wider civil liberties and less security interference in the affairs of the state.” Jordan King Abdullah Tunisia Arab and Middle East unrest Yemen Syria Egypt Ian Black guardian.co.uk

Posted by on June 13, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.