Jordanian mass anti-austerity protests

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This video says about itself:

1 June 2018

Jordanians protest in front of the Prime Ministry early Saturday for the second consecutive night against fuel price hikes and an amended income tax law.

Other protests were held in other locations in Amman and other cities.

There were reports that protestors temporarily closed some roads near the Prime Ministry, the Airport Road, the Desert Highway and Amman-Jerash Road.

Translated from Dutch NOS TV today:

Biggest protests in Jordan in years

In Jordan for the third consecutive evening people have demonstrated against the tax reform and price increases. In the capital Amman and a number of provincial towns, thousands of people took to the streets. These are the biggest demonstrations in Jordan in years.

The police threw tear gas grenades in Amman and threw up roadblocks to keep the masses under control. There are also reports from other cities about confrontations between demonstrators and the police. In the southern city of Maan demonstrators are said to have set tires on fire.

Several trade unions called for a general strike last week. Since then, there have been protests every night.

Tax law

The demonstrators oppose a tax reform that has the support of the IMF. According to the demonstrators, the tax reform will make life more expensive and affect both the middle classes and the poor in Jordan.

They call on King Abdullah to dismiss Prime Minister Mulki. Mulki said yesterday that he will continue his plans.

The king decided Friday to postpone an increase in fuel prices. But the demonstrators are particularly angry about the tax law …

The tax law still has to be approved by the parliament, where a majority of parliamentarians demand changes.

Earlier this year, VAT was already increased and subsidies on bread were abolished.

According to King Abdullah, the reforms are necessary because Jordan is financially on the edge of the abyss because of the conflicts in the neighboring countries of Syria and Iraq. Jordan is an important Western ally and one of the few Arab countries where things remained quiet in recent years.

Not that quiet.

This Jordanian Opposition Coalition video of 12 February 2018 shows a demonstration ‘UNDER FULL MEDIA SILENCE’ in Amman, demanding the abdication of King Abdullah.

There have been protests in Jordan against absolute monarchy, lack of human rights, corruption and inequality ever since the 2011 start of the ‘Arab spring’.