Unrest Continues In Jordan Over Doubling Of Bread Cost King Hussein, Aides Pay Visit To Southern Towns To Ask Calm
Despite an appeal for restraint by King Hussein, stone-throwing demonstrators clashed with police and set buildings alight for a second day on Saturday to protest the doubling of bread prices.
Witnesses said there were violent confrontations in the southern towns of Kerak and Maan when police attempted to break up demonstrations. Both cities had similar protests Friday following midday prayers.
In Kerak some 1,000 protesters gathered, and many threw stones at police, who responded with tear gas to disperse the crowds in the center of town.
Protesters set fire to two government buildings and a private bank shortly before army units in armored vehicles deployed in the city, 90 miles south of Amman.
A witness, speaking on condition of anonymity, said protesters “retreated from the streets and are now on the balconies and roofs throwing stones at soldiers.”
In Maan, 60 miles farther south, a witness said police patrols fired tear gas at 300 protesters chanting anti-government slogans.
King Hussein, accompanied by senior state officials, flew to southern Jordan to visit Kerak, Tafila, Maan and other towns where protests broke out in 1989 when economic conditions were bad.
“It is unfortunate that chaos flared in this city,” he told a crowd in Kerak on Saturday evening. “We hope that stability and calm will prevail here soon.”
Some in the crowd chanted, “Long live the king, and down with (Prime Minister Abdul-Karim) Kabariti.” While Hussein is popular, Kabariti’s government has been blamed for the price hikes.
Hussein earlier made a televised speech in which he urged calm.
“The homeland needs you all and needs your vigilance, determination and solidarity to eradicate sedition,” the monarch said, blaming the protests on outside agitators.
“These devious and deceptive elements are the remains of some who belong to parties operating outside Jordan in terms of ideology and belief,” he said without elaborating.
Government sources said the monarch was referring to Iraq, Jordan’s eastern neighbor and one-time ally. But relations have soured in the past year and the king has become an increasingly harsh critic of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
Jordan’s government last week more than doubled the price of bread, the staple food in Jordan. A kilogram - 2.2 pounds - now costs the equivalent of 26 cents, up from 12 cents.
The increase, part of an economic reform plan supervised by the International Monetary Fund, will strain budgets in many Jordanian households. The annual per capita income in the kingdom is just over $1,000.
A third of Jordan’s 3.8 million people live below the poverty line, and many fear a rise in bread prices will result in across-the-board hikes for food.
Saturday’s protests came shortly after Information Minister Marwan Mouasher told reporters that order had been restored to Kerak, Maan and Tafila, where rioters on Friday clashed with police, smashed cars and burned down several public and private offices.
Mouasher said security forces on Friday foiled attempts by around 1,000 protesters to “instigate sedition.”
He said the protesters “tried to incite others to riot, but when their attempts failed, they smashed windows of some public institutions and set fire to others.”