Jordan threatens to suppress protests on rising cost of living
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Jordanian authorities threatened on Friday that they would crack down on violent protests that are overwhelming the country due to rising cost of living.
Recently, thousands of lorry drivers have protested over high fuel prices, as the protests broke down in the Jordanian capital of Amman, Zarqa and Irbid, resulting in the killing of a cop and the injury of two others.
The public security directorate said, on Dec. 15, Abdul Razzaq Abdel Hafez al-Dalabeh, a deputy police director in the southern Ma’an governorate, was shot dead while dealing with the protests in Husseiniya.
Anyone who attacks “lives and public property and threatens the security of the homeland and citizens” will be faced off strictly, the directorate added.
Jordanian authorities have earlier announced that they are planning to consider the protesters’ demands, but “their room for manoeuvre is limited if they are to abide by the terms of an IMF structural reform programme.”
Under the programme, Jordanian fuel prices should be updated every month to take into consideration movements in global prices.
Jordan does not have significant natural resources and it economically depends on international aid.
Recently, the World Bank announced that external debt stocks of some Middle Eastern countries have increased at 2022 remarkably, as Jordan’s debt was $41.8 billion.