REPORT: Protests and strikes erupt in Jordan after fuel prices rise

Jordanian teachers went on strike to protest price hikes Wednesday as anger mounted over a government decision to lift fuel subsidies, fueling tensions among a population already straining under high unemployment and poverty.                    

The strike came a day after protesters took to the streets, burning tires, smashing windows and throwing stones at police, following the government announced that prices for cooking and heating gas would rise by 54 percent in a bid to reduce a massive budget deficit and secure a $2 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund.                             

In a rare show of criticism aimed at Jordan's King Abdullah II, protesters chanted against him and unsuccessfully tried to take down his portrait from a billboard. Public criticism of the king, who has the final say in all civic matters, is punishable by a three-year prison term.                       

Political activists have warned against a price increase, and protests erupted in 13 cities, including the capital, Amman, minutes after Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour announced the decision Tuesday night on state TV. Protesters also demanded the prime minister's resignation.                                  

On Wednesday, the Jordanian teacher's union called on members to strike, although it only affected public schools and it was unclear how many teachers stayed home.  

The Muslim Brotherhood, Jordan's most powerful opposition group, also held emergency meetings to discuss its next move after the decision, which the government said was necessary to offset $5 billion in state losses from a rising fuel bill.                      

Youth protesters also urged Jordanians to take to the streets on Wednesday night to demand the government repeal its fuel hikes.                 

On Tuesday, more than 1,000 people spilled into the streets in the capital Amman and smaller protests erupted in several provincial towns after Islamist and tribal opposition groups said they would demonstrate.    

Hundreds of protesters chanted against King Abdullah and the powerful intelligence forces in slogans that personally target the monarch and were unheard of before the wave of Arab Spring-inspired protests hit the kingdom early last year.  

The price rise range from more than 50 percent for bottled gas used for cooking, 33 percent for diesel and kerosene for transport and heating and 14 percent on lower grade petrol.


REUTERS/AP

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