Absence of Islamist elements drives numbers down

Hundreds of youth movement members gathered outside the Grand Husseini Mosque Amman – Osama Al Rantissi Numbers at Jordan’s weekly rallies dropped to a few hundred across the kingdom on Friday, as Islamist movements did not attend. Hundreds of youth movement members from across the country gathered outside the Grand Husseini Mosque in downtown Amman to protest what they called "farcical elections," driving Jordan’s political situation “deeper into crisis.”
The sit-in marks two years since the inception of Jordan’s anti-corruption reformist movement. Protestors carried banners reading “Still pushing on” and “No retreat,” while chanting slogans against King Abdullah II such as “Freedom, not royal largesse” and “Free revolutionaries, marching on to the end.”
After the noticeable absence of Islamist movements in the latest round of protests, Turkey's Anadolu Agency quoted Secretary-General of the Islamic Action Front Hamza Mansour as saying: “There is no disagreement over the discussion paper issued by King Abdullah II, in terms of dialogue, citizenship and rights.” Mansour urged the need for dialogue and the formation of a government with new electoral laws.
Mansour also described the controversial elections as "pale" adding that Jordanians are "not interested." “The upcoming parliament will not be convincing as far as the public is concerned and it will not meet the minimum of their demands," the Islamist leader added.
Speaking at the small rally in Amman, activist Hisham al-Haissa said: "The Jordanian people have spoken. The spark first came out of Dhiban when Jordanians took to the streets on January 7 2011 to say: ‘No to injustice, despotism, selling the country and silencing dissent.’"
Lawyer Fawaz al-Hawasha defended the Dhiban movement, declaring: "Today you are resolutely waving the flag of the Third World in order to take your freedom and win release from the stifling slavery."
"We will not accept an election that divides our country, we will not accept cabinets that exploit us, we reject the silencing of dissent,” he added. “And we will not accept the policy of arrests which they thought would dissuade the movement from its struggle.”
The demonstration, which was cordoned off by security forces, was also attended by members of the pro-monarchy Coalition of Loyalty and Allegiance.
In Karak province, 130 kilometres south of the capital, protestors rallied at the Faqoua Department, dubbing their event "Stop promoting an unwanted law." There too demonstrators reaffirmed their two-year-long call for reform, combatting corruption and boycotting elections.
Similarly, in the province of Irbid, 100 kilometres north of Amman, a mass march set off from outside the Noah mosque following Friday prayer, calling for a boycott of the upcoming elections, before heading to the northern gate at Yarmouk University.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour has described "building the country" as "an individual obligation and not a collective one."
"Democracy gives the plurality the right to the democratic route, and the minority has the right to oppose, display its convictions and thoughts and work to change reality,” the Prime Minister added. “But all democratically and not through violence or by force. There is only one route in democracy, and that is voting.”