UPDATE - Jordanians rally to protest price hike, defense law

UPDATES WITH DETAILS

By Laith al-Junidi

AMMAN, Jordan (AA) - Hundreds of Jordanians on Friday rallied against fuel price hikes and the continuation of a controversial defense law in the country.

The protesters gathered in the capital Amman's Grand Husseini Mosque and marched towards Nakheel Square after performing the Friday prayers.

Security forces were deployed in the vicinity of the mosque and Nakheel Square to prevent more people from joining the protest.

Several political parties had recently called for protests in the country against the defense law and the rising prices of fuel and daily commodities.

Demonstrators raised banners with slogans reading: "No to raising prices ... No to the defense law, there are people here," "Aid and grants in the bellies of the corrupt," and "No to the policy of starvation and impoverishment." They denounced the government's measures and the country's management approach, demanding the defense law's abolition.

Over the past few months, Jordan witnessed an unprecedented rise in food prices in addition to a continuous increase in the prices of fuel, which was raised eight times in less than a year.

On the sidelines of the event, the deputy secretary of the Rescue and Partnership Party -- one of the parties taking part in the protest -- told Anadolu Agency that Jordanians were voicing "national messages one after the other, and their voice is not heard at all. Rather, martial laws and others have circumvented the will of the citizens."

"Prices are skyrocketing, the will of the people is absent, and the defense law is dominant over everything small and large ... Today's event is to remind Jordanians that this is your homeland and this is your responsibility," Salem Al-Falahat went on to say.

In 2019, Jordan passed legislation by a royal decree at the request of the Cabinet to confront coronavirus.

Article 124 of the Jordanian constitution states: “In the event of an emergency necessitating the defense of the Kingdom, a law, which shall be known as the Defense Law, shall be enacted giving power to the person specified therein to take such actions and measures as may be necessary, including the suspension of the operation of the ordinary laws of the state, with a view to ensuring the defense of the Kingdom.”

It is an emergency law that gives broad, unrestricted and unwritten powers to the prime minister.

* Writing by Bassel Barakat in Ankara