Police in Jordan Break Up March With Beatings

Riot police officers wielding wooden clubs broke up a peaceful demonstration

near a square in this city’s downtown area on Friday afternoon, beating protesters and journalists. The incident was a sign of escalating tensions over the slow pace of political reform in the kingdom.

The protest on Friday, organized by youth groups and attended by labor unionists and members of the Muslim Brotherhood, began after prayers at the Husseini mosque in downtown Amman. By about 1:30 p.m., hundreds of protesters were marching through a market district, chanting “The people want to reform the government,” and “We are citizens, not subjects.” Police officers entirely surrounded the march.

Half an hour later, the protesters faced off against a small group of government loyalists, and a youth leader called on protesters to stage a sit-in. Dozens of police officers then charged the gathering and then gave chase as protesters ran. Against a shuttered shop, a cluster of more than 10 officers struck a man with truncheons, as frightened fathers hurried their children away from the violence. Several Jordanian and foreign journalists covering the clashes were also beaten.

Protests in Jordan have persisted since the beginning of the Arab Spring, driven by anger at corruption, the lack of government transparency and King Abdullah II’s absolute hold on power. One person was killed and more than a hundred people were injured during a protest in March, but for the most part, the demonstrations have not been as large or sustained as the ones that toppled autocrats in Egypt and Tunisia.

Opposition leaders have faulted the king for offering what they say are inadequate concessions, including a vague promise that the country’s prime minister would be elected in the future, not appointed. The antigovernment protesters blame internal divisions and the tactics of the security forces for their lack of momentum so far, but they say they have plans to escalate their protests. Amid the calls for reform among the demonstrators in Amman on Friday, a few people could be heard calling for a change in the “regime.”

The response of the security forces reflected a fear that the protests, which have spread to other parts of Jordan, will continue to grow. After policemen wearing blue uniforms had dispersed the marchers with beatings, dozens of other officers marched into the intersection, smacking their truncheons against their shields. By early evening, armored cars had arrived as well, carrying more officers. Some of the dispersed protesters gathered again in a nearby square, chanting and singing a Bedouin wedding song, and were left alone by the police.