Friday protests focus on Palestine, truth about corruption | Jordan Times

 

Friday’s peaceful rallies focused on corruption and the anniversary of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war (Petra photo)
Friday’s peaceful rallies focused on corruption and the anniversary of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war (Petra photo)

By Thameen Kheetan

AMMAN – Jordanian towns on Friday witnessed several pro-reform and pro-Palestinians demonstrations in which thousands of people took part.

While two protests in the capital marked the 44th anniversary of the 1967 Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, hundreds in Amman and three other cities in the south called for “genuine” political reforms and battling corruption in Jordan.

Hundreds of opposition party members and supporters rallied in downtown Amman calling for political reforms, as well as the right of return of Palestinian refugees to their homeland and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

On June 5, 1967, Israel occupied the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, the Syrian Golan Heights and Egypt’s Sinai peninsula, in a war Arabs refer to as the “Naksa”, or setback.

The Israelis later withdrew from Sinai, under a peace treaty with Egypt, keeping Gaza under military siege.

A few kilometres away from the Israeli embassy near the Kalouti Mosque in Amman’s Rabieh district, dozens of pro-Palestinian activists called for an end to Jordan’s 1994 peace treaty with Israel and the expulsion of Tel Aviv’s ambassador from the Kingdom.

Meanwhile, hundreds rallied in the southern towns of Karak, Theeban and Tafileh, as well as in Amman’s Tafaileh neighbourhood, calling for speedy reforms and more efforts to eradicate corruption in the country.

In Karak, several hundreds marched from a mosque in the Marj neighbourhood after Friday’s prayers to the governorate headquarters. The 500-metre walk was followed by a sit-in that saw pro-reform speeches and anti-corruption slogans, according to protest organiser Basel Bashabsheh.

He said one of the slogans chanted by protestors was: “Who are Khalid Shahin’s partners?”

The convicted businessman Shahin’s case has made headlines and become a source of bitter criticism after he was granted official permission to leave the country for treatment in the US.

The tycoon, who was convicted for bribery in connection with the Jordan Petroleum Refinery expansion project, was reportedly seen at a London café “in good health”, sparking public anger in Jordan.

“As long as there is corruption, there will never be genuine reforms,” Bashabsheh told The Jordan Times over the phone yesterday, stressing that there should also be a “political will” to implement the aspired reforms.

Tafileh, Theeban, and the Tafaileh neighbourhood in Amman and other protests were organised under the motto “Truth Friday”, calling for the disclosure of details of suspected corruption cases in local institutions.

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