AMMAN -- Clashes erupted between pro-reform demonstrators and counter-protesters in downtown Amman on Friday, the latest in a series of what activists claim are coordinated attacks designed to bring an end to the year-old movement.
In a so-called Friday of "rights, not charity", some 40 leftists and youth activists marched in downtown Amman, calling for free education, health insurance and greater government efforts to control prices in the local market.
Tensions were present early on in the small-scale protest, as some one-dozen counter-protesters scuffled with police in an attempt to attack the demonstrators, who they claimed were "destroying the country".
Amidst repeated attempts by counter-protesters to break the wall of policemen and Gendarmerie forces surrounding the pro-reformists activists chanted "your threats will not stop us" and "we are not afraid of thugs".
After several counter-protesters managed to break through the line of security, authorities increased the number of anti-riot forces separating the two rival camps.
In their chants, leftists and youth activists called on authorities to "prosecute the thugs", referring to the lack of arrests in connection with a series of attacks on pro-reformists dating back to February 2011.
The pro-reformists dispersed halfway through their march after counter-protesters began hurling stones from rooftops overlooking King Talal Street, the main artery of downtown Amman and the designated path of weekly protests.
No injuries or arrests were reported, according to the Public Security Department.
According to activists, as the pro-reform movement enters its second year, incidents such as Friday's attack have become "expected".
"This is not a new phenomenon: From day one there have been attempts by security forces and thugs to threaten and intimidate us," said Assam Al Khawaja, Popular Youth Movement organiser and assistant secretary general of the leftist Wihda Party.
"No matter how hard they try, they will not deter our peaceful movement to secure citizens' basic rights."
Friday marked the second straight week in which a peaceful protest in Jordan ended in violence and the third attack on pro-reformers in less than a month.
Last month, an attack on an Islamist-led pro-reform protest in Mafraq led to the burning of the Muslim Brotherhood headquarters in the northern city.
Also on Friday, dozens of pro-reform demonstrators hit the streets in Karak, Tafileh, Maan, Aqaba, Salt, Jerash and Madaba, urging political reform and an end to corruption.
Notably absent from Friday's protests was the Islamist movement, which, for the second week in a row, has declined to participate in any pro-reform rally.
The Muslim Brotherhood's absence comes amidst reports that the Kingdom's largest opposition movement has abandoned the year-old protest drive in its preparations for greater participation in political life.
© Jordan Times 2012
