Demonstrators demanding an end to government corruption

Protesters shout anti-government slogans after Friday prayers in Amman At the traffic circle in front of the prime minister's office, demonstrators still crowd the streets every week after Friday prayers. Six months since the protests in this desert kingdom started, hundreds of people still join in weekly chants calling for political reform. They still hold up signs demanding an end to government corruption.
But after about an hour of angry speeches, with 100 or so unarmed policemen watching from a polite distance, the protesters shake hands and head home. On the weekend in Jordan even demonstrators want to get home to their families.
The protests of the Arab Spring have shaken much of the Middle East, but a handful of countries have found ways to prevent or calm the anger of the streets.
Then there is resource-starved Jordan, with its ragged deserts and sputtering economy, where the massive and sometimes-violent protests have quieted to weekly demonstrations.
Jordan has a troubled economy, but its overall issues are more complex: a divide between the king's Bedouin allies and Palestinian refugees who want more political power; worries over nearby Israel, which many Jordanians see as a frightening presence; grumbling discontent over Queen Rania, whose beauty and fashion sense make her popular in the West, but who is seen with suspicion in conservative Bedouin circles. Then there is political reform.
In Jordan, the palace insists it wants many of the same reforms as the protesters, including constitutional and legal changes that would curtail some of the king's vast powers. He currently heads all three branches of government, and commands the army and the intelligence service. He names the prime minister, can dissolve parliament at will, and is a major influence on legislation.
Listening to his advisers, it's hard to imagine the king, educated at the elite Massachusetts prep school Deerfield, becoming a commoner anytime soon.
"His Majesty is a liberal: economically and politically," said Faisal Fayez, the speaker of parliament and a close ally of the king. "But His Majesty also knows the structure of Jordanian society. He knows reform will take time."
His critics, though, wonder if he really wants change.
"There may be some reforms over the next six months or a year, but we think they will be really limited," said Jamil Abu Bakr, spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood, Jordan's largest opposition group. He predicts any changes would only come in response to democratic shifts elsewhere in the Middle East. The Brotherhood wants the king stripped of much of his power, and says Abdullah is coasting on the reputation of his father, King Hussain.
Though he survived a string of assassination plots over the years, Hussain died a much-beloved king, an adventurer who loved jets and motorcycles, and who made peace with Israel. He also launched political reforms following bloody 1988 riots, including the first parliamentary elections in 22 years and the revival of multi-party politics.
While Hussain became king as a teenager, Abdullah, son of his father's British-born second wife, was a career military officer before suddenly being named crown prince just before Hussain's death in 1999. While that has left many critics grumbling that he's still learning to navigate palace politics, the goodwill Hussain nurtured is also paying off.
"There is no political blood in this country, and we are harvesting the benefits of that," said Mohammad Al Momani, a professor of political science at Yarmouk University. "People criticise the government, they criticise the regime. But at the end of the day, there's no sense of needing revenge."
Abdullah has been talking about reform since coming to power, when he even floated the idea of a British-style constitutional democracy. But little was undertaken until the protests, which began over rampant inflation.
The king insists his early plans were thwarted by regional turbulence, like the US-led invasion of Iraq and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, along with entrenched politicians and bureaucrats at home. Royal insiders say the former intelligence chief also convinced the king that reform could benefit Islamist politicians.
Today, though, it may be the economy that could slow reforms or lead to more protests. While Amman is a modern, outwardly wealthy city, Jordan is struggling with a vast foreign debt, rising inflation, rampant unemployment and poverty.
"What makes [the king] not sleep at night is the economy," said Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh. To push through political reform "he's got to have the economy under control."
At the heart of the political standoff is a half-British king trying to avoid the tumult. A darling of western governments who celebrate him and his Palestinian queen as modern celebrity-monarchs, King Abdullah II has made little reform despite years of promises.
The king sits atop a sprawling intelligence service, a carefully lubricated patronage system and a US-trained military. The economy is largely dependent on aid from USA and Saudi Arabia.
Government opponents say their phones are bugged and houses watched. At times, such as during national and municipal voting in 2007, his regime has blatantly rigged elections, critics say.
In Jordan, the king does face increasing criticism, but even the angriest political protesters seldom hold him responsible for their country's troubles. His family dynasty, the Hashemites, rose to power centuries ago as the protectors of the holy city of Makkah.
That, combined with the elaborate system of patronage aimed at powerful local leaders, has earned them immense loyalty among the Bedouin tribes who traditionally make up Jordanian society's core.
"The king is not a problem for us," said Anis Musharbash, a courtly, gray-haired doctor and communist party member at a Friday protest. "Who wants a revolution?" he asked. "We just want this country to change, step by step."
"There is a moral contract between the Jordanian people and the Hashemites. We want them to remain as kings, to secure us a good life and freedom," said retired general Ali Habashneh, a government critic.
The king also now even faces occasional criticism from his bedrock supporters, the Bedouins. They dominate the army and the police, and hold most government jobs. Over the years, though, their power has been reduced by rising numbers of Palestinians — "West Bankers" as they are known here — who now run many of the country's top businesses.
A 2005 census said Palestinians officially made up 43 per cent of Jordan's 5.9 million people, though unofficial estimates put them at more than 60 per cent. Earlier this year, a public letter signed by 36 Bedouin tribesmen and retired military commanders expressed worries over the economy to issues with Queen Rania, who they say has undue political influence. While few of the signatories were prominent, simply making such criticism in public was a watershed.
"The tribes, we believe in the Hashemite monarchy," said Habashneh, a retired general and one of the signers. "When this trust itself is being touched, then there is serious danger."
From / gulfnews .