Amman - Osama al-Rantissi
Jordanians protesting over fuel price hike
Protests eased down across Jordan on Sunday after four days of violent clashes between protesters and security forces following the government\'s decision to lift fuel and cooking gas subsidies. The decision sparked protests
and riots across Jordan against the newly appointed government led by former MP Abdullah Ensour.
Meanwhile, the Jordanian Teachers\' Association (JTA) stressed that it will continue its general strike on Monday in protest of the government\'s economic policies.
JTA had called on teachers throughout the kingdom to go on strike and suspend classes on Sunday.
Seventy percent of public schools for males, and 65 percent of female schools took part in the strike on Sunday, JTA spokesman Ayman Okoor told reporters.
Okoor noted that the southern governorate of Ma\'an registered the highest percentage of schools that went on strike on Sunday, reaching 90 percent of the governorate\'s public schools.
Mafraq and Zarqa governorates registered the lowest percentages of schools that went on strike, Okoor said.
The spokesman added that JTA will file a lawsuit against the Public Security Department (PSD) for arresting teachers that took part in the latest protests that erupted throughout the kingdom.
In the same context, a Jordanian official said on Sunday that the country\'s military prosecutor has charged 89 protesters of inciting violent revolt, after protests over price hikes swept through Jordan last week.
The official said a total of 129 men were arrested during riots that began on Tuesday. The clashes left one person dead and injured 75 others, including 58 policemen.
While 30 have been released for lack of evidence, the remaining 89 are still being questioned, he said. The 89 who have been charged face up to 15 years in jail.
The Jordanian opposition coalition urged the king to bring down the government and replace it with \"a national salvation\" government that can take the country out of the current economic crisis without causing major harms to the people\'s spending power.
\"We announce our rejection of all recent official measures and demand the resignation of the government and the formation of a national salvation government, and a tangible change to the economic and political method that has led the nation to the crisis it faces today,\" read a statement issued Sunday by the coalition.