Demonstrations Erupt in Jordan’s Capital

By: Jim Meyers

As Hosni Mubarak finally stepped down as ruler of Egypt, hundreds of Jordanians gathered outside the Egyptian embassy in Amman on Friday to voice their support for the people of Egypt.

The demonstration was organized by the Islamic Action Front (IAF), the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Last week, Jordan’s King Abdullah responded to three weeks of anti-government demonstrations by firing his prime minister and appointing a new premier.But the IAF has refused to join the new government, saying it is “just like its predecessors,” according to Press TV.

Jordanian demonstrators had been careful not to directly attack the Jordanian royal family, since any criticism could results in a three-year prison sentence, The Washington Post reported.

But 36 tribes in the nation have reportedly issued a statement accusing Queen Rania, Abdullah’s wife, of “corruption.”

“We call on the king to return to the treasury land and farms given to the Yassin family (of the queen),” the tribal leaders said, according to Agence France-Presse reports.

The royal court responded on Friday with a statement condemning “in the strongest possible terms, the completely erroneous and defamatory statements about her majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan.”

The 36 people who signed the statement, according to the royal court, “are not leaders of the tribes to which they belong, and they do not represent the tens of thousands of people from these proud Jordanian tribes.”