Jordanians call for overthrow of the government

Jordanians took to the streets across the country yesterday in protest against price hikes and called for the government and the parliament to be ousted, the Safa news agency reported.

Protesters raised placards calling for ousting the government and the parliament due to the latest decisions which made the life “unbearable.”

One of the protesters in the city of Salt, west of Amman, said: “The new government policy of collecting fees for public services made life unbearable,” stressing that consecutive governments “did not learn lessons from each other.”

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“During the popular movements of the Arab Spring, we warned against such policies, but the governments repeat each other’s mistakes… Our debts are big… and our life is difficult.”

Last week, Jordanians used social media to express their anger over the government’s decisions and called for boycotting certain public services in protest against the new wave of price hikes.

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On 9 February, the government approved a number of measures included tax increases and new taxes and fees as part of an economic plan aimed at meeting the conditions of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) grant which the kingdom hopes to attain.

The government also cancelled previous tax exemptions for some services.