Jordan's Islamist opposition, leftists and trade unions on Saturday demanded the ouster of Prime Minister Maaruf Bakhit, blaming him for violence that has killed one person and injured 130.
"The Islamist movement demands the resignation, or the sacking, of the government and the formation of a national unity and reformist government that would win the people's trust and protect their lives," Hamzah Mansur, chief of the powerful Islamic Action Front (IAF), said. "Any government that kills citizens loses legitimacy," he told a news conference.
Youth movements backed the call. "We demand the prime minister and intelligence chief (Mohammed Raqqad) quit," Firas Mahadin of the March 24 youth group told reporters. "We have reached a point of no return." His father, Muwaffaq Mahadin, a prominent leftist writer, warned "the country is heading towards a civil war and the government is responsible for that because it wants to avoid reforms."
The rift between the government and Islamists widened after the premier on Friday accused the main opposition movement of spreading "chaos" following the death of a protester, the first in the kingdom. "We have invited the Muslim Brotherhood for talks, away from protests and demonstrations, but apparently they have an agenda to create chaos in the country," Bakhit said on television.
Brotherhood spokesman Jamil Abu Bakr said "the government is trying to escape its responsibilities," proving that calls for reform and freedom were false. Mansur accused the government of "crimes against humanity."
"The government of Maaruf Bakhit has given proof that it does not believe in the reforms, it is a government with blood on its hands which today has committed crimes against humanity," he said. The IAF is the main opposition party and political arm of the Brotherhood which found protection in Jordan in the 1950s and 1980s when its members were persecuted in Egypt and Syria. Adopting an unusually strident tone, Bakhit accused the Brotherhood of "taking orders from the Muslim brothers in Egypt and Syria."
The Islamists rejected his accusations. "We always hear such lies from time to time. We are leaders and we have the right to consult with our brothers in Damascus about the Palestinian cause," Brotherhood leader Hammam Said told reporters. "We do not take orders or instructions from anybody."
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