![]() In parallel, the Jordanian government-overtly represented by its security and intelligence agencies rather than the monarchy itself-chose to clamp down on such dissent by banning protests, tightening cybercrime laws, and restricting the country’s historically active teachers’ syndicat e.Īs all eyes turned to the “ royal intrigue” in Jordan, some analysts referred to the kingdom using an array of clichéd adjectives from “ boring” to “ a haven of stability.” Meanwhile, most Jordanians were simply struggling to understand what happened on April 3 and why their protests and calls for reform had suddenly gained international attention. Jordan weathered the 2011 Arab uprisings that rocked the region over the past decade but has seen regular protests, calls for reform, and an overwhelming sense of frustration and hopelessness among Jordanians struggling to make ends meet. The authorities appear to be threatened by any attempt by Jordanians to hold them accountable, whether through protests on the streets, conversations in their own homes, or through public shaming as the prince eventually did in his April 3 video message. The fact that a member of King Abdullah’s own family, a former crown prince, appears to have ruffled feathers for simply listening to Jordanians express their frustration with the direction of the country during visits he made to their homes could not serve as a starker example of the current state of freedoms in the country. So far, the government has not provided evidence that Prince Hamzah engaged in any serious attempt to threaten the crown. ![]() It was, however, the manifestation of two trends the country’s leadership ought to be more proactive about addressing: the rising corruption and corresponding sense of injustice felt by Jordanians, and the increasingly vocal critiques of the role that said leadership plays in overlooking corruption and silencing calls for reform. On April 7, King Abdullah issued a letter to the Jordanian people, where he described the pain and anger he felt at the “sedition” that came “within and without our house,” while assuring them that he had taken the “necessary measures” to safeguard Jordan’s security and stability.īy most accounts, what happened in Jordan was not an attempted coup. On April 5, the Royal Court issued a statement with a letter from Prince Hamzah declaring his allegiance to his elder brother King Abdullah, seemingly putting the family discord to rest. Although under house arrest, Prince Hamzah’s last recorded messages -where he defended himself and described that he was being silenced for simply connecting with his countrymen and assuring them that there were still members of the Hashemite family “who care for them and who will put them above all else” -were released to the BBC and quickly spread across social media platforms. Over the next several days, Jordanian officials confirmed the arrest of two dozen individuals accused of undermining the country’s stability, and declared that Prince Hamzah had been asked to refrain from what they called activities that targeted Jordan’s security and stability. Just two weeks earlier, I had also tuned in to listen to Jordanian voices in the aftermath of a COVID-related tragedy that rocked the country and spurred a number of protests and an all too familiar security crackdown. With no announcements coming from official Jordanian sources and out of an abundance of caution to avoid putting Jordanian contacts in trouble, I quickly turned to Clubhouse in hopes of understanding what was happening on the ground. ![]() A Washington Post story broke the news early evening Amman time as phones across the country began to buzz with WhatsApp notifications questioning what was really behind the headline. Jordanians were blindsided on April 3 with news of an alleged coup plot involving King Abdullah’s half-brother and former crown prince, Hamzah. ApJordan was never ‘boring.’ A vibrant protest movement has been ignored for too long.
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