Jordan PM resigns after anti-austerity protests
AFP / Khalil MAZRAAWIProtesters gather outside the prime minister's office in the Jordanian capital Amman on June 2, 2018
Jordanian Prime Minister Hani Mulki resigned on Monday after a wave of anti-austerity protests by citizens suffering from high unemployment and repeated prices hikes.
Mulki was summoned by King Abdullah II after the capital Amman and several other cities were rocked by demonstrations that drew thousands of people.
"Prime Minister Hani Mulki submitted his resignation to the king this afternoon during a meeting at the Husseiniyeh Palace and the king accepted the resignation," a government source told AFP.
The king asked Education Minister Omar al-Razzaz to form a new government, the source added.
Jordan, a key US ally, has largely avoided the unrest witnessed by other countries in the region since the Arab Spring revolts broke out in 2011, although protests did flare late that year after the government cut fuel subsidies.
A mostly desert kingdom with few resources, the country has seen prices of several basic goods and services like bread, fuel and electricity steadily rise over the past year.
The rallying cries by demonstrators for Mulki to step down came after the government adopted a draft income tax law and announced new price hikes based on recommendations by the International Monetary Fund.
AFP/File / KHALIL MAZRAAWIOutgoing Jordanian Prime Minister Hani Mulki had formed his government in May 2016
Protesters had vowed not to "kneel" and earned support from trade unions as well as a majority of MPs opposed to the new tax.
The premier's meeting with the king came hours after around 5,000 people gathered outside Mulki's office in Amman, on the fifth consecutive day of protests.
James Dorsey, a Middle East analyst, warned that "cosmetic changes" like the prime minister's removal may not be enough to satisfy protesters.
On Saturday Mulki -- who had formed his government in May 2016 -- met with trade union representatives who demanded the income tax law be revoked, but they failed to reach an agreement.
There was no immediate reaction to Mulki's resignation from any of the 16 trade unions backing the protests.
"The tax bill will continue to hound the new government, whatever its policy, until the law is thrown out," said Jordanian political analyst Adel Mahmoud.
"The new prime minister will face a number of strategic factors in dealing with the unprecedented street protests, the most important of which is to... open convincing channels of dialogue," he told AFP.
- Price hikes -
AFP / Khalil MAZRAAWI"We are broke" reads a protest sign held during a demonstration in Amman on May 30, 2018
According to official estimates, 18.5 percent of Jordan's population is unemployed, while 20 percent is on the brink of poverty.
The Economist Intelligence Unit earlier this year ranked Jordan's capital as one of the most expensive in the Arab world.
Last month the government adopted a draft income tax law, yet to be approved by parliament, aimed at increasing taxes on employees by at least five percent and on companies by between 20 and 40 percent.
And last week it announced a new price hike for electricity and fuel, before revoking it under orders from the king following protests.
Security officials said Monday 60 people had been detained since the protests began.
AFP / STRINGERDemonstrators confront anti-riot police as they protest against against a income tax draft law in front of the prime minister's office in Amman, late on June 1, 2018
"There are some irresponsible groups who left protests to cause violence, destroy property and assault police, which is unacceptable," said Major General Hussein al-Hawatmeh.
The IMF loan, intended to support economic and financial reforms, has the long-term objective of reducing Jordan's public debt from about 94 percent of GDP to 77 percent by 2021.
Ahmad Awad, head of the Amman-based Phenix Center for Economic and Informatics Studies, said "tax policies have weighed on household budgets".
"Almost half of young people do not find work and are therefore a very high risk to social and economic stability and security
AFP/File / FAYEZ NURELDINEA Saudi woman test-drives a car during an automotive exhibition for women in the capital Riyadh on May 13, 2018
Saudi Arabia on Monday began issuing its first driving licences to women in decades, state media reported.
"The first group of women today received their Saudi driving licences," the official Saudi Press Agency said.
"The general directorate of traffic started replacing international driving licences recognised in the kingdom with Saudi licences," it added.
The move comes as Saudi Arabia, the only country in the world where women are not allowed drive, prepares to lift its decades-long ban on female drivers on June 24.
SPA said authorities started swapping international licences for Saudi ones in multiple locations across the kingdom, with women applicants made to undergo a "practical test".
It did not specify the number of licences issued.
The move is part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's far-reaching liberalisation drive as he seeks to modernise the conservative petro-state.
The self-styled reformer, who recently undertook a global tour aimed at reshaping his kingdom's austere image, has sought to break with long-held restrictions on women and the mixing of the genders.
But casting a shadow on the reforms, Saudi Arabia last week said it detained 17 people for "undermining" the kingdom's security, in what campaigners have dubbed a sweeping crackdown against activists.
Rights groups have identified many of the detainees as women campaigners for the right to drive and to end the conservative Islamic country's male guardianship system.
Authorities said eight of the detainees had been "temporarily released" until their investigation is completed.
Nine suspects, including four women, remain in custody after they "confessed" to a slew of charges such as suspicious contact with "hostile" organisations and recruiting people in sensitive government positions, according to SPA.
Authorities accused the detainees of "coordinated activity undermining the security and stability of the kingdom".
Previous reports in state-backed media branded some of the detainees traitors and "agents of embassies".
Campaigners have dismissed the reports as a "smear" campaign. The crackdown has also sparked a torrent of global criticism.
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