The excitement in Cairo -- including the biggest crowd yet today in Tahrir Square -- has made it difficult to follow the development of protests elsewhere in the Arab world. We noted that there were actions in Jordan last week, but we haven't heard from there since. However, today, the Associated Press reports that Jordan's King Abdullah II has begun to give in to their demands. He has fired his government and appointed a new prime minister -- or, actually, a former one, who has also been an ambassador to Israel -- to assemble a new cabinet.
On the one hand, this sounds a lot like what Mubarak has done in Egypt: offer to replace one set of yes-men with another. However, the demands of people on the street in Jordan seem to have gone only this far. Reports all seem to indicate that they're calling for simply the democratic reforms that the king has already begun and promised to continue, not for his abdication outright. The U.S.- and U.K.-educated King Abdullah has been playing along, at least in words:
The king also stressed that economic reform was a "necessity to provide a better life for our people, but we won't be able to attain that without real political reforms, which must increase popular participation in the decision-making."
He asked al-Bakhit for a "comprehensive assessment
Got something to say about what you're reading? We value your feedback!