Jordan sees largest protests in years

AMMAN, (Patria) - Jordanian King Abdullah is expected to ask Prime Minister Hani al-Mulki to resign on Monday to ease public anger over economic policies that have sparked the largest protests in years, Jordanian political sources announced, Al Jazeera reports.

Thousands of Jordanians protested on Sunday, the fourth night in a row, against rising prices and tax increases as part of reforms the government committed to under an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in exchange for a loan.

All protests demanded the dismissal of Mulki, and sources say King Abdullah ordered the prime minister to come to his palace on Monday, Hina agency reports.

Mulki refused to abandon the tax reform on Saturday, which triggered the largest protests in five years in the kingdom of eight million people, which has accepted hundreds of thousands of refugees from Syria.

Mulki, a politician close to business circles, was appointed prime minister in May 2016 with the task of reviving Jordan's sluggish economy, affected by regional turmoil.

The anger of most Jordanians over the government's policies, supported by the IMF, has grown after a drastic increase in sales tax earlier this year and the abolition of bread subsidies, a key item for helping the poor.

- The government has impoverished us... they left us with no money in our pockets - angry demonstrators shouted.

Unions, representing tens of thousands of public and private sector employees, called for a general strike after their demands to repeal the laws that worsened living standards were rejected.

The government responds that it needs more funds for public services and claims that tax changes reduce social inequalities because they burden those with high incomes more, while leaving lower-paid workers relatively untouched.

Jordan's economy has struggled in recent years with rising chronic deficits, after private foreign investment and aid decreased, and the fiscal consolidation plan imposed by the IMF has worsened the situation for poorer Jordanians and put pressure on the middle class.

The IMF approved a $723 million loan in 2016 for three years, and the government committed to implementing structural reforms and gradually reducing public debt to 77 percent of GDP by 2021, compared to 94 percent in 2015.