Jordan Times
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Protests continue as Kingdom returns to work
AMMAN (Petra) — Thousands of university students,
lawyers and citizens took to the Kingdom's streets yesterday to protest against
Wednesday's terrorist attacks and express their opposition to extremism.
The Jordan Bar Association (JBA) organised a march from the Palace of Justice
towards the Parliament building in Abdali, chanting slogans against terrorism.
JBA President Saleh Armouti, association council members, and lawyers performed
a special prayer for the victims' souls.
Meanwhile, the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) has distributed over the past
few days more than 52,000 photos of His Majesty King Abdullah, 42,000 Jordanian
flags and 42,000 posters to protesting citizens.
Yesterday marked the first working day since the attacks took place with some
10,000 students and faculty members of the Jordan University of Science and
Technology holding a rally inside the campus to voice their anger. The march was
joined by the university's Arab students.
Students and faculty members at Al al Bayt University in Mafraq, Yarmouk
University in Irbid, Tafileh University, and Shobak College also demonstrated
against the attacks, renewing their allegiance to the Kingdom and its
leadership.
In Lebanon, Jordanian students along with their colleagues at the American
University of Beirut staged a protest attended by the Kingdom's ambassador in
Beirut, Hosni Abu Gheida.
The Yemeni Media Centre in Amman, in cooperation with the Yemen Youth
Federation, organised a march in solidarity with the Jordanian people, as Yemeni
students in the Kingdom issued a statement condemning the attacks.
Meanwhile, an international youth organisation joined the world in condemning
the attacks and sympathising with the families of the victims and the Jordanian
people.
In a letter published by the Junior Chamber International (JCI), President Kevin
Cullinane expressed “profound dismay and grief at the hideous acts of terrorism
perpetrated against innocent civilians.”
“We are taking this opportunity to applaud the statements by His Majesty King
Abdullah II, indicating that Jordan will not bow to coercion,” the letter said.
Cullinane affirmed that the “JCI's determination to defend freedom and peace is
greater than the terrorists' determination to cause death and destruction to
innocent people in a desire to impose extremism on the world.”
He encouraged all JCI members to “express their solidarity with those affected
by these abhorrent acts of violence and to lead efforts to create public opinion
against terrorism.”
JCI was officially founded as an international organisation in 1944, bringing
together young people from around the world to work towards mutual
understanding.