Jordan’s opposition calls for resignation or sacking of PM Maaruf Bakhit whose government committed ’crimes against humanity’

Jordan's opposition, leftists and trade unions on Saturday demanded the ouster of Prime Minister Maaruf Bakhit, who they blame for violence that has killed one person and injured 130, in a protest one day earlier.

"The opposition demands the resignation or the sacking of the government and the formation a national unity and reformist government that would win the people's trust and protect their lives," Hamzah Mansur, chief of the powerful Islamic Action Front (IAF), said. "Any government that kills citizens loses legitimacy," he told a news conference.

Mansur accused the government of crimes against humanity. "The government of Maaruf Bakhit has given proof that it does not believe in the reforms, it is a government with blood on its hands which today has committed crimes against humanity," he said.

Youth movements backed the call. "We demand the prime minister and intelligence chief (Mohammed Raqqad) quit," Firas Mahadin of the March 24 youth group told reporters. "We have reached a point of no return."

The rift between Jordan's government and the opposition widened after the prime minister on Friday accused the main opposition movement of spreading chaos following the martyrdom of a protester, the first in the kingdom. "Stop playing with fire... stop hiding your real intentions," Prime Minister Bakhit told the opposition in an address broadcast on Jordanian television. "We have invited the Muslim Brotherhood for talks, away from protests and demonstrations, but apparently they have an agenda to create chaos in the country," Bakhit said.

Brotherhood spokesman Jamil Abu Bakr said "by accusing the Muslim Brotherhood, the government is trying to escape its responsibilities" proving his calls for reform and freedom were false.

The IAF is the main opposition party and political branch of the Brotherhood which found protection in Jordan in the 1950s and 1980s when they were persecuted in Egypt and Syria.

Adopting an unusually strident tone, Bakhit accused the Brotherhood of "taking orders from the Muslim brothers in Egypt and Syria," adding their refusal to dialogue signaled they chose "chaos" for the country.

The opposition group rejected, however, his accusations. "We always hear such lies from time to time. We are leaders and we have the right to consult with our brothers in Damascus about the Palestinian cause," Brotherhood leader Hammam Said told reporters. "We do not take orders or instructions from anybody."