Kalouti Group cancels protest due to ‘heavy security’

AMMAN — Members of the “Kalouti Group” cancelled a protest planned for Thursday due to the heavy security presence near the Rabiah neighbourhood mosque, which is close to the Israeli embassy.

The protesters, who are against normalisation with Israel, stayed in their cars parked around the Kalouti Mosque and the demonstration was cancelled 

“We ended the protest due to the large number of gendarmerie officers surrounding the mosque,” Ibrahim Alloush, a university professor and activist at the Kalouti Group told The Jordan Times.

Amman Governor Khaled Abu Zaid on Thursday said that the group’s members are only allowed to protest in front of their headquarters in Jabal Luweibdeh to prevent traffic jams and other problems with Rabiah residents.

“Any organisation or group that holds activities on streets and creates chaos in neighbourhoods is banned from arranging marches and demonstrations across the Kingdom,” Abu Zaid told The Jordan Times.

When demonstrating in Jabal Luweibdeh, protesters must not block the streets or cause traffic jams, he added.

In November, the authorities fenced a plot of land close to Kalouti Mosque, where the protesters used to gather on a weekly basis to show solidarity with Palestinians under occupation.

Alloush said group members were first notified about the ban on protests in mid-September 2015. 

“After five years of demonstrations and organised marches, we were surprised by the decision”.

Alloush added that authorities allowed the group members only to demonstrate in front of and next to the Anti-Zionism and Racism Association in Jabal Luweibdeh.

The group held its first demonstration in May 2010, and organised 303 protests since then, according to the activist, who noted that the group requests permission from the governor every Tuesday to hold a sit-in.

“The law states that if the request is not rejected, the protest is permitted.”