Blow to Opposition: Jordan's government is making teachers silenced

The Jordanian government has one of the largest opposition groups banned. Security forces stormed on Saturday the headquarters of the influential teachers ' Union, rich, and arrested their leaders. The loyal to the regime-run news Agency Petra reported that the public Prosecutor's office imposed on the Union leadership, a ban of two years. The alleged financial irregularities and sedition, after the Chairman of the trade Union had criticized the Prime Minister, Omar al Razzaz.

Jochen Stahnke

Political correspondent for Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan, with headquarters in Tel Aviv.

The teachers ' Union, with more than a hundred thousand members is one of the largest organisations in Jordan, has organized a series of protests against the Regime, the whole country is networked and impact on the middle class. Last year, she had held a strike of the schools in the country for a month, closed. This had caused fears that the strike of the of large Parts of the population supported the teacher could extend to other sectors.

relic of the Arab spring

Recently had called on the Union to renewed protests as the government had failed to fulfil their promises to the salary increase by fifty percent due to the government with the Corona-crisis that has hit Jordan economically hard. Teachers will receive on average little more than five hundred euros per month, while the cost of living in Jordan have increased significantly, which is due to a reduction in the subsidies for petrol and reduced subsidies from Saudi Arabia. The Corona-crisis has exacerbated the economic crisis and discussions on corruption in the rulers of the apparatus is increased.

the formation of The teachers 'Union is considered to be one of the few civil society achievements of the so-called "Arab spring" in Jordan, it was approved in 2011. Other Arab States are not dissimilar, began to spread also in Jordan, widespread Muslim brotherhood at the same time their influence in this Union. Key decision-makers of the Union are members of the panislamist of brotherhood, and the party of the Islamic action front, which of the measures of Jordan criticized of leadership as the First was.

The strike against the Union "is exacerbating political tensions by the government in a time in which the people are suffering under the tough economic situation," said Murad Adailah, the Chairman of the party, which is represented as a political Arm of the Muslim brotherhood with 16 out of 130 Seats in Parliament. The action of the authorities "seems to be due to the stop of the attitude of the (trade Union)to be decision-makers politically motivated," - said the Journalist Daoud Kuttab. The Union considers the allegations of Islamist machinations of a politically motivated smear campaign. However, the Muslim, has exercised brotherhood over the decades, a great influence on the education system, up to 2016, even the Minister of education of Jordan.

king Hussein, father of the current ruler, Abdullah, was established in 1928 by a teacher in Egypt, a Muslim brotherhood-founded in the Cold war as a counterweight to the Arab-socialist BA'ath party. The BA'ath party had spread at that time in the neighbouring countries of Syria and Iraq, and the Jordanian monarchy is threatened. The Muslim brotherhood today can refer according to their historical Allegiance to the Royal house. However, Abdullah is seeking to push back the Power of the Muslim brotherhood, which operate in Jordan, even schools. In contrast to States such as Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates, Jordan had not explained the in the country-rooted Muslim brotherhood to be a terrorist organization, and no draconian measures imposed on it.