Student elections in Jordanian university provoke confrontations between police and Islamists
Jordan, Local, 4/5/2000

More than 2,000 students at the Jordanian university held a demonstration on Tuesday in protest of limiting the scope of elections for determining the membership of the university's student council, which in March decided to appoint half the members of the 80-member student council instead of holding complete elections, in a measure which was described as an attempt to weaken the presence of Islamists who, historically speaking, dominate student councils at nine state-run universities.

The demonstrators denounced the measure taken by their university and considered it as a recession from democracy and human rights and an intervention in the structure of students. They raised banners reading "no for the repressive measures of appointing instead of election," and, "Give us back our freedom and rights."

The Islamic movement at the university tried to get out of the university, but more than 200 policemen prevented them from doing so, and the policemen sprayed the students with dyed water.

Islamic students from other universities and members of trade unions and the parliament also tried to get into the university. The police prevented them.

In a loudspeaker, an Islamist students said" the level of repression at the university reached the state of explosion under the isolation of the university administration from its students and closing off the door of dialogue." he added " appointing half members if students council will result in creating repression." he called on the Jordanian King Abdullah to interfere to " halt the process of repressing students freedom and intervention in their own affairs."

The president of students affairs at the university, Dr. Salama al-Nueimat, said that, "Appointing students at the students council guarantees representing all students' strata on the grounds of academic creativity, in the first place."

The university students council which was elected last year submitted its collective resignation in protest over this decision, while the Islamic list at Mou'ta University in southern Jordan boycotted the election of the student council, after amendments were made to the system of electing the student council at the university in March.

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