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TIME: Almanac 1990
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1990 Time Magazine Compact Almanac, The (1991)(Time).iso
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time
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050189
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05018900.019
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1990-09-17
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WORLD, Page 51World NotesJORDANRevolt in The Desert
As Jordan's King Hussein discussed the prospects for
Arab-Israeli peace with George Bush in Washington last week, life
was decidedly less than peaceful in the monarch's desert realm. The
trouble started in the southern town of Ma`an when thousands of
demonstrators attacked government office buildings and burned banks
to protest increases in the price of food, gasoline and other
goods. The riots quickly spread to other southern towns and then
to the northern city of Salt. Hussein's brother Crown Prince
Hassan, whose car was pelted with stones when he visited Ma`an,
blamed Islamic fundamentalists for exploiting the unrest. At least
eight people had been killed, apparently all of them civilians.
The disturbances shocked many Jordanians, whose country has
been remarkably stable for nearly two decades in spite of its
precarious geographical location. Outwardly the protesters focused
their anger on Prime Minister Zaid Rifai, chanting, "This man must
resign, or we will burn the country!"
Leaving the U.S., Hussein canceled a visit to Britain and
returned home. He had cause for concern. Like Hussein, most of the
rioters were Bedouins and thus had been considered his most loyal
subjects.