Jordan faces no-nukes campaign
Jordan's October announcement that it would build two nuclear reactors has ignited a local anti-nuke campaign.
AMMAN, Jordan — Mona, a self-declared “very apolitical” Jordanian mother, sat on a plastic chair at the Jordanian Welfare Party headquarters in Amman, watching the conference table fill with engineers, activists and politicians. They wore blue jeans, black suits or traditional robes, assembling under a white banner that read, “Conference of Jordanian Parties Against the Nuclear Program.”
“I’m just worried about my family,” Mona whispered. She came after seeing a Facebook post about the meeting, where party leaders are drafting a statement against Jordan’s nuclear plans. “This isn’t politics. This is health. It’s not funny, you know?”
On Oct. 28, Jordan announced a $10 billion deal with Russian firm Rosatom to construct two nuclear reactors in Qusayr Amra, a desert region east of Amman. Activists, energy experts and parliamentarians are protesting the deal as dangerous to the environment and economy. Jordanian authorities, meanwhile, insist that nuclear power heralds Jordan’s energy future.
Jordan spends more than a fifth of its GDP importing fuel. Cuts in Egyptian gas and globally unstable oil prices have triggered blackouts, price hikes on electricity and fuel and consequent mass protests. Jordanian officials say the nuclear project will lower electricity costs by 70% and bring domestic energy output from 3% to more than half the national needs.
