Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
03AMMAN1929
2003-04-01 07:51:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Amman
Cable title:  

TFIZO1: AMMAN SITREP 22 (4/01 1200 LOCAL)

Tags:  AEMR AMGT PREL ASEC CASC CVIS EFIN ETRD IZ JO 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 001929 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/26/2013
TAGS: AEMR AMGT PREL ASEC CASC CVIS EFIN ETRD IZ JO
SUBJECT: TFIZO1: AMMAN SITREP 22 (4/01 1200 LOCAL)

REF: A. (A) FBIS GMP20030331000233


B. (B) FBIS GMP200303331000231

C. (C) AMMAN 1898

Classified By: DCM Gregory L. Berry for reasons 1.5 (B)(D).

----------------
General Overview
----------------

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 001929

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/26/2013
TAGS: AEMR AMGT PREL ASEC CASC CVIS EFIN ETRD IZ JO
SUBJECT: TFIZO1: AMMAN SITREP 22 (4/01 1200 LOCAL)

REF: A. (A) FBIS GMP20030331000233


B. (B) FBIS GMP200303331000231

C. (C) AMMAN 1898

Classified By: DCM Gregory L. Berry for reasons 1.5 (B)(D).

--------------
General Overview
--------------


1. (C) The Embassy is operating on a normal schedule April 1.
Consular services are open. Activities at the American
Language Center remain suspended, and there is only
restricted activity by FSN's at the Peace Corps office.
Movements of American staff remain restricted.

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Consular Issues
--------------


2. (C) The Embassy received information from the Department
that a group of 13 Amcit peace activists affiliated with the
group "Voices in the Wilderness" would be departing Baghdad
for Amman on the morning of April 1 via three minibuses.
This information has been passed to Task Force West (TF-W) in
the Embassy.

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GOJ Actions/Statements
--------------


3. (U) King Abdullah and Queen Rania offered condolences
March 31 to the families of the five Jordanians killed in two
separate incidents in Iraq. All Jordanian dailies provided
page one, above the fold, coverage of this event in their
April 1 editions. According to the official press reports,
the King "reiterated Jordan's rejection of the war on Iraq
and his deep concern for the fate of innocent civilians --
the victims of the ongoing war."


4. (U) In response to press reports that British troops had
discovered an arms cache near Basra marked "Jordan Armed
Forces, the government-affiliated Jordan Times April 1 quoted
Minister of Information Mohammed al-Adwan as saying "we
cannot confirm that this information is accurate. And if any
old stocks are found, they certainly date back to the period
when there was no embargo on Iraq and consequently no embargo
on shipments of military equipment."



5. (U) The Jordanian Arabic daily al-Arab al-Yawm reported in
its March 31 edition an interview by FM Muasher with the
al-Arabia Satellite television station in which Muasher
reiterated again publicly that "Jordanian airspace is not
open to U.S. aircraft" and reaffirmed that "the presence of
U.S. forces in Jordan is for training and defense purposes
and that Jordan would not be a platform for launching any
attacks from its territory against Iraq." Muasher also
asserted that "contacts between the Jordanian and Iraqi
governments are continuing" pointing to the "230 Jordanian
trucks carrying goods and medicines that have gone to Baghdad
since the start of military operations." Muasher stated as
well that Jordanian elections "would be held on the date the
government has fixed." (ref A)


6. (C) The Jordanian Arabic daily al-Dustur reported that an
unnamed Iraqi diplomat told the paper that "his country
started to supply Jordan once again with crude oil and fuel
oil as of yesterday after resolving technicalities that had
prevented the loading of Jordanian oil tankers." The Iraqi
diplomat claimed that "a number of Jordanian oil tankers
arrived at an oil and fuel loading point west of Baghdad
yesterday and were loaded as usual." (ref B) It should be
noted that the assertion of the quoted Iraqi diplomat runs
counter to the information the Ambassador received from
Minister of Information Mohammed al-Adwan in a private
conversation March 30, in which al-Adwan said that seven
Jordanian oil tank trucks had been dispatched to Iraq but had
returned to Jordan empty and that Jordan would make no
further attempts to import Iraqi crude. (ref C) The Foreign
Minister assured the Ambassador on April 1, that he would
watch carefully any developments in this issue; he knew of no
new plans to lift Iraqi crude and would alert the Ambassador
should he hear otherwise. "There will be no surprises."
--------------
Security
--------------


7. (C) No new issues.
--------------
Economic and Trade Developments
--------------


8. (C) No new issues.
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Refugee/Humanitarian Issues
--------------

9. (SBU) The Jordan-Iraq border remains open. UNHCR reports
that six TCNs crossed into Jordan from Iraq overnight March
31/April 1 and one person with document problems remains in
no-man's land at the border. Separately, IOM officials asked
refcoord to postpone today's planned monitoring trip to the
Ruweished transit camp. Refcoord will report details septel.


10. (C) According to UNHCR, Reuters carried a news report
overnight that US military forces had taken over the Iraqi
side of the Trebil border crossing into Jordan. GOJ border
officials told UNHCR this morning that Iraqi officials
remained in control of the Iraqi side of the border crossing
but that US military forces "possibly" could be 60 km from
the border crossing.

--------------
Press
--------------


11. (U) No new issues.
GNEHM