Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
03AMMAN6491
2003-10-09 13:31:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Amman
Cable title:  

JORDANIAN PARLIAMENT FINISHES EXTRAORDINARY

Tags:  PGOV PHUM KDEM ECON JO 
pdf how-to read a cable
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 AMMAN 006491 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/09/2013
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM ECON JO
SUBJECT: JORDANIAN PARLIAMENT FINISHES EXTRAORDINARY
SESSION; LOTS OF TALK, BUT MUCH BUSINESS LEFT UNDONE

REF: A. AMMAN 06027

B. AMMAN 05339

C. AMMAN 05245

D. AMMAN 05012

E. AMMAN 04408

Classified By: Ambassador Edward W. Gnehm for Reasons 1.5 (B, D)

-------
SUMMARY
-------

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 AMMAN 006491

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/09/2013
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM ECON JO
SUBJECT: JORDANIAN PARLIAMENT FINISHES EXTRAORDINARY
SESSION; LOTS OF TALK, BUT MUCH BUSINESS LEFT UNDONE

REF: A. AMMAN 06027

B. AMMAN 05339

C. AMMAN 05245

D. AMMAN 05012

E. AMMAN 04408

Classified By: Ambassador Edward W. Gnehm for Reasons 1.5 (B, D)

--------------
SUMMARY
--------------


1. (C) The 14th Jordanian Parliament ended its 75 day
"extraordinary session" on September 28. While the
Parliament discussed a wide variety of topics and took
several important procedural steps, including the election of
Speaker, the formation of committees and the approval of a
new Cabinet, it formally reviewed only 20 of the more than
200 provisional laws promulgated by the government during
Parliament's absence. Several political blocs were formed,
but only the Islamic Action Front (IAF) represented a
coherent body with a defined agenda. Political observers and
MPs stressed the need for more structured debate and
attention to issues if Parliament is to complete its review
of legislation. The government expects Parliament to ratify
eventually two provisional laws affecting women's rights
after it reconvenes in December. End Summary.

--------------
THAT'S A WRAP!
--------------


2. (U) The extraordinary session of the 14th Jordanian
Parliament began on July 16 and was adjourned on September 28
by Royal Decree from King Abdullah. During this session, the
110 MPs of the Lower House (more than 80 of them elected for
the first time) voted Saad Hayel Srour (East Banker, Northern
Badia) as Speaker for a fifth time (ref e),and delivered a
vote of confidence for the government of Prime Minister Ali
Abul Ragheb (ref c). The Lower House also formed 14
committees of 11 MPs each, which, in theory, monitor
government performance and issue recommendations on pending
legislation.


3. (U) Although the extraordinary session was convened to
consider the 200 plus provisional laws adopted since the
dissolution of the previous Parliament, MPs managed to review
formally only 20 of them. Some of these 20 laws were
ratified, most notably the General State Budget for 2003,
while others were sent to the appropriate committee for study

without a vote. The Lower House initially rejected four
provisional laws, including the "khuloe" law permitting women
to divorce their husbands and a provision stiffening
penalties for "honor killings" (refs a,d).

--------------
CAN WE TALK?
--------------


4. (C) Parliamentary debates amounted to "organized
disorder," by our observation. Although most individual
sessions are supposed to have an established agenda, in
reality MPs brought up a wide variety of issues and/or
questions, leading to discussions that strayed far from the
designated topic. Attendance varied widely. During the
final day of the extraordinary session, for example, only 60
MPs were present and covered subjects that included: the
recall of Jordan's envoy to Israel, Israeli development of
weapons of mass destruction, Jordanian detainees in Iraq, the
privatization of the state potash and phosphate companies,
the recent victory of Jordan's national soccer team over
Iran, and an IAF proposal to ban the U.S. film "Bruce
Almighty" for making fun of God.


5. (C) The Prime Minister and his Cabinet are expected to
attend every fifth daily session of Parliament to field MP
questions. This arrangement works out to about twice a
month, though in practice it is sometimes more. Ministers
complain sharply about the additional demands on their time,
and the resulting decrease in efficiency, by having to sit
through lengthy debates that are often not of relevance to
their portfolios.

--------------
POLITICAL PARTY OR SOCIAL CLUB?
--------------


6. (C) Within MP ranks, six blocs emerged which encompassed
approximately 90 of the 110 MPs. Apart from the IAF (which
has 17 deputies in Parliament),however, the lack of strong,
shared goals and the primacy of personal interests limited
bloc cohesiveness. In the opinion of the former Secretary
General of the Lower House and the head of the Jordanian
Political Science Association, Mohammad Masalha, the blocs do
not represent genuine political alliances, but are merely
groups of deputies brought together on the basis of
relationships rather than a unified political vision. Only
the IAF, in Masalha's view, is "working according to a party
agenda with a defined political program."
--------------
THREE DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES
--------------


7. (U) A recent article in the local Arabic press presented
the viewpoints of three diverse MPs on the extraordinary
session ) one from the IAF, one from the Democratic Alliance
(the most promising of the MP blocs),and an independent.
Azzam Al-Hunaidi (East Banker, Amman 1st District),head of
the IAF bloc in Parliament, struck a mostly moderate tone in
his assessment. While noting that it was "still too early to
judge" the new MPs, Hunaidi characterized Parliament's
performance during the extraordinary session as "acceptable"
and stated that there had been decent progress on review of
the temporary laws. Hunaidi criticized, however, the
"ineffective management" of the daily sessions, saying there
was too much "chaos." Hunaidi further asserted that
Parliament needed to be more independent of the government
and decried strong pressure for personal favors from
constituents, contending that this took up too much time and
detracted from the work of MPs.


8. (U) Independent MP Abdul Rahim Malhas (East Banker, Amman
3rd District) echoed Hunaidi's view that there was weak
administrative control of parliamentary sessions and said
that procedural reform was sorely needed for more effective
debate. Malhas also agreed that MPs were too distracted by
numerous service requests from their constituents. Malhas
took aim at MPs for their numerous and lengthy speeches
during the vote of confidence debate (see ref c).


9. (U) Characterizing Parliament as having "great potential,"
Dr. Mamdouh Abbadi (East Banker, Amman 3rd District),leader
of the Democratic Alliance, nevertheless opined that
Parliament's performance during the extraordinary session had
been "okay." Abbadi asserted that loose control of daily
sessions and &governmental interruptions8 had hindered
progress and made MPs hesitant to take strong stands. Yet he
predicted that as MPs gained experience, they would become
more confident in "carrying the message from the public."
Abbadi also stated that the number of temporary laws
discussed was "good," taking into account the number of new
MPs and new committees. Abbadi saved his harshest words for
the time demands put on MPs by their constituents asking for
services. According to Abbadi, MPs often have no time to
read laws, session agendas or even the press as they are too
busy running around between government ministries trying to
provide requested services.

--------------
GOVERNMENT VIEW
--------------


10. (C) Ambassador met with Minister for Parliamentary
Affairs, Tawfiq Kreishan, on October 5 to elicit the
government's opinion on the new MPs and the extraordinary
session. Overall, Kreishan stated that he was very satisfied
with this Parliament, claiming that it was "the best of the
last four Parliaments." Noting that there were more educated
professionals, lawyers, and ex-generals than in previous
Parliaments (in addition to six women),Kreishan said that in
his view, 70-75 of MPs were "very strong." (COMMENT: This
number corresponds roughly to the 84 MPs who supported the
government in the vote of confidence. End comment.)
Kreishan also took satisfaction that there were only 17 IAF
members in Parliament, and although he admitted that the
majority of these were &okay,8 he happily observed that the
number of "opposition" MPs was lower than in prior years.
(BIO NOTE: Tawfiq Kreishan is from a large and influential
tribal family around Ma'an. He is 56 years old and speaks
limited English. He previously served in the 12th Jordanian
Parliament and was a Minister of Municipal, Rural and
Environmental Affairs.)

--------------
STRAIGHT TALK FROM THE KING
--------------


11. (C) During the course of the extraordinary session, King
Abdullah met with three separate groups of approximately 22
MPs each, with a fourth meeting held on October 6. MPs who
have attended these meetings, as well as Kreishan,
characterized them as unstructured brainstorming sessions,
with the King enumerating problems (particularly economic)
facing the country and soliciting ideas from MPs on how to
solve them. Kreishan said that in one meeting, King Abdullah
told the MPs to "forget I'm the King" and asked them how
Jordan could better attract foreign investment. In addition
to generating ideas, Kreishan remarked that the meetings were
meant to establish good relations between MPs and the Palace
and to show that the King is serious about his commitment to
democracy. Kreishan noted that King Abdullah is considering
future meetings with the leadership and/or members of
Parliamentary blocs.

--------------
A LOOK AHEAD
--------------


12. (C) Parliament will reconvene for its regular session,
which should last approximately four months, on December 1.
One of the session's most important, and potentially
divisive, tasks will be reviewing and approving the
government's 2004 draft budget. Under the Jordanian
Constitution, MPs will have to select once again both the
Speaker of the Lower House and the chairmen and members of
the parliamentary committees. As before, MPs and political
observers expect a battle for the role of Speaker between
Srour and former Speaker Abdul Hadi Majali (East Banker,
Karak). Minister Kreishan confided that he thought Srour
would ultimately prevail. Several MPs also predicted to
PolCouns less politeness and more heated words in the
upcoming session. As long time MP Abdul Karim Dughmi (East
Banker, Mafraq) remarked, "the honeymoon is over."


13. (U) Given the large number of provisional laws, it is
unlikely that Parliament will review all of them before
adjourning. Abbadi stated that he expected that "we will get
through 60-70 laws since we got through 20 in the last two
months." Consequently, Abbadi predicted that Parliament will
have yet another extraordinary session after the regular
session in order to complete debate on all provisional laws.
Both the King and the Lower House have a constitutional right
to call Parliament to convene in an extraordinary session,
although the King alone holds the right to set the agenda
during that period.


14. (C) With respect to provisional laws concerning women's
rights, Minister Kreishan predicted that the "khuloe" law
permitting women to divorce their husbands would be approved
by Parliament within two months after it reconvenes.
Similarly, Kreishan told Ambassador that he had been
personally charged to work for parliamentary approval of the
Article 340 amendment stiffening penalties for so-called
"honor killings" (see ref a),and predicted that it would
ultimately be ratified by a joint session of Parliament.

--------------
COMMENT
--------------


15. (C) The return of Parliament after more than a two year
absence is a welcome development in the gradual process of
democratization in Jordan. Yet the extraordinary session was
certainly not a prime example of an efficient legislature )
much more time was spent debating the evils of pop culture or
the weight of children's school bags (see ref b) than more
important topics. This may be partly due to the fact that
the many first-time MPs are still feeling their way through
their new surroundings and responsibilities.


16. (C) As evidenced by his recent meetings with MPs, King
Abdullah appears eager to help "guide" the development of
democracy in Jordan. He has often stated that he wants
Jordan to become a modern, democratic state with active
political parties. But herein lies the King's dilemma.
While he may want to see the creation of genuine political
parties, he cannot compel MPs to forge strong alliances based
on nation-wide principles, especially when this may conflict
with deeply-entrenched individual and tribal interests.
Similarly, a democratic society cannot be dictated from
above, but requires the mobilization of citizens who believe
that their participation in the political process can make a
difference. It is questionable, moreover, how strongly King
Abdullah would embrace a more democratic system if it
resulted in vigorous opposition to his government's policies.


Please visit Embassy Amman's classified website at
http://www.state.sgov/p/nea/amman or access the site through
the Department of State's SIPRNET home page.
GNEHM