JORDANIANS UNITE TO PROTEST YASSIN KILLING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 AMMAN 002197 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/23/2014 TAGS: PGOV PTER ASEC IS JO SUBJECT: JORDANIANS UNITE TO PROTEST YASSIN KILLING REF: A. AMMAN 2164 ¶B. AMMAN 2195 ¶C. AMMAN 2165 Classified By: Ambassador Edward W. Gnehm for reasons 1.5 (b and d) -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) Following harsh public condemnation from Jordan's King and Prime Minister, cabinet ministers and other government officials joined large and emotional demonstrations in Jordan against Israel's assassination of HAMAS leader Ahmad Yassin on March 22. Protesters and the Islamic Action Front called on the government to abrogate its peace treaty with Israel. The Palestinian Embassy in Amman announced it was receiving condolence calls for Sheikh Yassin from March 22-24, and the Education Minister directed all schools to observe a moment of silence in honor of Sheikh Yassin on March 23. The media focused almost exclusively on the event, with special emphasis on alleged U.S. complicity in the killing: most Jordanians do not believe statements that the U.S. had no foreknowledge of the IDF attack. During violent demonstrations in Palestinian refugee camps on the evening of March 22, protesters reportedly burned U.S. flags and denounced U.S. support for the "terrorist state." The outpouring of anger over Yassin's assassination is the most significant we have seen in Jordan since Israel's operations on the West Bank in March 2002. Jordanian officials continue to express concern about the negative repercussions the killing will have on Jordan and fear that it gives the opposition, primarily the Islamic Action Front, more ammunition for its anti-normalization campaign. End Summary. -------------- - CABINET MEMBERS PARTICIPATE IN STREET PROTESTS -------------- - ¶2. (C) Following official statements from King Abdullah and Prime Minister Faisal al-Fayez condemning Israel's assassination of Sheikh Yassin (ref a),Jordanian cabinet ministers joined members of Parliament, Islamists, Palestinian refugees, political activists, students, and ordinary citizens in a large demonstration in response to Yassin's death. Four cabinet ministers marched with thousands of protesters following afternoon prayers on March 22 at al-Hussein mosque to Amman's city hall (press reports claimed anywhere from 7,000-10,000 marched; security sources put the number at between 2,500 and 5,000). Protesters carried banners reading: "Sharon you are doomed," and "Yassin your death is a rebirth of this nation," and chanted: "We are all Ahmad Yassin." ¶3. (U) Minister of Political Development and Parliamentary Affairs Mohammad Daoudiyeh told reporters: "Our message is that all of Jordan is united in denouncing this heinous crime and state terrorism." Daoudiyeh was joined by Minister of Justice and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Salah Bashir, Minister of Labor Amjad Majali and Minister of State and Government spokesperson Asma Khader. Education Minister Khalid Touqan called for a moment of silence in Jordanian schools on March 23. Reflecting Jordanians' preoccupation with the event, the local media focused almost exclusively on the killing and its aftermath (ref b). ¶4. (C) Spontaneous rallies cropped up throughout Jordan, including Amman, Zarqa, Irbid, and Mafraq. Members of Parliament reportedly called on the Interior Ministry not to interfere with them even though they were not licensed. One of our local staff members witnessed a Jordanian Socialist Democratic party rally at their headquarters near her home. She estimated several thousand attended -- including women in hejab and the fashionably dressed -- to mourn Sheikh Yassin and listen to speeches condemning Israel and the U.S. occupation of Iraq. Performers at the Royal Cultural Center on the night of March 22 also observed a moment of silence for Sheikh Yassin. ¶5. (C) Schools, shops, and government offices in two of the largest Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan, al-Baqaa and al-Wihdat, were closed as thousands marched through the camps' narrow streets on March 22. In al-Baqaa, press reported that 3,000 demonstrators, carrying a coffin symbolizing Yassin's death, called on HAMAS's military wing to avenge Yassin and condemned Israel's ongoing aggression against the Palestinians. RSO cites unconfirmed reports that police used tear gas on demonstrators, and did not open roads surrounding the camp until the demonstrations petered out around 2000 local time. ¶6. (C) Contacts reported on March 23 that as of 1700 local time, Amman remains quiet. The Professional Association held a sit-in at its headquarters followed by a march to the al-Abdali area. Approximately 1,000 protesters, carrying black flags as a sign of mourning, participated in the march. Police reported no violence or arrests. -------------- -------------- PROTESTERS, IAF DEMAND SEVERING OF TIES TO ISRAEL -------------- -------------- ¶7. (U) A common refrain during the protests was a demand upon the government to abrogate its peace treaty with Israel and expel its ambassador in retaliation for the assassination. In response to a question during a press conference, Khader said that any move taken by the government will serve the interests of the Jordanian and Palestinian people, and that the Cabinet held an emergency session on Monday to discuss the repercussions of "Israel's heinous crime." She said that FonMin Muasher will discuss the issue when meeting his Arab counterparts at the Arab League. Several Jordanian contacts believe the killing was in part intended to goad the Palestinians into retaliatory violence which would provide Israel with an excuse to continue occupation of the West Bank and construction of the barrier. ¶8. (U) Islamic Action Front (IAF) Secretary General Hamzeh Mansour described the assassination as a "vile terrorist crime" that will not stop Palestinians from fighting for their rights. He demanded an immediate end to all forms of normalization with Israel to avoid provoking public sentiment, according to press reports. The IAF, which has close ties to HAMAS, said in a statement: "We've had enough and can no longer remain silent...The agreements signed, contacts and constant coordination (with Israel) amount to a smokescreen for the crimes of the enemy that is tantamount to complicity." It added: "Those who establish contacts with the enemy are isolating themselves from their (Arab and Islamic) nation," promising that Yassin's killing "will shred all the evil agreements" between Arab countries and Israel. -------------- ANGER AT U.S. PERMEATES EXPRESSIONS OF GRIEF -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Expressions of blame and anger directed at the United States for Yassin's assassination were evident during the outpouring of grief after the attack. Post contacts and employees report that Jordanians do not believe U.S. statements that Washington had no foreknowledge of the attack. Columnists are portraying the U.S. call for "restraint by all parties" as equivalent to asking the Palestinians to sit still while they get slaughtered. Al-Watan conducted a spot survey of U.S. television coverage, noting the avoidance of the term "assassination" and Fox News' statement calling Yassin "the Palestinian Bin Ladin." Denouncing the "hideous crime" that will only "foment the flame of revenge and increase enmity," the Muslim Brotherhood called on the U.S. to reconsider its policies in the Middle East. ¶10. (SBU) Mass-circulation Arabic-language daily al-Arab al-Yawm ran a front-page, above-the-fold full-color cartoon in its March 23 edition showing an American bomb hitting an old man in a wheel chair. There was no reference to Israel in the cartoon (although an adjacent headline announced, "The Terrorist Sharon Assassinates the Sheikh of the Martyrs"). ¶11. (SBU) According to press reports, protesters in al-Baqaa camp condemned the U.S. for supporting the "terrorist state," and PolFSN reports that demonstrators burned the U.S. flag at Wihdat Camp. According to an Amcit Fulbright scholar who teaches American Studies at Jordan University, the school is calm but has security people "every 10 feet." He reports that while very upset, his students distinguish between their outrage over U.S. policy and individual Americans. In consultation with host organizations, Embassy-sponsored public events, including a dance performance and lectures by a visiting American academic, have been canceled. University hosts have described the mood on campuses as "too hot" for visitors associated with the USG. Jordanian public security measures at likely targets for retaliation or demonstrations remain exceptional. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶12. (C) Whatever their personal views may be toward Yassin, HAMAS, or Palestinians in general, Jordanian officials and the public are inevitably forced to demonstrate united opposition to and outrage over Yassin's assassination. The outpouring of anger at Israel over Yassin's killing -- and the U.S. refusal to condemn it explicitly -- is the most pronounced we have seen in Jordan since Israel's incursions into the West Bank in March 2002. The perception that Yassin's killing was "made in the USA" adds a special problem for Jordan's officials, who are widely seen as U.S. agents in the region. With the assassination providing fodder for the IAF, which is steadily assuming the mantle of prime defender of the Palestinian cause (and anti-normalization) in Jordan, supporters of sound Jordan-U.S. relations are on the defensive and finding little positive to work with to rebut extremists. Visit Embassy Amman's classified web site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman or access the site through the State Department's SIPRNET home page. GNEHM