Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
04AMMAN2197
2004-03-23 17:30:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Amman
Cable title:  

JORDANIANS UNITE TO PROTEST YASSIN KILLING

Tags:  PGOV PTER ASEC IS JO 
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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 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
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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