LOWER HOUSE OF PARLIAMENT DEBATES COOPERATION WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 004953

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/17/2014
TAGS: PGOV PREL KISL KPAL IS JO KHUM
SUBJECT: LOWER HOUSE OF PARLIAMENT DEBATES COOPERATION WITH
ISRAEL ON HUMAN RIGHTS

REF: A. AMMAN 03348

B. 03 AMMAN 07909

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires David Hale for Reasons 1.5 (b),(d)

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) The Lower House of Parliament tentatively approved an
amendment to a human rights law which bans the National
Center for Human Rights from cooperating with organizations
belonging to "the Jewish entity and those who support it."
Islamist MPs overcame an earlier committee defeat of the
amendment by garnering support on the Lower House floor from
an influential secular MP who is aspiring to the Speakership.
Others backed the amendment from fear of being labeled
"pro-Israel" or out of dismay over the stalemate on Jordanian
prisoners in Israeli jails. The Finance Minister told Charge
the government expects to have majority support in the Lower
House to overturn the amendment next week, without recourse
to the Senate. Should the amended law pass, however, the
Senate can be expected to reject it. This incident
demonstrates how the Islamists, despite their limited public
backing and small numbers in Parliament, are still able to
promote their agenda under the right circumstances. End
Summary.

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ISLAMISTS HIJACK HUMAN RIGHTS LAW
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2. (U) During the first week of the Lower House's
"extraordinary" session, which convened June 5, MPs began the
arduous task of deliberating 64 laws specified by royal
decree -- 42 provisional laws promulgated in the two-year
absence of Parliament and 22 new laws proposed by the GOJ.
One of the first items for review was a 2002 provisional law
establishing the National Center for Human Rights and
mandating the teaching of human rights principles in the
educational system. Prior to open debate in the Lower House,
the Freedom and Citizens' Rights Committee had reviewed the
law and proposed a few minor changes to it.


3. (U) When the law reached the Lower House floor, however,
members of the Islamic Action Front (IAF) strongly pushed for
two additional amendments. The first prohibited the Center
from exchanging information/expertise or otherwise
cooperating with any human rights organization that belongs
to "the Jewish entity and those who support it." The second
called for human rights education to incorporate a focus on
Islam's perspective on human rights. After several lively
exchanges, the IAF managed on June 9 to muster a majority of
votes, including those of current MP and former Prime
Minister Abdur Rawabdeh and his supporters, to approve both
amendments.

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SHREWD POLITICS
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4. (C) PolOff met June 15 with MP Jamal Al-Dmour (East
Banker - Kerak),Chairman of the Freedom and Citizens' Rights
Committee, to get his readout on events surrounding the human
rights law. Dmour explained that he was well acquainted with
the IAF and its tactics in this matter as he "suffered" from
having four IAF MPs on his committee. According to Dmour,
the IAF was perturbed that the royal decree convening the
extraordinary session failed to provide for an "unscheduled
topics" agenda which, during regular sessions, the IAF used
to grandstand and spark confrontation with other MPs and the
government over current affairs (see ref a). Consequently,
the IAF was now seeking to publicize and promote its agenda
through amending social legislation.


5. (C) Dmour continued that the IAF had earlier tried but
failed to get his committee to endorse its two amendments.
The key to IAF success on the Lower House floor, he opined,
was due to three things. First, Rawabdeh's need for Islamist
votes for his upcoming bid to become Speaker (ref b);
accordingly, Rawabdeh and his supporters embraced the IAF
amendments and spoke out in favor of them. Second, Dmour
stated that several MPs told him they voted for the
amendments out of fear of being criticized publicly by
Islamists and the press as "pro-Israel." Third, many MPs are
very upset that there has been no movement on the release of
Jordanian prisoners in Israel and suspect that they are being
mistreated given perceived Israeli human rights abuses in the
West Bank and Gaza.


6. (C) PolOff explained to Dmour how Lower House approval of
the amendment banning cooperation with Israel was seen
negatively in Washington and pointed out that the phrase
"those who support (Israel)" could be interpreted as the
United States. Dmour replied he was aware of how this
amendment could sour Jordan-Israel and Jordan-U.S. relations
and assured PolOff that the majority of MPs never intended to
halt cooperation with the U.S. or American NGOs on human
rights. Despite the June 9 vote, he and other progressive
MPs are mounting a campaign to overturn the amendment
targeting Israel before the entire law is approved by the
Lower House. Even should they fail, Dmour was confident that
the Senate would easily reject the IAF amendment. Foreign
Minister Muasher's Office Director, Ali al-Ayad, told
PolCouns separately June 15 that he was displeased by the
amendment, but said the GOJ will work to have it reversed.
The MFA, he stated, has already spoken to other ministries
and some MPs to explain the negative impact of the language.
The Finance Minister predicted to Charge that the government
would gain majority support to drop the negative reference to
Israel during Lower House debate the week of June 20.

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STILL IN PLAY
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7. (C) The Lower House continued deliberations on the human
rights law June 16 with several MPs speaking out firmly
against the Islamist amendment on Israel. MP Ghlaeb Zu'bi
(East Banker - Balqa) said, for example, that while he
deplored "ugly" Israeli practices in the West Bank/Gaza, the
amendment was inconsistent with Jordanian law and wholly
inappropriate as "human rights are universal concepts that go
beyond race, religion and nationality." Minister for
Political Development & Political Affairs Mohammad Daoudieh
told MPs that the amendment "harms Jordan's image abroad" and
had already resulted in charges that Jordan was anti-Semitic.
Still unsure if there were enough votes to undo the IAF
amendment, Dmour exercised his right as relevant committee
chairman to postpone a final vote on the entire law as
amended until a later date. Several IAF MPs walked out in
protest at the move.

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COMMENT
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8. (C) The flap over the human rights law demonstrates how
the IAF can promote its anti-normalization agenda in the
Lower House. By exploiting Rawabdeh's need for IAF support
in the Speaker's race, and tapping into anti-Israel sentiment
in the Jordanian street, the Islamists caught the government
off guard and persuaded a majority of MPs to approve language
that they might otherwise eschew under different
circumstances. The controversial amendments, if ultimately
approved by the Lower House, can be expected to be soundly
rejected by the Senate.

Visit Embassy Amman's classified website at

http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman

or access the site through the State Department's SIPRNET
home page.
HALE