ANTI-NORMALIZERS, ISLAMISTS DEFY GOVERNMENT AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 AMMAN 006771 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/12/2014 TAGS: PGOV PREL KISL IS JO SUBJECT: ANTI-NORMALIZERS, ISLAMISTS DEFY GOVERNMENT AND PRESS ATTACK AGAINST REFORMIST MP REF: A. AMMAN 04629 ¶B. AMMAN 03484 ¶C. AMMAN 02764 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires David Hale for Reasons 1.5 (b),(d) -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) The Jordan Engineers Association (JEA) announced a "boycott" of MP Raed Qaqish after he appeared on an Al Hurra television program debating an Israeli official. The GOJ publicly rebuked the JEA and the related Professional Associations Council (PAC),reminding them that the PAC Anti-Normalization Committee had earlier been ruled unconstitutional for engaging in prohibited political activity. The PAC refused to back down, declaring that the JEA decision was an "internal matter" beyond the government's authority. Qaqish received a supportive statement from his colleagues in Parliament, although members of the Islamic Action Front (IAF) were quick to distance themselves from it. Qaqish alleges that he is being personally targeted for his reformist, pro-Western agenda and criticized a "very weak" Prime Minister al-Fayez for refusing to personally weigh in on the matter. If the GOJ declines to back up its warnings with action, it could further embolden anti-normalizers. End Summary. -------------- AL HURRA PROGRAM SPARKS ANTI-NORMALIZERS' IRE -------------- ¶2. (SBU) The JEA announced July 28 that it had decided "not to invite or honor the presence of Raed Qaqish at any events." Qaqish is a JEA member and MP in the Chamber of Deputies (Christian, East Banker - Balqa, 1st District) -- one of the Chamber's few outspoken liberal reformists. According to the press, the JEA's decision was prompted by a recommendation of the PAC Anti-Normalization Committee in response to Qaqish's appearance the week before on Al Hurra, during which he debated Israeli official Ranna Gissan over the security barrier in the West Bank (and, ironically, stoutly defended Jordanian opposition to the wall). Qaqish promptly complained to Minister of Interior Samir Habashneh about the "boycott" and asked that Habashneh take action against the JEA if it did not reverse its decision. ¶3. (U) Habashneh sent a public memo August 4 to the PAC rebuking it for harming Jordan's national unity and economy. He threatened to take "necessary measures" if the Council and its Anti-Normalization Committee did not refrain from "illegal" actions against individuals they deemed to be normalizers with Israel. He further referred to a November 2002 ruling by the Court of Cassation's Special Bureau for the Interpretation of Law, which found the PAC and the Anti-Normalization Committee to be engaged in prohibited political activity. Habashneh met with PAC leaders on August ¶5. ¶4. (U) The PAC, in response, mounted a vigorous defense. Its president claimed that the boycott decision was "an internal JEA matter" that had nothing to do with the Anti-Normalization Committee. He reiterated the PAC's position against normalization with Israel and said it would not abandon its "educational" campaign aimed at informing citizens about how to refrain from dealing with the Jewish state. He stated that the GOJ's actions were a setback to the political reform and that complaints should be taken up by the courts, not the Interior Ministry. JEA chairman Wael Al-Saqqa announced that there would be "no backtracking on our decision to resist normalization," which he characterized as a "national and religious duty." -------------- MEANWHILE, BACK IN PARLIAMENT . . . -------------- ¶5. (U) In addition to turning to the Minister of Interior, Qaqish sought the support of his fellow MPs. Sympathetic colleagues issued a statement in the name of Parliament (currently in recess) August 7 denouncing the JEA decision and accusing the PAC of "intellectual terrorism", only to see the statement rescinded when other MPs cried foul. In press reports, Islamic Action Front (IAF) Deputy Ali Abul Sukkar (West Banker, Zarqa - 2nd District) said that he and others had protested because the body's Permanent Bureau, which traditionally endorses such statements, had not discussed the issue. The Permanent Bureau met August 8 and authorized a second statement. The new statement called on the associations to focus on developing their professions, rather than on side issues, and urged the GOJ to ensure that all parties to the controversy, including the PAC, abide by current laws. ¶6. (U) Sukkar alleged to reporters that "parties outside Parliament" had "intervened" to alter the second statement, and that the published text did not accurately reflect the consensus of the Permanent Bureau. IAF members issued their own statement reiterating their support for the professional associations and rejecting attempts to interfere in their affairs, alleging that such acts were "unwarranted and unconstitutional." -------------- PERSONAL VENDETTA? -------------- ¶7. (C) Qaqish claimed to PolOffs August 9 he had been personally targeted by anti-normalizers and Islamists who pounced on his appearance on Al Hurra to destroy his political career. The reasons he was being targeted, he said, included his pro-Western positions, his ties to the U.S. (where he studied and has good contacts in the NGO community),and his vocal backing for reform. The fact that he was seen as a young upstart in Parliament, and came from the Christian community, also played a role. Qaqish noted that this was not the first time he has been embroiled in controversy. He was attacked by Islamist elements for traveling to the U.S. on an NGO-sponsored trip without "parliamentary approval," and for bringing members of another U.S. NGO to a meeting in Salt to discuss development projects (ref b). ¶8. (C) Qaqish criticized PM al-Fayez for refusing to weigh in on the controversy, describing him as a "very weak" leader. Fayez had talked with Qaqish on the phone, but rather than offer support, he urged Qaqish to meet and work things out privately with the JEA to prevent further "escalation" (which Qaqish refused to do). While Qaqish confided that he "feared for the future" -- not only regarding his career, but also for the future direction of Jordan -- he said he felt emboldened to speak out against the Islamic fundamentalists who attacked him. "I know I'm playing with fire by doing this, especially since I'm Christian," Qaqish stated, "but I have to defend myself." ¶9. (C) Not all the attention directed at Qaqish has been negative. Qaqish said he was gratified by numerous calls of support from constituents, civil society figures, and fellow reformists in Parliament. While much of this encouragement has been private, others have spoken out in defense of Qaqish. Human rights activist Walid Saadi was quoted as saying the whole controversy was absurd given that Qaqish's rebuttal of Israeli arguments on the security barrier was a national duty "especially for members of Parliament, rather than an act of treason." -------------- THE STORY CONTINUES -------------- ¶10. (C) On August 10, Qaqish announced that he would contest the JEA decision in court. The following day, Government Spokeswoman Asma Khader was quoted in Arabic daily Al-Dustoor as saying that the government had "no position" on anti-normalization. (Note: The Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported Khader as saying that membership in professional associations should be based on professional, not political, criteria, and that "the JEA's actions against Qaqish are not based on professional standards.") Qaqish told PolOff he was "deeply disappointed" with Khader's statement and that he was now rethinking his plan to take the matter to court. "I don't want to pursue legal action if the government is going to sit back and let me become a scapegoat," stated Qaqish. The New Reformist bloc in Parliament (of which Qaqish is a member) met late in the evening August 11 to determine their next course of action, and planned to speak August 12 with Lower House Speaker Abdul Al-Majali (who has been away). -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶11. (C) Anti-normalization forces continue to test the government's willingness to confront them. Qaqish, who seems to relish some aspects of his "celebrity" status, provided anti-normalizers an opportune vehicle as he is not closely associated with the government and has made several enemies in Islamist circles. Habashneh's failure to take action to back up his warning to the professional associations runs the risk of emboldening the anti-normalizers further, especially since Habashneh has chastised them before with no real consequences (see ref a). Khader's ill-conceived statement may not reflect GOJ thinking; she has a habit of providing uninformed, off-the-cuff answers to the media. But it will probably encourage Qaqish's detractors to continue their campaign. As Qaqish argued to us, it may take a gesture by the King, rather than by a government increasingly perceived as ineffectual, to rein in those fighting normalization. ¶12. (C) This incident illustrates how the highly politicized, Islamist-influenced professional associations are regaining some of their former preeminence in the absence of a more representative, aggressive Parliament. Jordan's professional associations, which historically filled a political vacuum left by the absence of legal parties, now appear to be trying to exploit the political vacuum left by an unimpressive and constrained Parliament. Since the associations traffic in the most extreme anti-U.S., anti-Israel and anti-reform rhetoric, the regime is likely to move quickly to quell signs of renewed association activism. Please visit Embassy Amman's classified web site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman/ or through the Department of State's SIPRNET site. HALE