INTERIOR MINISTER IGNITES CONTROVERSY OVER

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 009437

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/28/2014
TAGS: PGOV KMPI KDEM KPAL KISL KWMN JO
SUBJECT: INTERIOR MINISTER IGNITES CONTROVERSY OVER
JORDAN'S ELECTION LAW, CITIZENSHIP RIGHTS

REF: AMMAN 7619

Classified By: CDA Christopher Henzel for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

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SUMMARY
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1. (U) Jordan's interior minister had to backpedal after
publicly stating that the GOJ will not consider revamping the
current election law -- which favors tribal, East Bank
communities at the expense of Jordanian-Palestinians citizens
-- until the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is resolved. At
the same time, he dismayed activists by confirming that the
GOJ would not revise its law prohibiting Jordanian women from
passing citizenship to their children and non-Jordanian
husbands. Habashneh's comments reinforce skeptics' belief
that political development will not be a priority for the
Fayez government. End Summary.

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HABASHNEH: NO NEW ELECTION LAW WHILE I'M IN CHARGE
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2. (U) Interior Minister Samir Habashneh provoked loud
criticism on November 21 when he stated publicly that the GOJ
would not endorse reforming the current election law to more
fairly represent Jordanian-Palestinian citizens until the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict (and the fate of more than 1.7
million Palestinian refugees resident in Jordan) is settled.
"It is not the right time to discuss reallocating electoral
districts or removing (parliamentary) quotas," he said. "We
must wait until things become clear in Palestine."


3. (C) Habashneh's comments, offered during a conference on
political development in Jordan, were not taken well by many
participants (including members of the Islamic Action Front),
prompting Habashneh on the second day of the conference to
clarify that he was only stating his "personal opinion," not
GOJ policy. "The government has not backed off from its
political development agenda," he said, adding: "the Prime
Minister and his team are working together to come up with a
political parties and elections law to be presented for
deliberation to the public." However, he continued to insist
that canceling quotas is not a realistic option at the moment
because "society is not politically mature yet." (Note:
Contrary to Habashneh's retraction, the Interior Ministry's
secretary general told Emboffs on November 9 unequivocally

SIPDIS
that the Ministry was satisfied with the current Election Law
and had no interest in changing it.)

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UNWILLING TO DEAL WITH "SEXIST" LEGISLATION EITHER
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4. (U) The Minister further angered many rights activists
by telling the conference that the GOJ had no plans to amend
the citizenship law that currently prevents women from
passing citizenship to their children or their non-Jordanian
spouses. "This issue is no longer possible because it means
offering the citizenship to around half a million
Palestinians in Jordan." He told the conference that there
are about 60,000 Jordanian women married to Palestinian men
(and around 20,000 Jordanian women married to men of other
nationalities). The average number of children in each of
these families is around 6.5, "which means giving the
Jordanian citizenship to around 500,000 Palestinians,"
according to Habashneh. He added that to give these people
citizenship means Jordan would be settling half a million
refugees in Jordan "in contradiction with Jordan's stand on
the right of return for Palestinians."


5. (U) When asked by a reporter about the privilege that
Jordanian men enjoy in passing citizenship to their
Palestinian wives and children, Habashneh said: "The
Jordanian Citizenship Law is a sexist piece of legislation."
However, he said the government is "seriously considering"
offering citizenship to children of divorced, widowed or
abandoned Jordanian women who are married to non-Jordanians
"for humanitarian reasons."


6. (C) Women's rights activists are outraged. Eva Abu
Halaweh, executive director of the human rights and legal aid
organization Mizan, says Habashneh's comments are a
significant step backwards on an important issue, long
advocated by Jordanian women's groups, and endorsed by Queen
Rania (who is herself of Palestinian origin). Jordanian
National Commission for Women Secretary General Amal Sabbagh
says Habashneh's statements directly contradict Prime
Minister Fayez's public commitment earlier this year
promising to reconsider the issue. Jordanian Women's Union
President Amneh Zu'bi, whose organization provides legal aid
to needy women, says "most of the tough cases we have been
handling are those of Jordanian women married to Palestinians
who suffer from various burdens because they do not enjoy
their full rights." She notes that these families suffer
many hardships: they must pay large fees for visas and
residency permits for their children and husbands. They also
are forced to travel between police stations and health
clinics annually to obtain security clearances and medical
reports for their "foreign" children.

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COMMENT
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7. (C) Habashneh took controversial public positions on
unlicensed preachers in September (reftel) only to make an
embarrassing public climb-down within days. Some may dismiss
this week's episode as mere clumsiness. However, to
disillusioned advocates of political reform in Jordan,
Habashneh's statements confirmed what critics had suspected
for months: despite its public promises to revamp these
controversial laws, in reality, the Fayez government is not
willing to take any steps that might begin to undermine East
Bankers' political ascendancy. The fray also underscores how
the ostensibly regional Israeli-Palestinian conflict has
decidedly domestic implications for Jordan's political and
social development.

8. (U) Baghdad minimize considered.

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