LOWER HOUSE VOTES TO STRIKE ARTICLE 98 FROM AGENDA

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 005624

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/14/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL JO
SUBJECT: LOWER HOUSE VOTES TO STRIKE ARTICLE 98 FROM AGENDA
OF EXTRAORDINARY SESSION

Classified By: CDA David Hale for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) During the opening of Parliament's extraordinary
session on July 14, the Lower House voted overwhelmingly to
exclude the Article 98 agreement from its agenda. (Note: The
omission of the Anti-Money Laundering Law from the agenda
will be reported septel. End Note.) The agreement, which
must be ratified by parliament before it becomes Jordanian
law, was among 35 agenda items slated for discussion during
the session, and the only one to be rejected. At this point,
parliamentary rules require that the upper house, the Senate,
weighs in. If the Senate concurs with the lower house, the
bill will be sent back to the government, which can then
submit an amended bill. If the Senate rejects the Lower
House's decision, the two houses must convene to vote in
conference on the bill. Deputy PM Muasher told Charge after
the vote that the cabinet is still thinking of a strategy to
achieve the latter outcome, but that he expected it to be a
drawn out fight, one that likely will not be resolved in the
two-week long extraordinary session.


2. (C) A number a factors may have influenced the vote to
strike Article 98 from the agenda. The Secretary General of
the Parliament told us that the perception that the agreement
is inconsistent with Jordanian law was a major reason behind
the rejection. In reporting the rejection in its afternoon
news broadcast, state-run Jordan Television cited two
reasons: 1) that the United States has not committed itself
to allowing the extradition of its own citizens to the
International Criminal Court (ICC); and 2) that Article 98
contradicts the rules that govern the ICC itself. The
broadcast did not elaborate on either point. Some deputies'
opposition to the government, more than the merits of Article
98 itself, may also be a factor.


3. (C) Comment: Today's events are a setback, particularly
to embattled Prime Minister Badran, who is struggling
foremost to ensure his new cabinet wins the vote of
confidence during this extraordinary session, expected to
last two weeks. Some senior government officials are putting
a positive spin on events, expressing confidence that
parliamentary support for Article 98 can eventually be
gained. Given the short time frame of this session, however,
and the GOJ's focus on achieving confidence as well as
passing a new anti-corruption bill (reported septel),we
expect this issue to remain unresolved until the regular
session commences this fall, likely in November. In a July
14 discussion with Planning Minister al-Ali, Charge stressed
the importance both Congress and the Administration attached
to ratification of the agreement, pointing to the Nethercutt
Amendment. It would be important, he said, during her visit
to Washington at the end of July to describe the government's
strategy to win parliamentary backing for the agreement.

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.
HALE