INTERIOR MINISTER'S FACE-OFF WITH PROFESSIONAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 AMMAN 000571

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/23/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL ASEC KMPI KISL IS JO
SUBJECT: INTERIOR MINISTER'S FACE-OFF WITH PROFESSIONAL
ASSOCIATIONS

REF: A. 04 AMMAN 4629

B. 04 AMMAN 6771

C. 04 AMMAN 8868

D. 04 AMMAN 7619

E. 04 AMMAN 9437

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

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) Interior Minister Habashneh has locked horns yet
again with Jordan's Islamist-heavy professional associations,
demanding that they cease all political activity. The
associations' leaders, among the most vocal critics of the
GOJ's pro-U.S. policies and ties to Israel, are openly
defying Habashneh's orders. Determined to show he means
business, Habashneh directed security forces to enter the
associations' headquarters to remove anti-Israel banners, and
separately, to prevent a seminar on Iraq that was expected to
evolve into an anti-U.S. rally in support of the insurgents.
This latest flare-up is part of the larger struggle underway
between Jordan's perceived security needs and its reform
priorities. We believe Habashneh is operating on direct
orders from the King, who has shown to us increasing
impatience with the illegal and unhelpful politicking of the
associations. However, this chapter reflects the waning
influence of confrontation-adverse Prime Minister Faisal
al-Fayez in favor of the tougher line advocated by General
Intelligence Director Sa'ad Kheir and Royal Court Minister
Samir al-Rifai, who once again are the object of speculation
as possible successors to Fayez (septel). End Summary.

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HABASHNEH: EITHER YOU'RE WITH US, OR YOU'RE AGAINST US
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2. (U) Interior Minister Samir Habashneh launched a new
salvo against the influential Islamist-dominated professional
associations this month, demanding that their leaders end
their political activity, which has been punctuated by an
active campaign against normalization with Israel and
criticism of the U.S. campaign in Iraq. (The associations
are vehicles for dissent, in part, because Jordan still lacks
effective political parties). During a meeting January 11,
Habashneh insisted that by law the associations may pursue
their professional agendas only, and must leave politics to
the legally registered political parties in Jordan.
Habashneh complained that the associations have "exceeded the
limits of their specialization and have mobilized themselves
to become podiums for all sorts of wild ideas, particularly
those that harm the Jordanian state's various components,
interests, and relations." He added: "Stopping this
intellectual chaos in its tracks is vital to avert the danger
of security chaos, which we watch and hear about every day."
He gave the associations 24 hours to remove political
banners, pictures, and slogans displayed in their
headquarters.


3. (U) The Professional Associations' Council (PAC),
comprised of the heads of the organization's 14 professional
unions representing more than 120,000 members ranging from
doctors to lawyers to engineers, did not take Habashneh's
orders lying down. During the meeting with Habashneh, PAC
leaders told the minister that his order was a "big,
dangerous and unprecedented transformation of the
relationship between the government and the associations,"
according to press. Insisting on their right as civil
society organizations to engage in dialogue on issues vital
to the national interest, PAC president Dr. Abd al-Rahim Isa
affirmed the organization would continue its "national"
activities, and convened an internal meeting to discuss the
matter. According to a public statement, PAC members
threatened to unanimously resign and hand the keys of the
associations' complex to the GOJ in protest against what it
described as "martial practices" by the Interior Minister.
Some expressed hope that King Abdullah or Prime Minister
Fayez would intervene, but Fayez, after publicly endorsing
Habashneh's directive, announced on January 18 the
postponement of a scheduled meeting with the PAC until after
the Eid holiday.

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SECURITY FORCES MOVE IN
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4. (C) In response to the PAC's defiance, security forces
on the night of January 17 entered the professional
associations' complex in downtown Amman to remove anti-Israel
posters and banners. The police broke the building's locks
in order to enter, but there was no violence or arrests. On
January 18, Jordanian police surrounded the complex to
prevent anyone (including the association heads) from
entering the building to attend a seminar on Iraq, which was
expected to evolve into an anti-U.S. rally critical of the
upcoming Iraqi elections and supportive of the Iraqi
insurgents.

5. (U) In response to the GOJ's actions, Bar Association
President Hussein Majali told reporters: "Our so-called
democracy prevents us from saying no to Bush or Sharon."
Head of Jordan's Engineers' Association, Wael al-Saqaa, said:
"The government should widen the margin of liberties, not
curtail them further." During a meeting on January 19, the
PAC decided to sue those who removed the banners and to
boycott any further meetings with Habashneh, calling upon the
King to intervene and protect the associations' "legitimate
rights." The leaders also reiterated their earlier threat to
submit a group resignation. Meanwhile, associations' members
gathered for Eid prayers in the complex without the Ministry
of Interior's objection.

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CONFRONTATION A LONG TIME IN COMING
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6. (C) The latest crackdown follows a series of GOJ
attempts over the last year to rein in the professional
associations (as well as their like-minded compatriots in the
Muslim Brotherhood and Islamic Action Front),which have long
served as focal points for activism against Jordan's peace
treaty with Israel and the GOJ's pro-U.S. policies,
particularly related to Iraq of late, in the absence of
credible or effective political parties. Most of the
associations have been dominated by Islamist elements. In
May 2004, Habashneh demanded that the PAC's
anti-normalization committee, which had revived its practice
of blacklisting individuals for allegedly associating with
Israel, cease its activities (ref A). However, the GOJ did
not back up Habashneh's public threats with action, and the
anti-normalizers proceeded unfettered to target MP Ra'ed
Qaqish in July for his appearance on al-Hurra opposite an
Israeli official (refs B and C). In September, the GOJ
cracked down on unlicensed mosque preachers (ref D). In
December, the GOJ arrested leading union activist Ali Hattar
on charges of slandering the government after delivering a
speech highly critical of U.S. policies.


7. (U) Local press has devoted front-page coverage to the
conflict all week. Predictably, the IAF's mouthpiece, Arabic
weekly al-Sabeel, criticized Habashneh's move, publishing
extensive coverage under the heading: "Habashneh Declares War
on the Professional Associations." Many papers and
columnists have taken the government's side, arguing that the
associations would better serve their members and society by
focusing on professional development as opposed to political
issues. Haydar Rasheed wrote in the Arabic daily al-Arab
al-Youm that the professional associations had filled a
political vacuum in the absence of effective political
parties over the years. He called for true political
development in order to fill this void. Several (small)
political parties are backing the move as well; a group of 11
(the IAF of course not among them) issued a statement January
19 commending the crackdown.

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HABASHNEH FORGETS HIS ROOTS?
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8. (C) Even before the latest confrontation, liberal
contacts questioned Habashneh's hard-line approach to
stifling public discourse on political issues. Journalist
Ureib al-Rintawi, who says he knew Habashneh as a "fellow
extremist" in the 1970s, noted the irony of Habashneh's
tactics, given the fact he had spent time in jail for his
political activities. Rintawi speculated that Habashneh has
gone down this path because he believes it is the road to
success in Jordan's power structure. Habashneh has been
rumored to be interested in one day ascending to the Prime
Ministry. To former PM Taher al-Masri, the unfortunate
result of this "iron fist" policy is to reinforce in front of
the public that freedom of expression is expendable. "So
what if they talk, complain, or even gather?" Masri asked
rhetorically. He believes it is important to provide an
outlet for opposing views, even if they criticize the
government, because bottled up dissent can manifest itself
later in more dangerous ways. Even the most liberal
activists, however, maintain that the line should be drawn at
anti-normalization activity that targets private citizens or
speech that incites violence.

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OR KHEIR'S POWER PLAY?
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9. (C) Activists worry that this chain of events signals
the regime's lack of commitment to political liberalization
and reaffirmation of the position of the real power-brokers
in Jordan: the security establishment, particularly, General
Intelligence Directorate head Sa'ad Kheir. Former royal
court adviser Adnan Abu Odeh believes that Habashneh is the
expendable "front man" for Kheir. According to Abu Odeh,
this move also telegraphs to Jordanians that politics is a
dangerous game, best left to the state to dictate. To many,
the latest actions just reinforce the widely held perception
that political reform is on the back burner (ref E).
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COMMENT
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10. (C) In fact, Habashneh is almost certainly operating on
the basis of direct instructions from the King, who has
expressed to us growing impatience with what he would argue
is the illegal, unhelpful, and unrepresentative political
activism of the associations. In the many decades when
political parties other than the Islamic Action Front were
banned, the associations naturally became a venue for what
were then secular political debate and activity (Islamists
have in the past decade come to dominate some of the
associations as well). The regime grew to tolerate this
development, and far more energy now is devoted in the
associations to political grandstanding than to their
members' professional concerns. This is a sore point with
many members, who must pay dues if they are to practice their
professions, but who do not necessarily share the political
attitudes of the groups' leaders. Unable to challenge
publicly the views of activists on "motherhood" issues, such
as opposition to U.S. regional policy, many members just tune
them out -- leaving it to one-note radicals to dominate
discourse. In theory, Jordan's political development would
entail boosting a spectrum of political parties representing
a range of political views, not just the default
anti-Americanism of the associations. Political thinkers
around the King would argue that this will give voice to a
stability oriented "silent majority" in the country while
turning the associations back into the hands of those with
professional concerns.


11. (C) That is a nice theory, but in fact all evidence
suggests that the critical views of the association leaders
toward the U.S. and Israel resonate among many ordinary
Jordanians. The crackdown risks further alienating a public
already disenchanted with the GOJ's support for the unpopular
U.S. role in the region. Without any public sign of forward
movement on reforming electoral and political parties laws to
enable broader political representation in parliament and
greater activism, a crackdown now on the associations hands
the regime's critics the ingredients needed to challenge the
government's commitment to true political reform. However,
this step reflects a genuine fear in senior regime circles
that even modest anti-U.S. demonstrations could have a
snowball effect, triggering larger demonstrations and
stronger calls for policy shifts. With the conflict-adverse
Prime Minister's efforts to engage in dialogue with the
opposition discredited, and a cabinet apparently stymied by
parliament, voices advocating a tougher line, such as GID
Chief Kheir and Royal Court Minister Rifai, are prevailing
with the King. And these figures are once again the object
of speculation as successors to the PM (septel).


12. (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.
HALE