GOJ PUSHES ARTICLE 98 AGREEMENT IN SENATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 005994 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/08/2015 TAGS: PGOV PREL JO KICC SUBJECT: GOJ PUSHES ARTICLE 98 AGREEMENT IN SENATE REF: A. AMMAN 05848 ¶B. AMMAN 05624 Classified By: CDA David Hale for Reasons 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (C) Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Abdul Karim al-Malahmeh told Charge July 28 that he and several other GOJ ministers (including the Foreign and Justice Ministers) would be going later in the day to the Jordanian Senate to explain and lobby for ratification of the Article 98 agreement, which was previously stricken by the Lower House from its agenda for the current extraordinary session of parliament (ref B). Malahmeh predicted that the Senate Legal Committee would very shortly recommend the agreement for ratification, and that the full Senate would begin debate on it early next week. While Malahmeh was confident that the Article 98 agreement would meet with Senate approval, he was uncertain whether this would be accomplished before the conclusion of the current extraordinary session. (NOTE: The duration of the extraordinary session is determined by the King, currently outside Jordan, by means of a royal decree. The GOJ previously informed post that the session would likely end July 28 (ref A); we have no information yet on a revised date for the session's end. END NOTE.) ¶2. (C) MP Suleiman Abu Ghaith (West Banker, Madaba) told emboffs July 28 that he and other MPs in the Lower House had voted to strike the Article 98 agreement from the extraordinary session agenda based on "sovereignty" concerns. He admitted, however, that he knew very little about the agreement and that most MPs (including himself) had not even read it. When emboffs described what the agreement entailed and how it did not infringe on Jordanian sovereignty, Abu Ghaith expressed some surprise and stated that the GOJ should have done a better job in explaining the agreement's provisions to MPs. Abu Ghaith continued that even if the Lower House rejects the agreement when parliament reconvenes in the fall, in his opinion it would still likely be later ratified by a majority in a joint session of the Lower House and Senate (ref B) since "every Senator would attend," while the GOJ would help ensure that enough MPs opposing the agreement failed to show up for the vote. HALE