JORDAN: APPEAL FOR EARTHQUAKE DEMARCHE DELIVERED

UNCLAS AMMAN 008982 SIPDIS SENSITIVE CENTCOM FOR J-5 E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PREL SENV EAID JO PAK SUBJECT: JORDAN: APPEAL FOR EARTHQUAKE DEMARCHE DELIVERED REF: A. STATE 208903 ¶B. AMMAN 8610 ¶C. AMMAN 8781 ¶D. AMMAN 8431 ¶1. (U) Poloff delivered ref A demarche November 17 to Ambassador Mohammed Siraj, Chief of the Foreign Ministry's Asian Affairs Department. Siraj said that he would forward our request to the appropriate Jordanian relief organizations, as well as to Jordanian representatives attending the November 19 reconstruction conference in Islamabad. ¶2. (U) Jordan has already contributed five planeloads of tents, medicines, food items, blankets, and heaters to earthquake victims; deployed a civil defense rescue team to search for survivors; and dispatched a 42-man medical team that has treated over 3,500 and conducted more than 400 surgical operations (ref C,D). A television appeal launched by Queen Rania and a Jordan TV telethon raised USD 588,000, while other appeals have brought in an additional 30 tons of food, clothes, and bedding (ref C). ¶3. (SBU) Post's civil affairs liaison team is working with the Jordanian Armed Forces' Crisis Management Center (CMC) to determine if U.S. military assets will be needed to airlift additional Jordanian humanitarian assistance (tents, medicine, food) to areas affected by the earthquake. The CMC is currently waiting for the Jordanian Hashemite Charitable Organization, the umbrella organization under which all Jordanian charities operate, to provide a list of humanitarian supplies that will require transportation to Pakistan. Once received the CMC will pass this information to the USAF Superintendent at the Joint Military Coordination Center. HALE