TFLE01: DEMONSTRATION LEADS TO SCUFFLE, ARRESTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 005963

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/07/2016
TAGS: PGOV ASEC IS LE JO
SUBJECT: TFLE01: DEMONSTRATION LEADS TO SCUFFLE, ARRESTS

REF: A) AMMAN 5529 B) AMMAN 5745 C) AMMAN 5775

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


1. ( SBU ) Media and security contacts report that an
unlicensed protest after Friday prayers August 4 at an Amman
mosque led to sparring that left two police and two
protesters hospitalized with minor injuries. Police detained
10 protesters, all of whom were released on bail after a few
hours. The demonstrators, who numbered about 200, left the
large Al-Kaluti Mosque in the Al-Rabiya neighborhood of Amman
after prayer and attempted to march to the nearby Israeli
Embassy. They blocked traffic and chanted denunciations of
Israel, and of U.S. and GOJ policy. An official spokesman
for the Public Security Directorate (PSD) told media that
officers were "assaulted" and that the police responded by
forcing the crowd to disperse. Islamist spokesmen told media
that the police beat marchers without provocation.


2. ( SBU ) Other, smaller unauthorized demonstrations took
place August 4 after prayers at a number of locations
throughout Jordan, and were reportedly dispersed without
violence. About 100 were dispersed outside Al-Husseini,
Amman's principal mosque. Police dispersed fifty who tried
to rally outside Al-Noor mosque in the Wehdat area of Amman.
On Saturday, August 5, police received word that an
unlicensed rally would convene at the upscale Abdoun Mall
near Embassy Amman. Police contacts report several dozen
people turned up, but made no attempt to rally, probably
because of the heavy police presence.


3. ( SBU ) In an opinion article in "Al-Arab Al-Yawm" (a
sensationalist, widely-read, anti-U.S. daily),Fahd
Al-Khitan questioned how long the Israeli and U.S. embassies
would remain off-limits to demonstrations. Al-Khitan
appealed to the GOJ to allow "Jordanians to express their
anger" and thereby convey the "embarrassment (the U.S.) has
caused its friends in the region."


4. ( C ) Comment: Larger, licensed demonstrations are
frequent but remain orderly. As the Israeli-Hizballah
fighting continues, we expect more small, spontaneous
demonstrations like the one outside Kaluti Mosque. End
Comment.

Visit Amman's Classified Web Site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman/
Hale