SOME REFORM ACTIVISTS BOYCOTT EMBASSY OVER LEBANON

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 006519 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/24/2021 TAGS: PGOV KDEM IS LE JO SUBJECT: SOME REFORM ACTIVISTS BOYCOTT EMBASSY OVER LEBANON REF: AMMAN 5745 Classified By: Ambassador David Hale for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: Citing U.S. policy toward Lebanon and the Palestinians, several long standing Embassy contacts among the reform activist community have begun in recent weeks to boycott Embassy functions or have ended information-sharing relationships. Those who continue to work with us report feeling pressure in a Jordanian society that is beginning to conflate reform causes with regional conflicts. End summary. ¶2. (C) A number of Embassy contacts have recently ended or scaled back long-standing work relationships with us because of regional developments. --Dr. Abdulrahim Melhas, a reformist Member of Parliament and an Embassy contact for two decades, declined to attend an event at the Ambassador's residence honoring political reform activists. He later told poloff that he stayed away because he viewed the U.S. "as an enemy lately." --Leaders of Adaleh Human Rights Center, a human rights NGO that has long contributed information useful to our annual human rights and religious freedom reports, boycotted an Embassy reception in late July. In late August, they refused to discuss human rights issues with emboff, and told her they were "enraged" by U.S. policies toward Lebanon and the Palestinians. The NGO's president said that because of the war, U.S. commitments to democracy in the region had no credibility. --A director of Amman Center for Human Rights, another human rights NGO that has long worked with Embassy, told PolFSN that he would not meet with us following recent events in Lebanon out of concern he would be "seen as a spy." --Ten recent returnees from a Spring 2006 International Visitors Program for democratization activists invited the Ambassador to lunch, but four of the hosts then boycotted their own event citing developments in Lebanon. The attendees were eager to continue cooperation with the Embassy, but also observed that as self-styled "liberals" promoting democratic reform, they are vulnerable to accusations of promoting an American agenda - electoral death in the current climate. --One econ contact declined to meet with emboffs citing the Qana tragedy, but we were able to get our business done with his superior, who received us as usual (reftel). ¶3. (SBU) Most other civil society NGOs continue to do business with us, but many report they feel pressure from other Jordanians because their causes are increasingly seen as "pro-Western." ¶4. (C) Comment: As late as the end of July, we saw little sign that our contacts were letting their perceptions of U.S. policy interfere with their day-to-day business with us. These anecdotes suggest emotions here peaked toward the end of the conflict. If the region moves toward calm and visible diplomatic progress, we expect things to gradually return to normal. End Comment. Visit Amman's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman/ Hale