GOVERNMENT AND MEDIA LASH OUT AT QATAR

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 007592 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/03/2016 TAGS: PREL UN AL QA JO SUBJECT: GOVERNMENT AND MEDIA LASH OUT AT QATAR REF: AMMAN 6932 Classified By: Classified by Ambassador David Hale for reasons 1.4 b and d. ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Jordan's official government spokesman sharply criticized Qatar for failing to support the candidacy of Prince Zeid for SecGen. Media and lawmakers also piled on. END SUMMARY. GOJ: QATAR BROKE FROM ARAB RANKS ¶2. (U) GOJ spokesman Nasser Judeh told media October 2 that the GOJ was concerned with Qatar's "lack of commitment" to the Arab League's position in support of the candidacy for UN Secretary General of Jordan's PermRep, Prince Zeid bin Raad SIPDIS (ref A). An editorial in the leading, semi-official Arabic daily Al-Rai blamed Qatari Foreign Minister Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani for Qatar's support of South Korean candidate Ban Ki-Moon, saying "Qatar's Foreign Minister has left his negative fingerprints on Qatar's relations with Arab countries since he assumed his post" and that Qatar's lack of support for Prince Zeid demonstrates "the level of hatred and meanness that Qatar's diplomacy has reached." ¶3. (U) Several pro-government members of parliament joined in the Qatar-bashing. MP Nabil al-Nahar, (Irbid 6th District) was typical when he told media that Qatar's position was a "disaster" and that Qatar is at the forefront of "those who conspire against the Arabs." Not to be outdone, opposition Islamist MP Taysir al-Fityani, (Amman 2nd District) deployed an Arabic proverb: "I side with my brother against my cousin, and I side with my cousin against a stranger." Qatar, he told the press, "has sided with a stranger against its brother." ¶4. (C) The King told the Ambassador that two members of the security council had informed Jordanian officials that Qatar was actively lobbying against Prince Zeid's candidacy, thus reinforcing his certainty of Qatar's opposition. This is one event in a series that has contributed to a steady deterioration of Qatari-Jordanian relations. Others include the perception that Qatar promoted Iranian interests in the Arab League debate on Lebanon, and used al-Jazeera to attack King Abdullah and other moderate Arabs. Visit Amman's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman/ Hale