TRIBAL VIOLENCE IN AJLOUN SPARKS GOVERNMENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 001896 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/23/2019 TAGS: PGOV SOCI KDEM JO SUBJECT: TRIBAL VIOLENCE IN AJLOUN SPARKS GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION REF: A. AMMAN 1204 ¶B. AMMAN 1203 ¶C. AMMAN 1202 Classified By: Ambassador R. Stephen Beecroft for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: The murder of a man by a rival tribesman led to a series of riots in the northern city of Ajloun on August 21 and 22 after efforts by tribal leaders to mediate a compensation agreement failed. The violence prompted security forces to establish a cordon around Ajloun and the Interior Minister to intervene directly with the families. The incident demonstrates the social and political power of tribal governance institutions. End Summary. Tribal Riots In Ajloun -------------- ¶2. (U) Sparked by a grisly murder in the northern provincial seat of Ajloun, rival tribes led a series of riots in the city on August 21 and 22. Rioters reportedly burned a city bus and committed other unspecified acts of vandalism throughout the city. Security forces were placed on alert and cordoned off the city of Ajloun, conducting rigorous security checks for anyone wishing to enter or leave the city. ¶3. (C) The riots were sparked by a premeditated murder of a well-connected tribal man by a former relation from another tribe. The victim, who was divorced from his wife, had returned to Ajloun for the weekend to see his children. (Note: Jordanian law mandates that parents have the right to see their children for at least two hours every week. End Note.) During the visit, the victim was stabbed by his former brother-in-law, who had reportedly planned the murder for some time. ¶4. (C) According to our contacts, the escalation of a seemingly open and shut murder case into tribal riots was primarily caused by the family's unwillingness to accept the mediation of tribal sheikhs for a traditional compensation agreement. The victim was the tenth child and only son of an elderly father. Now that the family has no male heir, the father is demanding a death sentence for the perpetrator. Tribal contacts told us that the father has also defied Islamic tradition by not burying his son immediately, keeping him in the hospital morgue as a reminder to tribal and local authorities that his anger has not been satisfied. As tribal leaders were unable to contain the emotional response of their kinsmen, the case quickly escalated into violence. ¶5. (U) The Jordanian press is reporting that the riots prompted a more active government role in seeking a solution. Interior Minister Nayef Al-Qadi (himself a tribal figure of some stature) and the King's Advisor on Tribal Issues Sharif Fawaz Zaben have both been in contact with local sheikhs and the families in an attempt to broker a solution which would bring an end to the violence. Some press outlets are reporting that an initial deal has been struck between the two families, but that information has not been confirmed. Comment -------------- ¶6. (C) The Ajloun incident demonstrates the ongoing social relevance of Jordan's tribal governance institutions, as well as the direct impact those institutions have on security and stability (reftels). For the most part, tribal leaders successfully prevent the escalation of conflicts by working hand in hand with provincial governors and police officials. In this incident, however, even the local system of government-tribal cooperation failed to produce a solution which could adequately contain the emotional reaction of the victim's extended family and tribe. Nonetheless, the government chose to intervene through the families and tribes rather than the formal legal system. This demonstrates the relevance of tribal social practices and traditions as well as the level of deference which the Jordanian state shows to them. Yet while tribal governance structures are normally able to bear some of the load in maintaining societal peace, in the long run they are a poor substitute for a legal system which citizens can trust to resolve conflicts in a fair, equitable manner. Beecroft