JORDAN: A/S POSNER'S FOCUS ON DEMOCRATIC AND HUMAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 000326 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/01/2020 TAGS: KDEM KMPI KPAL KWMN PREL PGOV PHUM JO SUBJECT: JORDAN: A/S POSNER'S FOCUS ON DEMOCRATIC AND HUMAN RIGHTS REFORM, PART 1 REF: A. AMMAN 283 ¶B. AMMAN 220 Classified By: Ambassador R. Stephen Beecroft for reasons 1.4 (b) and ( d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Michael Posner, Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL),pressed the Jordanian government during his January 10-11 visit to move forward on the implementation of a number of high-priority political and human rights reforms. This cable describes A/S Posner's side-meetings with non-governmental contacts during his Amman visit. Meetings with government officials and details from the bilateral Political Reform Dialogue will be reported septel. Additionally, S/P Director Anne-Marie Slaughter joined A/S Posner for a dinner with Jordanian women's rights activists (ref B). ¶2. (C) During A/S Posner's individual program, he met with Minister of Labor Ibrahim Omoush, Minister of Justice Ayman Odeh, Ministry of Interior Secretary General Abu Jammous, Jordan Press Association President Abdel Wahab Zgheilat, Freedom House Country Director Lama Khreis, Christian religious leaders, and freedom of expression activists. With his interlocutors, A/S Posner specifically focused on the need to address problems in Jordan's troubled democratic and human rights record, particularly the existing flawed electoral law, the status of women's rights, and limits to freedom of expression. He also expressed an interest in Jordanian efforts to combat forced labor, improve prison conditions, investigate and prosecute police abuse, end administrative detention, and promote judicial reform. End summary. Freedom of Expression -------------- ¶3. (C) Restrictions on the freedoms of media and expression were raised with both governmental and non-governmental contacts. A major point of discussion was the high degree of self-censorship evident in Jordanian media. Freedom of expression activists agreed with a 2009 survey which reported that over 90 percent of local journalists practice self-censorship. They also stated that their greatest concern is the threat of high fines, up to 20,000 USD, under the Press and Publications Law and the threat of imprisonment. For instance, the penal code contains provisions making it illegal to publish offensive material about the royal family, foreign heads of state, or religious beliefs. A/S Posner highlighted these restrictions with Justice Minister Odeh and asked him to consider eliminating restrictions which hinder freedom of expression as part of the government's overall efforts to reform the penal code via a temporary law. ¶4. (C) A/S Posner also raised freedom of expression concerns with the Jordan Press Association (JPA) Abdel Wahab Zgheilat, who stated that the constitution guarantees such freedoms and claimed throughout the meeting that there was a very high degree of media freedom. Although Zgheilat clearly wanted to talk more about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its impact on public attitudes in Jordan, A/S Posner was able to get him to comment on the new government's code of conduct with the media. Zgheilat approved of the code, but believed the code had nothing to do with media freedom. Instead, he believed it would merely "untangle" the financial relationship between the government and media. For instance, the new code that prevents a journalist from working both in the media and in the government at the same time clarifies the relationship and hopefully eliminates conflicts of interest. (Note: Zgheilat and Chief Editor of the government-owned Al Rai newspaper predictably saw no contradiction in government ownership of media institutions, such as Al Rai or Jordan Radio and Television. End Note.) In addition, the government will cancel all current periodical subscriptions to eliminate any conflicts of interest. A/S Posner relayed the concern of some activists that the new code may have unintended consequences. Weekly papers, for instance, rely heavily on government subscriptions to maintain their circulation levels and journalists often rely on second jobs, including government positions, to support their families. As such, the government needs to consider potential negative consequences with changes to the code. Zgheilat did not agree with A/S Posner's assessment of these potential side-effects. (Note: Zgheilat was defensive throughout the meeting and was less willing to engage substantively on media freedom issues than government officials A/S Posner met with during the visit. End Note) Religious Freedom -------------- AMMAN 00000326 002 OF 002 ¶5. (C) A/S Posner discussed the level of religious freedom in Jordan with Reverend Abassi from the Baptist Church and Father Jaar from the Catholic Church. Both interlocutors were critical of the Jordanian government and felt that inter-faith relations have deteriorated over the past couple decades. They spoke passionately about the perceived growing lack of tolerance and increased conservatism in Jordanian schools and mosques. They also affirmed that Christian converts fear for their lives and violent reprisal from their families. They are disturbed by the lack of effort by the royal court or government to stop these trends and criticized government officials for "trumpeting" the Amman Message to outside visitors but failing to apply its tenets domestically. Father Jaar also spoke about the shear lack of support from his fellow Christians, Jordanian citizens, and the government for his youth initiatives that bring together Israeli Jews and Jordanian Christians and Muslims. Unable to find financial or even moral support, Father Jaar is planning to stop such initiatives. ¶6. (C) The church leaders also spoke about official restrictions placed on religious freedom, including the complex process to obtain official recognition for a religion. Evangelical denominations and other religious minorities have been unable to receive recognition, thereby restricting their ability to operate fully and establish their own personal status courts. Reverend Abassi felt Evangelicals are making progress and noted that Prince Ghazi, the king's religious affairs adviser, is believed to be more open to granting Evangelicals recognition. Part of the problem, according the Abassi and Jaar, is intra-Christian fighting in the Council of Churches, which limits Christians' ability to join together to advocate for greater religious freedom. Comment -------------- ¶7. (C) Comment: A/S Posner's discussions with human rights, religious freedom, women's rights (ref B),and freedom of expression activists were open and frank. Jordan has numerous committed and highly capable organizations and activists that work tirelessly to advance democracy and human rights. These activists are generally able to operate without significant interference but are often frustrated by the government's lack of political will to undertake serious reform efforts. Most often these organization and activists welcome U.S. government pressure to help convince the government to take action even though at times they do not want to be seen publicly as working closely with the Embassy. As the U.S.-Jordan dialogue on democracy and human rights moves forward every effort should be made to consult and coordinate with non-state actors and, when possible, support their work to develop and strengthen grassroots efforts and home grown reform. End Comment. ¶8. (U) This cable was cleared by A/S Posner. Beecroft