US embassy cable - 05AMMAN3231

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 003231 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/25/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PTER, IZ, JO 
SUBJECT: KING MEETS IRAQI JOURNALISTS; STRESSES COMMITMENT 
TO BORDER SECURITY 
 
REF: A. AMMAN 3048 
 
     B. AMMAN 2218 
 
Classified By: CDA David Hale for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  (U)  King Abdullah received a group of Iraqi journalists 
on April 18, stressing that Jordan is doing its utmost to 
protect its border with Iraq and prevent terrorist 
infiltrations.  The journalists, in Jordan for a conference 
with local counterparts, also met the PM and speaker of the 
Lower House of Parliament.  The King called on local media to 
report more responsibly on Iraqi issues, and claimed that 
inaccurate reporting is responsible for tensions in the 
Iraqi-Jordanian relationship.  End Summary. 
 
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GOJ ROLLS OUT THE RED CARPET FOR IRAQI JOURNALISTS 
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2.  (U)  Keeping in line with his active strategy to improve 
strained Jordanian-Iraqi ties (ref A), King Abdullah hosted a 
lunch for a group of Iraqi journalists on April 18, during 
which he emphasized the GOJ is doing all it can to prevent 
terrorist infiltrations into Iraq from Jordan.  Stressing 
that Jordan's "historical and brotherly" ties with Iraq are 
"too strong to be sabotaged," he said: "Jordan will always be 
the primary backer of Iraq and Iraqis' aspirations.... 
Restoring Iraq's security and stability is key to Jordan and 
the entire region."  The meeting was widely covered by local 
media, receiving front-page coverage in most dailies. 
 
3.  (U)  For their part, the Iraqi media representatives, 
attending a conference at the Dead Sea with their Jordanian 
counterparts, reportedly said the visit enhanced their belief 
in Jordan as "the real backer of the Iraqi people."  Hussein 
Adeli, an Iraqi Media and Communications Commission official, 
characterized the meeting with the King as "warm."  He told 
Jordan TV that, "We are confident that ties between Jordan 
and Iraq will witness progress in all fields."  Ismail Zayer, 
chief editor of al-Sabah al-Jadid newspaper, was quoted in 
one of the Jordanian dailies as saying, "there are certain 
powers that benefit from a bad relationship between Jordan 
and Iraq."  He urged continuous communication between media 
institutions in both countries, as "the enormous changes in 
Iraq worry our brothers in Jordan."  Director of the Iraqi 
Media Network Habib Sadr commented that "Jordan's media fell 
short of clarifying the balanced official stand of Jordan 
towards Iraq." 
 
4.  (U)  The journalists met separately with PM Badran on 
April 19.  Badran urged the Iraqi and Jordanian journalists 
to "remove impurities that might appear in bilateral ties." 
He said Jordan and Iraq "share the same destiny," adding that 
the "flourishing" freedom of expression, as well as political 
and intellectual pluralism, in Iraq would enhance ties 
between the two countries.  The Iraqis also met separately 
with Lower House Speaker Abdul Hadi Majali and Interior 
Ministry Secretary General Mkheimar Abu Jammous, and visited 
the editors-in-chief of Arab local dailies al-Rai and 
al-Ghad. 
 
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KING CLAIMS INACCURATE REPORTING FUELS TENSIONS 
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5.  (U)  The King met with top Jordanian media 
representatives on April 19, telling them he held the media 
partially responsible for aggravating tension with Iraq. 
"Some journalists do not like to see our relationship with 
Iraq strong," he told the chief editors of local dailies and 
the director general of Jordan's official news agency, Petra. 
 He complained that some columnists still remain "captive to 
the past," adding that "everyone should respect the will of 
the Iraqi people."  (Comment: It is widely known that many of 
Jordan's leading journalists were on Saddam's payroll for 
years, until the removal of the Ba'ath regime.  End Comment.) 
 The King underscored the media's responsibility in 
advocating reform, but acknowledged that the GOJ had to do a 
better job of providing information and creating an 
environment in which a free press could flourish. 
 
6.  (U)  In a veiled reference to the Ra'ed al-Banna suicide 
bomber episode (ref B), the King called for more training for 
journalists to avoid "errors" in reporting.  He also called 
for the Jordanian parliament to enact legislation that would 
prohibit jailing journalists on charges related to their job. 
 This meeting also received front-page coverage in all 
dailies. 
 
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COMMENT 
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7.  (C)  The King's public statements on this issue comes 
against the backdrop of increasingly critical local coverage 
of the Iraqi "resistance."  For example, al-Ghad ran a story 
based on interviews with Iraqi women from Hilla (in Jordan 
for a conference), who described the horrific aftermath of 
the suicide bombing there.  However, the GOJ's public efforts 
continue to contrast with the opinions of some Jordanians. 
An Iraqi working with a German development organization in 
Jordan shared with poloffs his shock as an acquaintance from 
Salt (al-Banna's home town) exalted the "heroic" effort of 
"one of their own" on behalf of the "Iraqi resistance."  The 
Salti was sheepish as the Iraqi chastised his "blind support" 
for the "resistance," which he explained is killing mostly 
innocent civilians.  The Iraqi lamented that the 
pro-insurgency sentiment is well-ingrained among many 
ordinary Jordanians, and it will take more than just public 
statements to change attitudes. 
 
8.  (U)  Minimize considered. 
 
Please visit Embassy Amman's classified web site at 
http://www.state.sgov/p/nea/amman/ or access the site through 
the Department of State's SIPRNET home page. 
HALE