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OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAM #4266/01 1640956
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O 130956Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY AMMAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1221
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC IMMEDIATE
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RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 0345
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UNCLAS AMMAN 004266 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARN, NEA/PA, NEA/AIA, INR/NESA, R/MR, I/GNEA, B/BXN, 
B/BRN, NEA/PPD, NEA/IPA FOR ALTERMAN 
USAID/ANE/MEA 
LONDON FOR TSOU 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
 
TAGS: KMDR JO
 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION ON ZARQAWI AND U.S. DEMOCRACY PROMOTION 
 
Editorial Commentary on Zarqawi's Death 
 
-- "No consolation for deputies behind bars" 
 
Political analyst and columnist Fahd Kheetan writes on the inside 
page of independent, mass-appeal Arabic daily Al-Arab Al-Yawm 
(06/13):  "The justification provided by the deputies who offered 
their condolences on Zarqawi's death and by their leadership seemed 
unconvincing.  True, the government, and for humanitarian and family 
considerations, allowed Zarqawi's family to have an open house and 
receive condolences from relatives and friends, yet, what applies to 
Zarqawi's family does not apply to deputies who have high ranking 
political and party positions that supersede their social roles.... 
They are deputies and they are Islamists, and this is what they did 
not realize when they decided to make the condolence visit.  The 
problem lies not in performing their duty of offering condolences, 
but in the remarks made by some of them afterwards that highly 
provoked people's feelings....  The Islamic movement did not 
understand that the state's position on terrorism and the Salafist 
forces supporting it is a categorical position not subject to 
bargaining, and that from now on any person, regardless of his 
position or immunity, will be held accountable if he acts as if he 
is supporting terrorism....  The rhetoric of the Islamists requires 
serious reconsideration.  We have more than enough of crises, 
internal tensions and confrontations, and for what? Zarqawi?  It is 
not too late to lay to rest this crisis.  The Islamic movement, both 
the Brotherhood and the IAF, can issue a joint statement that 
includes a clear denunciation of Zarqawi's approach, thought and 
action in both Jordan and Iraq, without any buts, and includes full 
support for the Iraqi resistance against the American occupation, a 
condemnation of the killing of innocent people, and of course 
support for the right of the Palestinian people to legitimate 
resistance....  The deputies stay behind bars is harmful to Jordan's 
reputation.  The Islamic movement needs to understand this as much 
as the government needs to move to contain the situation." 
 
-- "Who is the martyr and who is the terrorist?" 
 
Chief Editor Taher Odwan writes on the back-page of independent, 
mass-appeal Arabic daily Al-Arab Al-Yawm (06/13):  "It is 
permissible to disagree in politics but it is not permissible to 
disagree over the stand vis-`-vis terrorism.  'Extremism' is even 
acceptable in politics... but violence and terrorism is an issue 
that does not accept discussion, nor is it the specialty of any 
mufti, party or organization leader.  It is a matter that has to do 
with the society's security, state security, the stability of the 
regime and the application of the law....  What concerns me as a 
writer and a reporter is to diagnose the event, which leads that we, 
on the national level, are in a state of confrontation between the 
state, the government and some of the society on one hand, and a 
group of the Muslim Brotherhood on the other.  This confrontation is 
not about price hikes or the election law, but rather a conflict 
about a cultural, religious and legal issue related to the concepts 
of violence and terrorism....  This intellectual and political 
confrontation concerns all Jordanians because it has to do with the 
culture of terrorism and with the core of society's security and the 
permissible limits to which legitimate political and cultural work 
can reach....  It is therefore important for the society and the 
state to hear from the Islamic movement a decisive and conclusive 
stand on the concept of martyrdom.  This is because the battle with 
terrorism is going on in our country and on our borders.  Moreover, 
it is not an issue related to the American occupation of Iraq, but 
the blowing up of a Jordanian family's wedding party and killing 
tens of citizens." 
 
-- "The hour of the truth for the IAF" 
 
Columnist Bater Wardam writes on the inside page of center-left, 
influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour (06/13):  "I never imagined, in 
the ten years of taking up journalistic writing, that I, a firm 
believer in the right of freedom of expression, would write an 
article welcoming the arrest of a Jordanian citizen.  But I do 
write, in complete conviction, welcoming the arrest of the four IAF 
deputies....  This is because I had never imagined that freedom of 
expression would sink so such low levels of degradation and 
irresponsibility.  There is no justification or principle in the 
freedom of expression that gives the right to commend a terrorist 
who has killed innocent people and to offend the martyrs....  The 
four IAF deputies broke every single prohibition that we agree on in 
Jordan, and thus the state had to intervene and set matter 
rights....  Jordanian democracy does not mean that 'every citizen 
 
 
has the right to speak in the manner that he wants', as Salem 
Falahat of the IAF had said.  We do not accept the glorification of 
Israel, nor the publishing of drawings against the Prophet, nor the 
publishing of pornographic materials, nor the call to apostasy and 
atheism, nor the support for the occupation.  At the same time, we 
do not accept giving the title of martyr of a terrorist like 
Zarqawi.  There are limits that cannot be crossed.  And just as the 
Islamists have the right to determine the limits that are and are 
not to be crossed, we too cannot allow the IAF to cross the lines of 
national principles....  The Jordanian state is larger and more 
important than the IAF with all its leaderships and its symbols. 
When it comes down to defying and assaulting the state, there is no 
room for silence.  The IAF, now before tomorrow, must choose the 
role it wants to play in the Jordanian society.  It is either a 
respectable political movement that takes up opposition for the 
benefit of the country and rejects violence or an organization that 
supports violence and terrorism.  The method of dealing with the 
party will vary according to its position." 
 
-- "More clarification of the massive error" 
 
Center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour editorial (06/13) 
opines:  "Offering condolences for the killer Zarqawi is wrong. 
Describing him as a martyr is wrong because we know his Jordanian 
and Iraqi victims.  Offending Amman's martyrs is wrong.  Turning 
their backs to their commitment to the nation, which they supposedly 
represent, is wrong.  But the worst wrong that reaches the levels of 
criminality is sympathizing with the terrorists, because Zarqawi is 
not just a person, but a large, dangerous and destructive 
organization made up of many misled and misleading human beings 
ready to die for no worthy cause.  Whether they realize the offense 
they committed against their country and people or not, the 
situation must be set right lest the terrorists, the evil people and 
the conspirators inside and outside the country start to think that 
there is room for them in our arena." 
 
Editorial Commentary on U.S. Democracy Promotion in the Arab World 
 
-- ""America and democracy in the Arab world 
 
Chief Editor Ayman Safadi writes on the back-page of centrist, 
independent Arabic daily Al-Ghad (06/13):  "Years after launching an 
extensive program to improve its image in the region, the United 
States continues to top the list of countries that Arabs see as 
harmful and dangerous to their interests.  The problem that 
Washington seems not to have absorbed to this day lies in that the 
American credibility crisis stems from its policies towards the 
Middle East and not from the convictions and beliefs of Arabs and 
Muslims....  Instead of recognizing the pivotal need of changing its 
policies towards the Palestinian cause in any effort aimed at 
improving its image in the Arab world, the United Sates throws its 
failure on the Arab political system.  This is a deficient diagnosis 
of the problem that will not resolve the problem and will not 
contribute to bridging the growing gap between the Arabs and 
America.  True, the failure the Arab political system in developing 
a political and democratic climate that respects human rights and 
provides participation opportunities in ruling institutions does 
constitute a factor for frustration, desperation and extremism, but 
limiting the issue to this sin is an attempt to escape facing 
reality.  America now says that it supports democracy in the 
region....  America summarized democracy in holding elections and 
other formalities, which serve its own internal interests of 
marketing the success of its endeavors to its people and cover up 
its failure in Iraq and Afghanistan....  America wants the 
democratization of the region to progress according to its own 
internal agenda.  This is a very dangerous path.  The development of 
Arab countries towards democracy must be a process with stages of 
maturity, and so cannot be summarized according to Washington's 
timetable....  This means that achieving a democratic society is a 
gradual change.  The alternative is either the Iraqi model that is 
still paying the price for Washington's impetuous behavior or the 
control of religious parties because other political forces do not 
have that capacity.  Either models is not a good omen for the 
democracy that people aspire." 
RUBINSTEIN