VZCZCXRO1325
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHAM #8806 3450544
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 110544Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY AMMAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6055
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS AMMAN 008806 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM JO
SUBJECT: NGOS CRITICAL OF U.S. POLICY DENOUNCE FORUM FOR 
THE FUTURE 
 
REF: AMMAN 8573 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary:  Jordanian and international NGOs opposed to 
the Forum for the Future convened an alternative conference, 
dubbed "The Forum to Oppose Hegemony," from November 30 to 
December 1.  Ninety civil society organizations from across 
the Middle Eastern region, and from France and Norway, 
focused on anti-U.S., anti-Israel, and anti-western themes, 
and denounced the G-8 for their "hypocrisy."  Although 
smaller than the Forum for the Future's civil society 
gathering, the alternative forum succeeded in attracting 
local and regional media attention.  End summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) From 30 November to 1 December the "Forum to Oppose 
Hegemony" convened as a challenge to the Forum for the Future 
and its parallel civil society conference (reftel).  The 
opposition forum was attended by 90 civil society 
organizations from Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, 
Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, Turkey, Greece, France and Norway, and 
neutral observers commented that it was well organized.  The 
general content of the forum was primarily anti-US, 
anti-western speeches.  The forum organizer was Hani Dahleh, 
a Jordanian lawyer who is president of the Arab Organization 
for Human Rights.  Dahleh made local news earlier this year 
by publicly refusing to meet with the Embassy human rights 
officer.  Prominent Jordanian participants included Zaki Bani 
Irsheid, Secretary General of the Islamic Action Front, the 
political wing of the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood, and 
Toujan Faisal, a former member of parliament (1993-1997).  By 
way of comparison, the Forum for the Future's "official" 
civil society event November 27 and 28 in Amman was attended 
by roughly 175 regional and international NGOs, represented 
by about 320 delegates. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) A press release from the organizers prior to the 
conference denounced "American occupation of Iraq and 
Afghanistan as well as the Israeli occupation of Palestine 
(as) the main reasons for the lack of security, peace and 
justice in the Middle East."  The forum endorsed "resisting 
occupation by any means (as) a right of all people living 
under occupation."  The forum denounced the "hypocrisy" of 
G-8 countries for supporting "dictatorial and racist regimes" 
and "military interventions in the name of spreading 
democracy."  The release argued that democracy and peace had 
to come from within the societies of the region, and could 
not be imposed through initiatives from outside. 
 
¶4.  (U) A declaration issued after the conference called for 
all NGOs to boycott the American and British embassies, 
severing ties with any NGOs that had relations with Israeli 
organizations, and establishing an Arab NGO to focus on 
environmental issues, especially "American/Zionist 
environmental violations." 
 
¶5.  (U) Local media reported that the alternative forum sent 
a resolution to the Forum for the Future calling for a number 
of steps, including action plans and time-lines for reform 
from the Arab governments participating in the Forum for the 
Future; regional, local and municipal elections; judicial 
reform based on human rights treaties; abolishing martial law 
in Arab states; and a demand that Forum for the Future 
participants exert pressure on Israel to respect the rights 
of the Palestinian people and end the occupation of 
Palestinian, Syrian, and Lebanese territory. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Comment: The President's visit to Amman, regional 
events, and the Forum for the Future itself dominated local 
media during the alternative forum, but the event succeeded 
in gaining a respectable dose of local and Arab regional 
media attention. 
 
Visit Amman's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman/ 
HALE