VZCZCXRO8224
RR RUEHROV
DE RUEHAM #2605/01 1691212
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 181212Z JUN 07
FM AMEMBASSY AMMAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9129
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 002605 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ELA, NEA/PPD, NEA/PI, IIP/GNEA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: JO KPAO PHUM KMDR KMPI
SUBJECT: JORDANIAN MEDIA PROFESSIONALS SAY NEW LAW POSITIVE BUT NOT 
PERFECT 
 
REFS: A) Amman 2255 B) 06 Amman 5945 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Jordan's Parliament passed a new law in April 
giving citizens the right to access information held by government 
bodies.  The law is currently pending endorsement by King Abdullah. 
The law's supporters point to the mass enfranchisement of a new 
democratic right, while detractors point to its shortcomings with 
respect to international best practices.  While Jordan's leaders 
remain publicly committed to realizing a free media, the new law's 
significance remains to be determined. End summary. 
 
Background: Contours of the New Law 
 
¶2. (U) As reported Ref A, Jordan's Parliament passed a law in April 
giving an unprecedented statutory right "to every Jordanian" to 
access information held by government bodies and some other public 
institutions.  Under its terms, a request for information may be 
filed by any citizen having "a legitimate interest or a legitimate 
reason."  Responses to requests for information must be provided no 
later than two weeks after filing.  The period for response may be 
extended another two weeks, or up to 30 days after the date of 
filing. 
 
¶3. (U) In cases of non-disclosure, citizens may register a complaint 
with a cabinet-appointed council chaired by the Minister of Culture 
and comprised of members drawn from five other government agencies, 
including the Ministries of Justice, Interior, Jordanian Armed 
Forces, the National Center for Human Rights and the Jordan 
Information Center.  This new council is prohibited from disclosing 
information deemed discriminatory on the basis of religion, sect, 
race, color or gender.  The new law is silent on the issue of 
penalties for non-disclosure. 
 
¶4. (U) Article 13 of the new law prohibits citizens from obtaining 
information containing classified information, including "secrets 
and protected documents."  Separate provisions of Article 13 also 
rule out other official information including materials under 
consideration, law enforcement matters, official correspondence, and 
personal data. 
 
Pros and Cons 
 
¶5. (SBU) Supporters of the new law correctly assert that Jordan has 
enfranchised its citizens with a new democratic right.  While some 
are guarded in their assessment of the law's long-term impact, most 
mainstream observers see it as progress.  Basem Sakijha, a senior 
columnist with Jordan's second-largest circulation Arabic daily 
newspaper Ad-Dustour and the director of Transparency 
International's Jordan office, told IO the new law does more than 
validate the existing government treatment of information requests. 
Sakijha is confident the law is a solid advance in the direction of 
a more open speech environment, and gives Jordanians a tool for 
future democratic progress. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Detractors criticize the new law for not being a "freedom 
of information act."  NOTE: Jordan's law was not drafted with the 
U.S. model in mind.  END NOTE.  Nonetheless, some free-speech 
advocates are troubled that the law does not adopt basic 
international best practices under which the government bears the 
burden of proof in restricting access, must identify the specific 
harm to state interests, and must establish an independent authority 
to resolve disputes.  They predict these shortcomings will mean an 
impractical and potentially biased application of the new law.  On 
this point, Ayman Safadi, chief editor of Jordan's leading 
independent Arabic daily newspaper Al-Ghad told IO that the only 
political standard by which to assess the new law was whether it 
enhanced the daily practice of professional journalists living in 
the information age.  Echoing this view, Faisal Malkawi, senior 
political and foreign affairs reporter with Ad-Dustour and vice 
president of the government-sanctioned Jordan Press Association told 
IO that the conventional view among media professionals is that the 
law "is a step in the right direction" but that the new law "makes 
better headlines than copy." 
 
King's Vision 
 
¶7. (U) In an exclusive interview with the independent, opposition 
Arabic daily Al-Arab Al-Yawm published May 16, King Abdullah 
reiterated his long-standing support for the advancement of a free 
media.  In response to a question on the access to information law, 
he said, "It is the citizen's right as much as it is the right of 
the journalist... to obtain accurate, verified information aimed at 
explaining the facts and removing ambiguity, if any, firstly to 
serve the homeland, and secondly to enhance the ideals of 
accountability, openness and institutional access in order to 
achieve a just society." 
 
¶8. (SBU) Comment: As with Jordan's amended press and publications 
law, also passed in April, the significance of the new right to 
 
AMMAN 00002605  002 OF 002 
 
 
access information depends on how it is implemented.  However, both 
represent positive achievements in the reform agenda set by the 
government at the "We are All Jordan" national unity conference in 
July 2006 (Ref B) and earlier envisioned by the National Agenda 
process. End comment. 
 
Hale