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October 4, 1990

Cable No. 1190 from Ambassador Nonoyama Tadayuki (Jordan) to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, 'Prime Minister Kaifu’s Visit to Jordan (Meeting with the Crown Prince)'

This document was made possible with support from The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

Secret

Telegraphic Copy                                                                    [blacked out]

 

Number R198994       

Primary: First Middle East Division

October 4, 1990          [time blacked out]

Sent [from] Jordan

October 4, 1990          [time blacked out]

Arrived [at] Ministry

 

 

[to] Minister of Foreign Affairs          

[from] Ambassador Nonoyama Tadayuki

 

Prime Minister Kaifu’s Visit to Jordan (Meeting with the Crown Prince)

No. 1190         Secret              Top Urgent      [blacked out]

 

On October 3, Prime Minister Kaifu Toshiki called on Crown Prince Hassan and had a meeting with him for approximately one hour. Following is a summary of its main points. (Present from the other side were economic and other cabinet members. Present from our side were Owada Hisashi, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs; Nonoyama Tadayuki, Ambassador to Egypt; and Watanabe Makoto, Director, Middle Eastern and African Affairs Bureau. Interpreter: Tsuruoka Koji.)

1. After the opening greetings, the Prime Minister said that he had visited Jordan in 1985 as chairman of the Japan-Jordan Parliamentary Friendship League and told the Crown Prince that he had a special feeling for his country. The Crown Prince, whom the Prime Minister encouraged to speak, then said the following in showing to the interpreter a paper summarizing Jordan’s position (separate fax of Telegram No. 8848, sent from the Japanese Ambassador to the United States to the Minister).

(1) Jordan by tradition has consistently opposed the annexation of another country’s territory by war. This is a matter of course, since Palestine has been occupied these past 23 years by Israel.

(2) Jordan has criticized Iraq’s invasion and annexation of Iraq and has called for Iraq’s immediate withdrawal and the restoration of Kuwait’s royal family.

(3) Jordan, in spite of its economic difficulties, has accepted the enormous economic sanctions against Iraq. In this connection, I would like to quote Foreign Minister Taro Nakayama’s recent statement: “Japan is prepared to provide all possible assistance to countries suffering due to the economic sanctions.”

(4) Jordan supports a peaceful settlement of the conflict.

(5) By virtue of the international treaties to which it accedes. Jordan recognizes as illegal Iraq’s act of taking hostages. By its appeal to Iraq, Jordan succeeded in the release of hundreds of hostages.

(6) Nearly all Jordanians support Saddam Hussein. Immediately after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, there were some voices of criticism among Jordanians, but they have come to support Saddam Hussein since the situation became internationally militarized. Seventy percent of Jordanians are under the age of 15. Having been raised while their own nation’s territory has been occupied by another country, it is natural that they have questions about a double standard.

(7) Jordan is facing a crisis of national survival.

(8) Jordan is playing a crucially important role in the Arab-Israeli conflict.

(9) Jordan is a friend of the West. I (Hassan) asked Secretary of State James Baker and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher whether it was not a friend who gives support in times of trouble. The response of each of them was good, but I need to wait and see whether what they said is manifested in concrete actions.

(10) Secretary of State Baker at the time of his visit to Damascus said that there were Arab extremists in Amman. After Secretary of State Baker returned to the United States, however, they went back to Damascus. Jordan simply responds with measures for the sake of its own territorial sovereignty.

(11) I am well aware that the Arab world at present is not unified and that the international community will not wait for Arab unification.

(12) King Hussein visited Morocco and searched for a clue as to how to settle the issue. This is an expression of the country’s efforts to find a settlement by Arabs while supporting the multinational force. I do not consider a settlement by Arabs to be in contradiction with an international settlement.

(13) I told Secretary of State Baker and Prime Minister Thatcher that the present crisis is a matter of survival for Jordan. Secretary Baker told me at once to raise that point with Japan. I would say that this is a proof that the Japan-Jordan relationship is connected to the present crisis.

2. The Prime Minister replied in saying the following:

(1) I have received a detailed report from Foreign Minister Nakayama and am aware of the difficult position in which your country finds itself.

(2) Japan’s position in response to the present Gulf crisis is that we do not accept invasion and annexation by force and we call for the restoration of Kuwait’s legitimate government and the release of the hostages. We salute your country, which maintains the same position.

(3) Japan intends to continue its persistent efforts to peacefully achieve the aforementioned objectives. That is to say, because we intend to continue not to accept suppression by military force and to persistently and sincerely implement economic sanctions, we would like to continue having discussions with your country.

(4) Japan intends, as Foreign Minister Nakayama said, to provide assistance to the extent possible to front-line countries affected by the present crisis and has decided on two billion dollars in assistance to front-line countries.

As part of that, Japan will provide 600 million dollars in emergency commodity loans to Jordan, Egypt, and Turkey. Japan will provide to your country 100 million dollars of that. Furthermore, having decided to provide your country with 150 million dollars for industrial and trade projects, we would like to have experts from our two countries discuss how the funds will be used. That is to say, this assistance to your country will be for a total of 250 million dollars. We wish to consider additional future support in consultation with international organs and in observing the situation surrounding your country.

(5) I am well aware of the great burden that your country is bearing in accepting numerous refugees. Japan is providing aircraft to return Asian refugees to their home countries. Tomorrow, October 5, a Japan Airlines aircraft is scheduled to fly with refugees on board.

(6) I hope that Jordan continues its efforts in the present crisis to achieve a just peace in conformity with the principles of the international community and, for that, I am conveying to you that Japan intends to continue its cooperation.

3. The Crown Prince replied in saying the following:

(1) Jordan’s principle is that of survival.

(2) I appealed in New York to the United Nations Secretary General that we consider together how to handle the economic and social damage that Jordan is suffering on account of the present crisis.

(3) The refugee numbers alone are staggering. The number of refugees who passed through Jordan from August to September 29 reached 664,223, of whom 11,139 were Jordanians. Israel has shown a restrained and admirable response in the middle of this, permitting 40,000 Palestinians to live in the West Bank.

(4) The Gulf area should be this region’s safety zone and not a source of pressure. We are concerned about the situation in which Palestinians are flowing out of the Gulf area.

(5) Reports were submitted via two documents to the United Nations Secretary General that Jordan is sincerely observing the relevant economic sanctions resolutions of the Security Council, but we conveyed that this alone was insufficient. That is to say, I said that, for Jordan, the economic sanctions affect relations with Kuwait, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia, which are functionally related to Jordan; that their effects are a dynamic hardship not limited to the economy; and that the flow of refugees into Jordan is no more than the tip of the iceberg.

I requested of the Secretary General that he appoint a survey team headed by one of three men – either former Foreign Minister Okita Saburo, former Foreign Minister Claude Cheysson or former Reserve Bank of India Governor I.G. Patel – to survey the affects of the economic sanctions on Jordan.

(6) In this connection, I had a meeting in Brussels with Jacques Delors, President of the European Commission (EC). Delors was displeased with the US response that called for aid to the three countries of Egypt, Jordan, and Turkey, preferring a plan of assistance to each country that would use the World Bank and other agencies.

(7) The Secretary General’s survey team should survey not only the economic effects that the present crisis has had on Jordan but also its effects on the region’s democratic forces, the issue of Palestine, and the conflict between the Arabs and Israel.

(8) In regard to the refugees, Jordan accepted many refugees at the time of the war 23 years ago. I (Hassan) made every effort in building camps. Many of the refugees today have melted into Jordanian society but still cannot get rid of the refugee mentality.

(9) I (Hassan) thought while in New York of having a meeting with Saudi Foreign Minister Saud but, unfortunately, the letter of the Saudi ambassador to the United States was released and the meeting did not take place. I hope that the discord between the Hashemite and Saudi royal houses is a passing one.

(10) According to Secretary of State Baker, Egypt is spreading the baseless rumor that Jordan, together with Iraq and Yemen, has territorial ambitions. If the Egyptians are saying such things, then Egypt should leave the Arab Cooperation Council (ACC), in which it has participated since the organization’s founding.

(11) Although I cannot but be pessimistic on the prospects for a peaceful settlement of this crisis, Jordan will do its utmost for a peaceful settlement.

(12) The introduction of a Middle Eastern version of the Helsinki Process into this region is needed for future long-term stability. That is to say, with the rejection of invasion by force as its principle, by means of disarmament of all weapons of mass destruction in all countries and the creation of a stability fund, the realization of price stabilization by which both oil producing and consuming countries can benefit will greatly contribute to this region’s development.

4. The Prime Minister then said the following:

(1) I am fully aware that Jordan is facing terrible difficulties on account of the present crisis. Japan intends to carry out support for Jordan not only in the short term but from a medium and long-term perspective.

(2) What is your view on the future outlook for the present crisis? Japan hopes that, by persistent implementation of economic sanctions, Saddam Hussein will repent, listen to the voice of the international community, and withdraw from Kuwait.

5. In reply, the Crown Prince said the following:

(1) The successive United Nations resolutions, including 660, together with unconditionally demanding Iraq’s withdrawal from Kuwait and the restoration of Kuwait’s legitimate government, call for direct dialogue between Iraq and Kuwait and mention the role of the Arab League.

(2) Consequently, Iraq’s withdrawal from Kuwait and the restoration of Kuwait’s legitimate government must be unconditionally realized, but I believe that at that time a certain understanding will need to be established. This is the thinking behind King Hussein’s contact with Morocco’s king, which I previously mentioned. King Hussein’s thinking was reported by means of a letter to Saddam Hussein. The reply may be conveyed not from Jordan but from another channel.

(3) Saddam Hussein appears as though he is psychologically isolated, so to speak, but he has been fully aware these past few weeks of the reaction of the international community. There have also been the recent moves of the Soviet Union, France, and within the Arab world. I hope that Saddam Hussein moves to start the peace process at a good opportunity.

(4) Also, Prime Minister, I am aware that you are going to meet tomorrow with the Iraqi deputy prime minister. Meeting him is a good thing, but I would like you to bear in mind that in Iraq it is the president who decides all policies.

(5) Jordan determines its policy not by Iraqi pressure or Western influence but strictly on the basis of Jordanian principles.

6. Near the end of the meeting, the Prime Minister said the following:

(1) Japan will continue to do strive by tenacious and peaceful means to deal with the present crisis and realize a just peace.

(2) I hope that, by persistent efforts, a principled settlement will be found.

Request that you pass telegram to diplomatic missions that you find relevant.

(End)

 

Summary of Japanese Prime Minister Kaifu's meeting with Jordanian Crown Prince Hassan following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. During the discussion, the Crown Prince expresses the economic and political difficulties Jordan has faced following the invasion and enactment of sanctions against Iraq. In addition to asking for Japanese economic investment, he provides a description of Saddam Hussein's mindset.



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Published online by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, File 2021-0533. Translated by Stephen Mercado.

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2024-08-22

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