Oula Farawati in Amman analyses the cautious official response to Al-Jazeera's charges Al-Jazeera now thinks Amman, not Cairo, was responsible for its embarrassment during the World Cup when their broadcast was jammed though they have yet to reveal any evidence publicly. Jordan's response signals, most importantly, a change of how officialdom responds to crises. Al-Jazeera news channel accused Jordan of jamming its exclusive World Cup 2010 broadcast, the news broken by the widely respected The Guardian, putting Jordan on the defensive. The daily said it saw secret documents that trace five episodes of jamming definitively to a location near the city of Salt in Jordan, northwest of Amman. It added that such traces were confirmed by technical teams using geo-location technology. The allegations came as a surprise to Amman, whose first reaction was telling the daily that "there had not been enough time to study the details." What was also surprising was Jordan's later reply to the accusations. Instead of the usual hue and cry and scores of articles in pro-government dailies bashing at Al-Jazeera, the government response was rational and temperate. It rejected the allegations and said its doors were open to an independent investigation. "The government reiterates that the allegations are absolutely baseless and unacceptable. It urges Al-Jazeera to present proofs for these allegations and send a team of independent experts and officials from the channel to investigate the matter. The source affirmed the government's readiness for full cooperation with the delegation," a government statement in the official news agency Petra said. It did not, however, conceal its annoyance with the issue: "The government's stance comes as part of its transparent method and confidence of the falsehood of such allegations. The government will not allow the defaming of Jordan's reputation and image. The government maintains its right to sue all institutions and individuals who try to harm Jordan and its reputation," the statement added. The news was mind boggling to many. The Guardian 's first report said the documents were secret, without identifying the source of the documents. Al-Jazeera then confirmed the accusations saying it verified them using a host of "international experts". The Guardian also quoted an unnamed expert, who directly accused the government of being behind the jamming, that the jamming was unlikely to have been done without the knowledge of the Jordanian authorities. However, when carrying the Jordanian denial of the allegations, the Guardian added what it called a "new twist", indicating that the culprits behind the jamming in Jordan were former employees of an Amman-based TV satellite services company which works with Al-Jazeera, the BBC, and other broadcasters. Its sources for such a twist, surprisingly, were "speculations". The spat between the authorities and Al-Jazeera was made political and linked to not-very-friendly relations between Jordan and Qatar, which hosts and supports the channel. Al-Jazeera was confident that it had Qatar's backing. Ayman Jada, managing director of Al-Jazeera Sports went as far as telling the Guardian that "there could be diplomatic tension between Jordan and Qatar as a result of the controversy." Al-Jazeera and Jordan have not been very close friends. On several occasions, Jordan retaliated to several provocative news stories and documentaries about Jordan by shutting down Al-Jazeera office in Amman (then allowing it to reopen) and harassing its reporters in Amman. But the tensions were bigger than Al-Jazeera: Qatar and Jordan haven't been best friends either. Probably the greatest conflict between the two countries was Qatar's sudden voting against the kingdom's candidate Prince Zeid Raad Al-Hussein for the post of UN secretary-general to succeed UN former chief Kofi Annan. Then, Jordan recalled its ambassador in Doha Omar Al-Ahmed for consultations. All Arab countries supported Prince Zeid in the 2006 UN Chief elections except Qatar. Other incidents were jailing a Jordanian for spying, and scores of times when Jordanians working there were denied work visas. It is still extremely difficult now for Jordanians wishing to visit Doha to obtain a visa. However, in every past incident of tension between Al-Jazeera, or Qatar, and Jordan, there would be a lot of squealing in the Jordanian media, the primary medium Amman would use to express its resentment. This time, there was less roaring, more reasoning. "Paradoxically, this time the official reply of Jordan through the government's statement was rational, realistic and quiet, unlike the previous times when our response was neurotic and tense and made a joke of local and external public opinion," Al-Ghad daily columnist Mohamed Abu Rumman wrote. "In principle, I believe that Jordan's response was respectable, responsible and convincing. However, I say this before the details of the investigation unfold; soon other windows will open on the legal, political and national fronts," he added. The Qatari emir visited Jordan in June 2009, following a similar visit by the Jordanian monarch to Doha in November 2008, which gave indications that a thaw in relations was finally reached. Fahd Al-Khitan, a political columnist for Al-Arab Al-Yom warned that this reconciliation was in danger. He urged the "Jordanian diplomacy" to move fast. "No matter how hard the concerned parties showed restraint and non-emotional responses, we are on the verge of a diplomatic crisis with Qatar, especially seeing that relations between Amman and Doha were troubled in the past for less significant reasons," he wrote. "This problem will not be solved as easily as some people imagine and we have to prepare from now on for the management of the crisis with the least possible losses," he added. The government is again put to the test. Initial impressions indicate that Amman was handling the crisis differently this time, a relief to its public opinion and media. The only chance to prove to its people and the world its virtuousness is to continue the course of reason, wisdom and logic.
