Day 10 and our protests here in Salalah are still going strong..
***Chairman of the Council of Oman (Yahya Al Mandhari), Minister of State (Mohammed Marhoon Al Mamari), one other minister, and other VIPs arrived at 'Freedom Square' (protest area of Salalah) to talk to the thousands and the protesters kicked them out!!! WTF ... half an hour ago***
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I don't have much time this morning, but here are a couple of points to keep you entertained:
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(1) Kudos to Muscat Daily for putting Dhofar on the front page yesterday.
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(2) Al Jazeera published a report on the protests also yesterday. Take a look here.
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(3) An article from Time Magazine here is also worth reading. I have mixed feelings. Why's everyone so obsessed with Sohar?
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(4) I'm very very very very disappointed with Brian Whitaker, UK Guardian journalist (he also runs Al-Bab.com) after his article 'Oman's Sultan Qaboos: A Classy Despot' on Friday (google it if you must. I'm not putting up the link). I used to enjoy his column, but this article was stupid and offensive. Parts of his article are true, but his tone is beyond rude, and many of his 'issues' with the Sultan are irrelevant. According to Whitaker, the world would be a better place if we all followed places like England/USA. Hah. What he failed to NOTICE is that Omanis actually do enjoy a very comfortable life and actually genuinly love their ruler. We have deep respect for the Sultan and nothing will change that. He isn't just another Gaddafi or Mubarak. He is one of a kind. His article was based on the 'assumption' that we don't like our Sultan. Has Brian been to Oman? Does he have any idea what he's talking about? Oman definitely has its problems but portraying His Majesty as a classy despot who belongs in the 15th century with the Medicis and the Borgias is not going to help anyone. Poor journalism. I can guarantee 100% that those of you who think I'm biased are not Omani. Believe it or not, not everyone wants to live like Europeans or Americans. Shocked? Didn't think so. I lived in a western country for 5 years. I KNOW Omanis are lucky and should be thankful for things like free education, healthcare, tax-free living, low crime rate, etc. Yes, I agree with many of the demands, especially those regarding removal of certain key people in the government, and political reform ... but as far as free this and free that, paying off debts, etc... well, .... no one told you to buy a brand new BMW on a salary of 400 a month :)
I still respect Brian Whitaker as a journalist and have been following his work for years, but with this article, well... in Dhofar we'd say:
ما توفّق
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(5) Robert Kaplan's article in Foreign Policy last week was also an interesting read.
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(6) Stay tuned for more royal decrees. Rumor has it that we may be receiving announcements regarding the possibility of government re-structure (PM?) and umm... succession updates. Don't quote me.
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(7) Read Muscat Confidential's latest post here.
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(8) Also, don't quote me here, but my sources tell me ROP chief will be retiring very soon :)
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Cheers
Dear Nadia,
ReplyDeleteI agree totally with you. HM is well respected liked not only by Omanis but expatriates like me. People out side Oman will never understand. My family call this land our homeland not because we make big money here but we love this country and people and above all the ruler.
I'm European and I read your blog with great interest, especially of late with the current protests in Oman. I wouldn't say that we Westerners (not everyone anyway) think all Omani people or the Arab world in general want to live like us. Every society and culture have their problems, and when the people get fed up enough, they protest (unless there is a way to change your government/party by voting).
ReplyDeleteI read Whitaker's article and apart from the very last chapter I didn't find it rude: to me, it was very informative -- unless of course you tell me that the things he listed as facts about Oman were made up, in which case he shouldn't have written them at all.
If I understand you correctly though I think you are mostly defensive about the Sultan and how Whitaker describes him - of course I am no psychic and do not know what exactly was on Whitaker's mind when he basically insulted the Sultan at the end of the article...but I think that perhaps he wanted to point the contradiction of how the situation may seem to the outside world: there is a leader who is greatly respected and loved by the Omani people...and then there are these great problems -now making people protest- with the society that, ultimately, are there *because of the leader*, no ?
I don't know, maybe most of us Western people ARE ignorant to the extent of assuming that all people want democracy, freedom of speech and no corruption. Whatever the goal of the protests in Oman today, I genuinely hope that the people will get what they want -- except of course free luxury cars if they cannot afford them :))
nr. 4, very well put Nadia. I'm an expat and I love leaving in your country and pray that HM lives and rules for many many more years to come. I've lived in the States in Europe (I'm a European) and totally agree with your point. I hope any change will happen smoothly. Keep the posts coming
ReplyDeleteHi Nadia, I'm enjoying your blog. We live in Sohar and we've been following the action pretty closely. To answer your question, everyone's obsessed with this town because there was *violence* here...and doesn't the media love violence?
ReplyDeleteP.S. I also enjoyed Kaplan's article. I love that guy.
Dan
danandjillian.blogspot.com
Thanks for the thorough summary. "Oman's Relaxed Revolution" really proves how a local situation cannot be fully comprehended from the outside. The peaceful cooperation among Oman's (legitimate) protesters is yet another testament to this great nation.
ReplyDeleteI am very worried that when officials come to discuss concerns it isn't constructive to throw them out. It shows a lack of serious desire to work out a solution.
ReplyDeleteFurther, I just read a list of the 'demands' from the Salalah group and find many of them a step backward in time and self serving. Relief from all debt? Interest free loans from a 1billion rial fund? Minimum wage of 700 rials, BUT artificially keep prices low? Elimination of co-education?
I am now concerns for Oman's future.....
والله من زمان بتابع مدونتش ، يا ريت تكتبي بالعربي
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, we must put a side any form of favouritism if we want to write down the whole front of the truth.
ReplyDeleteAs an Omani i see what Mr Brian Whitaker has written is correct and not offensive at all.
Thanks for this bunch of information.
Completely agree (especially with your summary of the Guardian article.
ReplyDeleteI get sick and tired of 'westerners' (and I am one by the way) thinking they know what's "best" for a place they know nothing about, are completely ignorant of and ultimately, which they find threatening largely due to ignorance.
Or maybe they are just jealous that their so-called 'democracy' looks pathetic, failed and lacklustre by comparison to a regime that goes against their (flawed) 'ideals' and works better!
Leave us alone UK/US and whoever else.
Run your own countries properly first, then think about commenting on others. And take a message from the fact that many of us 'westerners' have abandoned you for a place/system/culture/environment that is infinitely superior!
Nadia, There is more than just protests as far as Sohar goes. It has to do with the reasons why the Emir of Kuwait visited Oman recently.
ReplyDeleteThat's a very peculiar reading of the Guardian article. It seemed factually accurate as far as I could tell.
ReplyDeleteThe article did not mention democracy or styles of government, it simply pointed out failings of human rights in Oman. There was no assumtion about whether Qaboos is liked or otherwise as far as I would tell.
Are there any facts in there you would disagree with?
He may be loved, but as the article shows he's still a despot who does not tolerate cricitism.