Morning Folks! Two days ago, this was in the newspaper:
"His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has issued Royal Decree 95/2011 amending some provisions of the Publications and Publishing Law.
Article one: Article (26) of the said Publications and Publishing Law shall be replaced with the following;
Article (26) "It is prohibited to publish anything which may prejudice the safety of the state or its internal or external security, all that is related to military and security apparatuses, their bylaws and internal regulations, any documents, information, news or official secret communications whether the publication is through visual, audio or print means or through Internet or any of the information technology means unless permission is obtained from the respective authority. It is also prohibited to publish the text of agreements and treaties concluded by the government before they are published in the official gazette.”
Bad new for Al Zaman newspaper trial (see Muscat Confidential's post here) .... and I wonder whether this means we're allowed to continue blogging about Wikileaks concerning the Sultan or the government? At this rate, it looks like everything and anything is illegal. Were the photos of the army arrests during the protests illegal? What about spreading rumors about when Eid holidays will be? Is that considered confidential information? Jeez.
"His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has issued Royal Decree 95/2011 amending some provisions of the Publications and Publishing Law.
Article one: Article (26) of the said Publications and Publishing Law shall be replaced with the following;
Article (26) "It is prohibited to publish anything which may prejudice the safety of the state or its internal or external security, all that is related to military and security apparatuses, their bylaws and internal regulations, any documents, information, news or official secret communications whether the publication is through visual, audio or print means or through Internet or any of the information technology means unless permission is obtained from the respective authority. It is also prohibited to publish the text of agreements and treaties concluded by the government before they are published in the official gazette.”
Bad new for Al Zaman newspaper trial (see Muscat Confidential's post here) .... and I wonder whether this means we're allowed to continue blogging about Wikileaks concerning the Sultan or the government? At this rate, it looks like everything and anything is illegal. Were the photos of the army arrests during the protests illegal? What about spreading rumors about when Eid holidays will be? Is that considered confidential information? Jeez.
In the meantime, it looks like Saturday is a holiday for any Omani who is going to vote. I haven't decided yet if I'm voting and whom to vote for, but what I know for sure is that Saturday = beauty sleep. Happy Weekend Everyone!
Business as usual I'd say...just the same "unwritten rules" are now written...
ReplyDelete