Thursday, February 14, 2013

Hunger Strike in Samail Central Jail

Kudos to Muscat Daily for publishing a piece on the current prison hunger strike involving 21 of the many activists, writers, bloggers, poets and a handful of idiots who were charged with lèse majesté and illegal gathering last year. I've been quietly following individual updates on each prisoner via their friends and families. Some of them are in bad condition, and to the best of my knowledge Said Al Hashmi (activist) has been moved to the ROP Hospital.
 
FYI - Dhofari activist Said Jadad (see posts below), was released after a week in detention. He is known to be very outspoken on his blog. During his interrogation, he was asked if he had been in touch with any international human rights organizations (WTF - why is everyone so obsessed with this question?). An interesting piece of information that wouldn't be released under normal circumstances is that Shaikh Salim Mustahil Al Mashani, an influential Omani figure and relative to His Majesty played a role in securing Said's release. More on that in this Gulf News piece.
 
I know things have gone quiet in the press, but there's a lot going on..... stay tuned.

7 comments:

  1. "he was asked if he had been in touch with any international human rights organizations (WTF - why is everyone so obsessed with this question?)."

    Because your upper ruling clans are terrified of the exposure. They cannot control social media unless they censor it big time....but you can't do that and get all the investment money from big business as well.
    People power rules! They had better not forget that!

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  2. I doubt if there is any hunger strike by the said convicts serving time at the Samail central jail. Have we seen any official communiqué by the Directorate General of Prisons at ROP?

    The answer is NO!

    So why should we trust one sided story in the press?

    Mti

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  3. Mti - I admire your blind devotion to the powers that be.

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  4. DG,

    “The powers that be” is an entity/institution, I and my ancestors nurtured and groomed for 269 years. Along that journey we encountered all kinds of challenges, trial and tribulations. Sweat, blood and tears. We overcame it all. Finally we have in place a rock solid BLESSED RENAISSANCE that posterity will appreciate for its legacy.

    Bottom-line, let’s avoid petty frictions and concentrate in nation building. A nation called OMAN.

    Mti

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  5. Mti

    Your ruling class controls your country. That's great when your ruling class is headed by someone as wonderful as HM Qaboos - who is the most amazing politician alive today (FYI I am not Omani but have lived there for a long time - now back home but still regard Oman as my second home)

    But what happens when you get a ruler who is not as wise, kind and astute as HM? What about his father? Go speak to some of your own older generation about what happened to Oman under the previous Sultan. Or go over the border and check out Saudi - I mean, really check it out, not just what's happening in the rich suburbs...

    And then get real. Oman is corrupt. Your education system is not even second-rate - it's tenth-rate. Indians run your country because they are better educated than you. Your youth are being sold short, especially if they come from families without the all important connections (wasta still sadly rules). You are given money but you are denied knowledge and the ability to learn to think for yourselves. Your post shows that acutely. All is good now, whilst the oil boom still goes...what happens next? In twenty years, where will Oman be.

    You don't need a western-style democracy - but you do need transparency, and for transparency, you need freedom of speech.

    Or in twenty years time you may well find yourself in Iraq's position - being manipulated left, right and centre, because the average citizen long ago had his power taken off him and never even knew how to fight back.

    Bravo, Nadia, keep reporting on these things. The young people of Oman don't need more money or cars or anything - what they need is to be able to think for themselves and to be educated by people who can think for themselves. This is how Oman will be strong now and in the future - not leaving everything in the hands of people who have proved time and again that their only real interests are themselves and their clans.

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  6. Mr. Anonymous,

    Let me highlight few points that may have escaped you attention.

    A. We have over 600,000 schools kids going to over 1600 schools as of now.

    B. We do have universities/colleges/institutes that dispense quality education to tens of thousands of our youth.

    C. The Omani today enjoys a world class health care system for free.

    D. Freedom of speech is enshrined in the Basic Law as long as it is within the framework of the law.

    E. Infrastructure projects are on, round the clock.

    F. The economy is being diversified at a top speed to help us move away from dependency on oil and gas revenue.

    G. Foreign investors are being encouraged to invest in Oman.

    H. Safety security and well being of Omanis/residents has always been the state's priority.

    I. Every possible effort is unspared to achieve a 0 unemployment level.

    J. The Omani today is the most comfortable individual compared to others in the region.

    Therefore, my answer to you is, in 20 years we will be in the most enviable position in the region with a happy well educated /prosperous populace.

    LONG LIVE MAWLANA THE SULTAN!!!

    Mti

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  7. Mti,

    True that HM improved the life of people many many fold and they should be thnkful for that

    However, the following are facts
    1) There is no freedom of speech....it's all very tightly controlled
    2) There is no freedom to choose...else we would be having multiple representatives as the ministers of various depts chosen by the people and not by one person
    3) Just because a person belongs to the Al Said tribe doesn't make him the chosen leader...that was hundreds of years ago. Now, I want to be able to elect my leaders on a frequent basis and not be thrust one

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