The Outsiders: Update 2

And..... as per an SMS received now from the Oman News Agency, the author and the editor of the article (see below) are being referred to public prosecution and will have to go to court. The Week's website has been shut down. Sigh. Oman, get over it and get a life.

 

After crackdowns around the world recently on LGBT individuals (Russia, anyone?), Oman is bound to hit headlines soon enough. We've already made it to the BBC twice this week and our human rights reputation has been tainted enough recently.

 

Fifteen years ago, people were up in arms about journalists even 'suggesting' Oman had an issue with drugs. Now look at the amount of media coverage is dedicated to drugs. We have a hard time being realistic about our issues here in Oman if they don't fit in with the "Peaches and Cream Renaissance" portrait of Oman that our government has been trying to maintain since 1970.

 

By sending that message out to the public, the government has chosen to make a big deal out of one petty article. Everyone I know is trying to get their hands on the piece. Is this really the right course of action?

The Outsiders

A very interesting and controversial episode occurred on Thursday with the publication of an article titled 'The Outsiders' in the weekly magazine The Week.

 

The article briefly discussed Oman’s ‘gay community’ and how they are ‘findings ways to live life the way they want to’ or something to that effect.’ I looked at the cover page with bulging eyes and the first words that popped in my head were ‘ouch’.

 

The piece was a brave introduction of the word ‘gay’ to the Omani public in official print, but to be honest I found the piece to be poorly written. The Week can always be counted on to introduce controversial topics and I applaud them for that. However, the topic of LGBT issues is extremely sensitive.

 

If you’re going to introduce it to the public for the first time, it has to be done with great care and tact. The article failed to do that and it appears to have backfired. This morning I found a big apology on their website and the article appears to have disappeared.

 

As a Muslim, religious scholars and interpretations of religious texts tell me that homosexuality is a disease. As a human, I respect all humans regardless of their religion, race or sexual orientation. I have gay friends from my time abroad and they are some of the nicest people I know. Reconciling faith and my view of humanity is not an easy task, and I continue to think, struggle, accept, and question constantly.

 

Regardless of what I believe, I don’t think Oman was ready for the piece. It was a bit graphic and it’s worth noting that Omanis in general are not comfortable with discussing their personal lives in public, let alone their sexuality. When you ignore all this and introduce a piece on same-sex relationships, you can only expect readers to get offended. We are a tolerant country, but then again we are a Muslim one. To suggest that 6-10% of the Omani population is gay was pretty stupid, even if it’s simply a suggestion. Anyway, I hope the author of the piece is safe and that Apex publishing doesn’t suffer too much because of this. My overall view? Oman wasn’t ready.

Activists Pardoned

Dhofari Gucci has mixed feelings. It's great news about the release of the activists/idiots who spent a few months behind bars for illegal gathering and lese majesty (you need to distinguish between activists/idiots because some distinguished activists are in prison along with a group of idiots who insulted the wrong person online for no particular reason). Although I'm happy about the royal pardon by His Majesty two days ago, I'm unhappy about the fact that royal pardon is not justice. What is justice? I wasn't in favor of the arrests in the first place (and this is my personal conviction) and the appeals failed, so is a royal pardon the answer?

 

Hundreds of prisoners are released every year on 'royal pardon' during Eids and on National Day usually. We don't know who they are or what their crimes were. Does this speak well for Oman's justice system?

 

The activists in prison broke the law but is the law relevant? Some new laws were developed and announced last year days before the arrests were made (dozens of bloggers, activists, poets, etc). Defining freedom of speech and the line between hate speech/breaking the law/freedom of speech is blurry.

 

I know my thoughts are all over the place, but there is something bothering me about this whole affair. If you can pinpoint it and articulate in a nice neat sentence, post it in the comments.

 

In all cases, congratulations to all those released. Freedom is fragile.

'Illegal Gathering' Prisoners Freed

Incredible that eight Omani pactivists (behind bars for 'illegal' gathering) were freed from prsion yesterday on bail after months of detention. The main trigger for their release appears to be the royal opera house protests because if the government doesn't throw the 50 or so protesters behind bars, then what right does it have to keep others behind bars for 'illegal gathering'. I remind you that this is all aftermath of the Arab Spring.

 

Another interesting piece of info is that one of the Omanis convicted of lese majeste is having every string pulled on their behalf at this very moment to revoke the sentence. More details later if and when the right tribal strings are pulled (or not). At this stage, analyzing the efforts wouldn't be smart. I'm not saying pulling the Wasta card is a good idea right now, but it will be interesting to see if it work.

 

Adios.

 

Humph

Hunger strike continues in prison. Major re-shuffle of National Human Rights Commission in Oman. And another embarrassing Human Rights Watch report on Oman. Makes you wonder what went wrong with the previous members and why a new committee was appointed amid the hunger-strike crisis.

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.

A Different Time

I read a very balanced and slightly controversial post by one of my favorite people Mahfaif this evening. His post on the continuous detention of writers, bloggers and activists in Oman reminded me why my writing has slowed down (and his too). It reminded me how worrying the situation is in Oman. It reminded me of the nightmares I had a couple of nights ago when outspoken blogger and giver of rather interesting Friday sermons in Dhofar Mr. Said Jadad was arrested. It reminded me of the hints I've received over the past few months. The "we know who you are and we know where to find you" hints. The rather quiet meeting I had very recently with someone I know who was obviously trying to get a message across and obtain information (i.e. Are you or are you not an activist?). I answered 'define activism'. He was silent. He was asked to question me without making me feel I was being questioned. He failed. I have nothing to hide. Half my posts on this blog are cheerful bits of news from Salalah, and most of what I do in my real life is mild. Occasionally I have little passive-agressive (as one reader called them) bursts of controversial passion involving human rights. Most of my bursts are related to women, though. I stay safe. He looked me in the eye and said 'be careful. they're watching'. I did not ask who 'they' are because I don't need to. All I know is that I have no interest in being detained, questioned, or punished. There are other ways to do good for this country. I reassured my friend that all is well and that I have no intention of doing anything dumb and that I am eternally loyal to my country and its englightened leader. I also assured him that I am not in touch with any international human rights agencies (I'm not). That was his main question.

I have no idea why I've blogged about this, but since I'm an honest blogger I decided to share. Times are uncertain in Oman. Times are changing. I think I'll sit back in my armchair with my pink grillshades for a while and watch with interest.

Bottomline? Gucci is not too happy.

Appeals Court Upholds 'Unnecessary Verdict'

Dhofari Gucci is disappointed. If you haven't been following the news (not sure if it's even on the news yet) but Wednesday's sessions at the appeals court in Muscat proved to be a disappointment. If you remember, in July a rather large group of citizens (some of them university students) were charged with defaming His Majesty, incitement, and unlawful gatherings (Don't come to Oman! Blocking roads can lead you to prison!) and were all sentenced to jail time and fines. Anyway, they were released on bail and the final appeal session was Wednesday December 12, 2012. Unfortunately, despite the pettiness of their so-called crimes, they will all complete their jail terms.

One year in jail and a fine for slander and defaming His Majesty & so-called 'negative' writing online:

1. Ali Hilal Al Maqbali

2. Hamad Abdullah Mubarak Al Kharusi

3. Mahmood Hamad Al Rawahi

4. Mohammed Khatir Al Badi

5. Mohammed Zayed Al Habsi

6. Abdullah Salim Al Siyabi

7. Talib Ali Al Abri

8. Abdullah Mohammed Al Araimi

9. Muna Suhail Said Hardan

10. Rashid Awadh Al Badi

11. Nabhan Salim Al Hanshi

Mohammed Al Badi and Muna Hardan will go to prison after their end of term exams at college (Muna goes to Dhofar Univesity and her crime apparently is a rather stupid Facebook status update insulting His Majesty). Do I think she deserves a year in prison? Absolutely not.

Six months in jail and a fine for slander and defamation:

1. Hamoud Hamdan Al Rashdi (whose crime was holding up a pathetic banner)

Six months in jail and a fine for 'illegal gathering' (i.e. protesting on the sidewalk outside the ROP headquarters in Qurum):

1. Said Al Hashmi (Activist: Government will be happy to have him locked away for six months!)

2. Basma Mubarak Al Kiyumi (Activist)

3.  Basma Sulaiman Al Rajhi (Activist)

4. Nasser Saleh Al Ghilani

5. Abdullah Mohammed Al Ghilani

6. Bader Nasser Al Jabri

7. Mahmood Hamad Al Rawahi

8. Khalid Saleh Al Noofli

9. Mukhtar Mohammed Al Hinai

10. Mohammed Khalifa Al Fazari

11. Mahmood Mohammed Al Gamoodi

Mohammed Al Fazari will start his sentence after end of semester exams in December.

Note: (this does NOT mean that Dhofari Gucci supports irresponsible online insults and rumors, because I don't. I just feel that one year in prison is ridiculous. Oman doesn't need this right now).

Read before ....

Foreign Policy has published a rather interesting and somewhat balanced (in my opinion) piece called Insulting the Sultan in Oman. I highly recommend reading it before it is quietly removed off the Omani version of the world wide web. I'm not entirely sure whether the busy creatures monitoring the internet in Oman will appreciate reading the F-bomb and the Sultan in the same sentence.

Omani Blogger Released

Muawiya Al Rawahi has been released. I'm not entirely sure what actually happened, but I know he's out after publishing a very odd (and slightly apologetic) letter from prison through a friend. Put down your weapons, international advocacy groups! (for background information on his arrest, read my post here)