Muscat Confidential

123 Orion's Winter Bash this Thursday at Royal Flight

2012-01-13T20:27:00.005+04:00

Local mega-band 123 Orion are doing our annual WINTER WARMER gig at the Royal Flight next Thursday - see the attached flyer! Super-star Jon G will be rockin' the place.

Muscat Confidential is a big fan of the band, and as always the proceeds go to a good cause - the charity this time is the Sindbad Mobile Library - which is a bus full of books that tours the villages of Oman in order to promote literacy for children.

UD has enjoyed many a 123 Orion gig at the Royal Flight with Ms Dragon. Cheep booze, great vibe, and only 6 rials. Ph Tess at 99525486 for tickets and info.

So Thursday night from 7:30pm at the Royal Flight in Seeb. Soup and snacks provided. Be there!

Please send photos!!

Dutch Queen visits. Iran keeps rattling swords. The Wave's parks are the coolest place to "hang around, leer, drink and stuff" say bored local teens.

2012-01-12T05:47:00.019+04:00

Her Majesty the Queen of Holland visited after all - Officially this time & for 3 whole days - and it was simply lovely.

Photo: Their Majesties. Image Credit: Mohammed Mustafa, Gulf News

Later on, it was ~~trebles!~~ 'Gongs all Round!" at the Palace.

...
Before the banquet, the Sultan and Queen Beatrix exchanged orders. Sultan Qaboos conferred the Al Saeed Order on the Queen who conferred on the Lion of Holland Order on the Omani ruler.

Sultan Qaboos conferred the Renaissance Grand Order on Prince William Alexander, Dutch Crown Prince and Sultan Qaboos Order " First Class" to His wife Princess Maxima.

The Omani monarch also conferred Al Nu'man Order "first second and third Class" to a number of ministers and high ranking officials in the Dutch delegation. Queen Beatrix Wilhelmina conferred orders on Their Highnesses, ministers and senior officials in the Sultanate.
..

Jolly good. Carry On. Wonderful to see you. And while you're here do let's have a chat about that 'stable transition to Constitutional Monarchy' thing...

But say, What news of the rumbling from our distant Northern border with our great ~~existential strategic Threat~~ Friend, Iran?

Sire, in other news:
Iran is increasingly cornered by US and Europe who finally take away Iran's oil trading dosh. Recently purchased and self-modified Chinese toys threaten to exit bath-tub.

Photo's: Toys.

Yes, our great ally to the north, Iran, for some reason just held military exercises in the shared Straights of Hormuz, without us. After (insanely) threatening to try to block the movement of shipping through the Straights of Hormuz, Iran proceeded to have a military drill aimed at proving it could.

They backed away from that pretty quickly, luckily.

Iran's perhaps starting to finally learn what truly effective foreign/military policy when playing no-limit poker with the big boys achieves.

Survival.

Iran does, it must be said, have the demonstrable capability to militarily try to stop oil flow through the Straights of Hormuz, via a combined attack of fixed and mobile missiles, mines, fast attack boats with torpedos, and tiny submarines.

Iran's threat of 'asymmetric warefare' would indeed spike oil prices for a week or few, spill some crude in a beautiful place, maybe even hit some American or ANOther warships.

Oh and would result inevitably in the immediate destruction of about every piece of coastline on the Gulf that Iran has, plus every military asset in the whole of South Iran. No more Navy lads. Those centrifuges would get hit damn hard too - multiple strikes of the new super buster; followed by fuel-air bombs. Centralised command and control taken out. Airbases. Critical oil installations. Air defense. Power stations. Pretty ugly.

Those pesky mines and submarines will take a while to get, fair enough. About 2 weeks.

And don't forget jolly-old RAFO! Tally-Ho!!!!

So it's going to be up to China and Russia to talk Iran down off the ledge. Joking with Chavez about nukes is pretty out there, in a Dr Strangelove kinda way. Little wonder the doomsday clock tick's a minute closer.

Who could mediate this? Who?

Perhaps defer the planned vacation to Musandam sire. But there's a phone call, urgent,...

Meanwhile, as Muscat suffers somewhat from an oversupply of semi-fancy housing and rents drop, the phrase "Tourism Enriches" really hits home. Those cute little local tykes who live near the wave and can drive [oh, I know you know the ones], have realised that a nice green grassy park in The Wave, with no cops, no Angry Uncles/Cousins or broken glass, is a perfect place to paaaaarty!

Scatalogical internet memes on 'blond child abduction attempts' [Airport, PDO, The Wave, CCC shopping centre] not withstanding, it does appear the local lads have found a place to 'hang loose' at night. My source reports:

via Email:

Just wanted to share a disturbing story about the lack of security at the wave.

....

The Wave has become a haven for miscreants who cruise the streets and camp out in the parks at all hours. The residents are then greeted the morning after with all kinds of fascinating debris ranging from KFC packaging, Mountain Dew bottles, beer cans, alcohol bottles to condoms and vomit. Numerous stalking and harassment incidents have already taken place, but this is the first physical assault we have heard of.

With the high profile nature of this development, how can it not attract "visitors"? Why are residents subjected to leering gangs playing cards and getting intoxicated in parks they pay for? It's time for management at The Wave to wake up and provide the access control they promised. This bullshit has got to stop!

Heck. When you're in your 20's, unemployed, living with your parents, pretty much broke, & still a virgin (at least with a woman), this is probably about the only fun thing your can afford to do these days, i.e.

1/ Grab a friend with his Mom's car,
2/ Score some bootleg booze and or hash,
3/ Get some music [affected American black-style still preferred],
4/ Pick up a few buddies, and

...

5/ Find a nice public area in The Wave, dude!

Instant party man! A few Female joggers would make it almost too awesome.

Why doesn't someone at the Wave:
- pick a discreet area very close to the entrance for the local cruisers, and let them party;
- put up bright lighting and play loud classical muzac everywhere else, with patrols.

However, what I find even more shocking is how shocking this is to an Expat these days.

I remember the days when conservatively dressed Expat women would regularly be followed around in Public (say, in Sabco Center) in broad daylight, by some scruffy late-middle-aged Omani guy with a hand inside his dishdasha, quite obviously stroking away.

Now Oman has civilised itself to where its problems are more Western. Bored unemployed teenagers.

A shot in the Army might sharpen them up... I hear rumblings...

Finally,
the real die-hards (see last post comments) will ask about Blue City Part 3. Hell, I figured you all knew anyhow. Biggest bankrupcy in Oman's history. Royal connections. Bail out by Oman Sovereign fund. As always predicted. Here.

Can some citizen journalists drive out to Al Sawady and send me some pics please? That's all I'm waiting for. [Oh, and RR, send me an email for an interview?]

Give me beach, 'hotels', 'golf course', 'marina', ... I need pictures. Email me.

A new year begins with jail for journalists who insulted Minister, and more oil money for all!

2012-01-03T19:22:00.006+04:00

Well, Happy New Year readers! Let's get straight to the news.

Azzaman Journos sent to jail (again)
The 2 journalists from Omani newspaper Azzaman, who were found guilty of insulting the Minister of Justice last October, had their convictions and draconian 5 month jail sentences upheld by the Omani Court of Appeal a couple of days ago.

This should not have come as a surprise, as in a legal sense they were clearly guilty - the law is so broad and is very easy to breach - plus, lets face it, when taking on the Ministry of Justice on a matter of law the odds are pretty stacked against you!

Arabian Business.com, by Claire Ferris-Lay Monday, 2 January 2012 Oman daily vows to appeal journalists’ jail terms.

Omani newspaper Azzaman has pledged to appeal a five-month jail sentence given to two of its journalists for insulting the Gulf state’s justice minister, it was reported Monday.

The court of appeal on Saturday confirmed the jail terms given to journalists Yusef al-Haj and editor-in-chief Ibrahim al-Maamaria for an article published in May alleging corruption in the justice ministry, newswire AP said.

The court initially ordered the newspaper suspend its operations for a month but decided not to enforce the ruling. Another justice ministry employee was also given five months in prison for telling the journalists that a ministry employee had been denied his salary and benefits by the justice minister without valid cause.

Azzaman’s board of directors in a statement complained against the court’s failure to respect an agreement to acquit the pair in exchange for apologizing to the minister, the newswire said.

I expect a royal pardon soon to get past this trivial issue. Having this case drag on means we get named in the company of really nasty places like Iran and other Middle East countries who are really imprisoning journalists by the bus load.

High Oil prices support Oman Economic 'Growth'
Meanwhile, Oman's Government continues to pump the extra cash from the high oil prices into the economy, with massive fiscal injections - Government spending is up by almost 20% in the last 10 months of 2011.

[Oman Observer]....
Regarding the Public Finance, the State General Budget for the fiscal year 2011 was approved with a total expenditure amounting to RO 8,130 million and a deficit amounting to RO 850 million and was based on the assumption of the oil price at $58, note that the average price of the Oman oil in the year 2011 amounted to about $102.
During the year, additional financial allocations have been approved that amounted to RO 1.8 billion, most of which was concentrated on the current civil and security expenditures bringing the deficit of the budget to about RO 2.6 billion. However, and as a result of the stable global oil prices at a higher level, the actual budget is expected to achieve a financial surplus that may reach about RO 1 billion, where an amount of RO 700 million will be used as a part of the means of funding for covering the deficit of the budget of the year 2012, while the remaining surplus, if any, in light of the final closing for the accounts of the fiscal year will be used to strengthen the financial reserves of the State.

The windfall from high oil prices is helping Oman to protect the domestic economy from the ongoing crisis in the Global economy, and to pay for all those extra Government jobs needed to keep the peace in Sohar and Salalah following the protests. It doesn't do much to diversify the economy, but hey, it's better than nothing.

Oman is still totally dependent on oil and gas exports, directly as oil and LNG, and indirectly via exports of either refined gasoline or the highly subsidised energy heavy exports of aluminium & methanol. This is why the reports from the Ministries of 20% growth in 'non-oil exports' is very misleading.

The preliminary forecasts of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) suggest that the national economy in the year 2011 will achieve a growth of (7 per cent) exceeding the growth rate achieved in the previous year (2010) that amounted to (6 per cent). This growth in national economy is based on the added value of the non-oil activities that are projected to achieve a growth rate of (10 per cent) compared with (2 per cent) for the oil activities. This is also attributed to the increased domestic demand as well as the increased non-oil exports by (20 per cent) compared with the year 2010.

Oman still actually manufactures fuck all. Food imports are rising, and there is precious little to buy in the supermarkets that comes from within (as per the rest of the Middle East). Most non-Governmental services are provided by predominantly expat labour. Especially construction, which is perhaps the biggest real thing being made in Oman, GDP-wise.

Thus, the money from the extractive energy sector continues to hide the underlying malaise in Oman's 'real' economy, and job growth remains a matter of increased Government sector spending, either hiring directly (more ROP officiers) or indirectly from employment related to infrastructure projects funded by the State.

Eventually the Piper will need to be paid.

In Other News
We arrested and will deport 1,243 illegal workers around Seeb and Muscat, all doing nasty manual labour jobs Omanis don't want.

... "We caught 174 [all but one Bangladeshis] illegal workers from a single farmhouse in Baushar during one such raid," he said, and added that the Mawaleh Fruits and Vegetable Market was also raided by the teams to root out illegal workers from the wholesale market.

Al Badi pointed out that among the arrested there are 417 absconding workers, 525 released workers and 162 infiltrators.

According to him, most of the apprehended workers were mostly engaged in farm work, construction industry and restaurant businesses.

Killing ourselves by driving on the roads continue to be a real growth industry, with official deaths up 25% in 2011.

Muscat : Traffic accidents continue to be a big worry for Oman, with almost a 25 per cent increase in deaths during 2011, according to Lieutenant General Hassan Bin Mohsin Al Shraiqi, Inspector-General of Police and Customs.

Presiding over the second meeting of the National Committee for Road Safety at the Police Headquarters in Qurum on Saturday, the top police officer in the country said: "The 1,051 fatalities and 11,322 injuries in road accidents [last year] in Oman is a worrying trend, even though the Sultanate is not considered among the countries with high rates of road crashes."

"...not considered among the countries with high rates of road crashes". LMFAO. This is such typical Omani Government bullshit. As I reported earlier, these ROP stats only count those adults that die at the scene of the accident - to get a more representative number you can double the official one to take account of children and later deaths in hospital. With over 2100 road deaths a year in a population of ~2.5 million, we are killing close to 1 in a thousand, every year. Local blogger Muscat Mutterer posted about the reasons in an excellent rant.

At least the ROP border guards at Al Wajaja had an awesome New Year's eve, ~~taking delivery of~~ oops, I mean confiscating 35,000 rials worth of demon drink from a particularly unlucky 'Arab national'. I'm sure it was all properly disposed of... hic ... just like all the rest of the booze taken at the Oman border!

Cheers to that.

So here's to a good 2012. Feel free to recommend a facebook 'like' of Muscat Confidential to your friends!

Breaking News: Dutch MP Queries readers of Muscat Confidential.

2011-11-26T07:57:00.007+04:00

There's going to be another royal visit it seems, and antiglobalist-occupy-hipster-Dutch MP Harry van Bommel wants you to send him an email with your honest opinion about Oman.

Go for it readers of MC!

Send him a short email NOW in answer to his questions. If you can, cc me on your answer!

Photo: Harry. He wants to ask you about Oman. He's Dutch, isn't that weird?

Dear friends,

Do the new powers of the Shura mean anything? I would like to know since our queen is coming to your country. Please mail me at hvbommel@sp.nl

Best regards

Harry van Bommel MP

---------------

Dear friends,

Her Majesty the queen of the Netherlands is planning a state visit to Oman. Of course this is giving food for thought in my country. Our prime minister today said the situation in your country is 'stable enough' for a visit of the queen. What is your opinion? Have recent political changes really made a difference? Please mail me at hvbommel@sp.nl with your opinion.

Keep up the good work!

Harry van Bommel MP

He's a real live Netherlands Member of Parliament, and he wants to here from you. Give it a go. You might get on CNN...

[no other news BTW.... hope you enjoyed Eid and National Holidays!]

Shura given new powers. Oman to offer asylum to Ghaddafi family? News round up.

2011-10-28T19:27:00.008+04:00

So the Shura elections were held successfully, with just 1 woman elected (Congratulations to Nu'amah Bint Jamayel Al Busaidi). 1 is better than zero I guess, although most observers were hoping for more female representatives.

Photo: Happy young voters with photo's of their preferred candidates. Sunil K. Vaidya/Gulf News

After the elections, as promised to the protesters earlier this year, HM also issued the first major constitutional change since the Basic Law of the State was issued in 1996, granting (limited) legislative powers to the Shura and allowing the Majlis Ash' Shura to elect their own Chairman. The law even allows 15 members of the Majlis Ash'Shura to summon a 'Services' Minister for a grilling.

The decree updated the process of how a successor to the Sultan is selected, replacing the Defense Council with a small committee that includes the Majlis Chairman.

These are certainly big changes, and represent another step on the path to more effective representative government. Muscat Confidential has long held the view that HM has a goal of leaving Oman with a Constitutional Monarchy, and this is a key part of such a transition. Local legal-eagle BluChi wrote a good summary of the changes here.

Oman Daily Observer
Fri, 21 October 2011
...
Article 58 (bis 35): The draft laws prepared by the government shall be referred to the Majlis Oman for approval or amendment and then directly be submitted to His Majesty to issue them. In case of any amendments by the Majlis Oman on a draft law, His Majesty may return the same to the council for reconsidering the amendments and then shall be submitted again to His Majesty.

Article 58 (bis 36): The Majlis Oman may propose draft laws and refer the same to the government for assessment and returning the same to the Majlis, procedures provide for in Article 58 (bis 35) shall be followed in approving, amending or issuing the said draft laws.
...

Article 58 (bis 43): On a request signed by at least 15 members of the Majlis Ash’shura of any of the services ministers may be subject to interpellation on matters related to exceeding their prerogatives by acting in contrary to the law. The Majlis shall debate the same and submit the outcome to His Majesty the Sultan.
...

The results of the election showed how most of the voting is still done along tribal lines, with some people reporting that they were even told to vote for the local tribal leader. As political parties remain illegal in Oman, this is probably no surprise. Without a coordinated party structure, it is hard for potential Shura members to establish a cohesive manifesto, and even harder for voters to really know what they are voting for wrt specific policies or new legislation. But at least the ban on all polital parties keeps out the election of a dedicated religious extremist party.

It is questionable whether the Shura has the capability to use these new powers. This would require the Shura members be given the budget and authority to assemble a staff of advisors, who could then analyse the draft legislation sent from the Council of Ministers, and have a bigger chance of doing a decent job writing suitable amendments. The Shura need independent lawyers and experienced technocrats to take on the civil servants in the Ministries.

Oman still struggles to overcome the historic burden of tribalism and family-related favouritism. But, hey, this new law is a good start in a region not known for democracy.

Bit of a catch up on miscellaneous news.

Oman to offer Ghaddafi family asylum?
Strange report today that Oman was prepared to give the Ghaddafi family political asylum. Interesting.

While Oman is a signatory (in December 2000) to the International Criminal Court treaty, they have not yet ratified the treaty and so are not at present a 'State Party' to the ICC. So how any ICC arrest warrants would apply in Oman is a bit vague.

Oman 'ready' to give Gaddafi family policial asylum
Oct 27, 2011 22:16 Moscow Time

The authorities of Oman are prepared to grant political asylum to the members of Muammar Gaddafi’s family, Ash-Shark al-Ausat newspaper reports with reference to Libyan sources.

The authorities stressed that members of Muammar Gaddafi’s family will not be involved in politics in Oman.

According to other sources close to Gaddafi’s family, its surviving members may go to South Africa in the coming days where they will be joined by Gaddafi’s son Saadi who is now in Niger. (TASS)

If true, I wonder if we'll see this story in the Times of Oman?

Meanwhile.

Iranian Threat prompts Oman to buy advanced US anti-aircraft missile systems.
It seems releasing Iranian hostages can help get you access to some nice military kit. Oman is buyinga suite of advanced US anti-aircraft missiles. These would be capable of shooting down unmanned drones as well as helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. While the Iranian airforce may not be up to much, I guess it's always nice to be prepared.

Photo: the SLAMRAAM anti-aircraft system by Raytheon. Toys for the boys.

October 28, 2011: The Persian Gulf state of Oman is buying 18 American Avenger anti-aircraft systems, as well as 266 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles for them. Also being purchased on 290 SLAMRAAM (ground launched AMRAAM air-to-air missiles) and twenty Hummers to serve as launchers. A Sentinel radar system is being bought to support the SLAMRAAMs.

Avengers are hummers with a turret mounted on the back. The turret contains two missile pods (each containing four Stinger anti-aircraft missiles). Under one pod there is an M3P .50 caliber (12.7mm) machine gun. The weapons operator has use of a FLIR (night vision device) and a laser range finder. The machine-gun, however, can't be depressed sufficiently to fire at ground targets towards the front of the vehicle. The missiles have a range of four kilometers, the machine-gun about half that. The usual price is $12-15 million per Avenger system, including Stinger missiles, training gear, spare parts and training and technical assistance.
...

Sweet.

US Sec. State Clinton visits HM Sultan Qaboos to say "Thanks" on Iran.

2011-10-19T19:37:00.006+04:00

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visits Oman today, seen here touring the Beit Al-Zubair Museum. Photo AFP

Nice to see US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton dropping by today for a 121 with HM Sultan Qaboos. My take on the US agenda:

1/ Say a big Thanks from the President for paying the Iranians and negotiating the release of those stupid American idiots. We owe you one.

2/ Discuss Iran (again), and the plot to assassinate an Ambassador of a fellow GCC state in the USA. [If true, this would be anathema to HM].

3/ Discuss and coordinate on the situations in Syria, Bahrain and Yemen, and the GCC involvement in the search for solutions. Plus Afghanistan & Pakistan; Turkey & Israel. Iraq.

4/ Cautious praise on the recent elections: right direction, more power to Majlis eagerly awaited. And need more women.

5/ Talks on the Arab Spring, esp. Egypt and Libya.

6/ US support for HM. HM has done an excellent job as a regional & moderate peacemaker, and was the first leader to visit Iran after their most recent 'elections', hence the backchannel. Appreciation for his continuing to be a strong US ally in the region, and his cooperation on all levels.

It got Oman into the venerable Washington Post, with the gem:

... talks in Sultan Qaboos bin Sa’id’s lavish palace, in the capital of this tiny Gulf state,....

The Secretary certainly praised Oman lavishly in the press release.

..."The Sultanate of Oman has made more progress than any country in the world in the past forty years, which has laid the stability at home and peace with its neighbors. ...It must be for other countries to learn how to become the Sultanate in this short period of time, a unique model of development ... in the Middle East. "

I wonder if she raised civil rights, and developments in the arrest and trials of journalists? (For those who care, the appeal was delayed until the 22nd October)

Also in Bloomberg here:

Clinton in Oman for Talks on Iran, Protests Across Arab World

By Indira A.R. Lakshmanan - Oct 19, 2011 10:10 AM GMT+0400

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is visiting Oman today to thank the Gulf state’s ruler for his role in securing the release of three American hikers jailed by Iran, and to discuss efforts to meet demands for greater economic and political freedoms in the sultanate.

Clinton will also hold talks with Sultan Qaboos bin Said al-Said on the recent alleged plot by Iran to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Washington, and protests in nearby Syria and Yemen that have claimed the lives of demonstrators as the countries’ leaders cling to power, a U.S. official told reporters traveling with the secretary of State.

The U.S. is seeking to exert pressure on Iran, which it views as a rogue state that threatens global security, and Oman is key to that effort as a rare U.S. ally that has a friendly relationship with the government in Tehran, said the U.S. official, who spoke on condition that his name not be used because of the sensitive nature of the talks.

Qaboos was instrumental in the release last month of Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer, who spent two years imprisoned in Iran on charges of illegal entry and espionage, and in last year’s release of a third hiker, Sarah Shourd.

Lawyers for the three said Oman arranged for $500,000 in bail to be paid for each as a condition of their release. The trio, who denied spying, said they were trekking in Iraq in July 2009 when they were beckoned to approach a guard who then arrested them for illegal entry into neighboring Iran.
....

Late re-post: Melamine contamination in Oman's Chicken

2011-10-18T18:40:00.005+04:00

I had to re-post Muscat Mutterers recent link to the Muscat Daily story last week about how half of the chicken sold in Oman had very high levels of the adulterant Melamine.

The plastic Melamine contains a LOT of nitrogen, which makes it test like good protein in food products. It can cause kidney stones and renal failure when eaten.

Meat in Oman contaminated with melamine, says SQU study
Muscat Daily, by Madhuparna Bhattacharjee 10/10/2011 1:30 pm
Meat and meat products in the Omani market are contaminated with melamine, a study has revealed. Experts caution against consuming such meat, which can cause serious health ailments.

“We found out that some meat here contains melamine and this is of serious concern,” Professor Isam T Kadim, head of the department of animal and veterinary sciences, SQU, who led the research, told Muscat Daily. “Melamine contamination can take place through the use of veterinary drugs such as antibiotics, hormones, growth promoting agents and commercialised feed.”

The approved melamine content in food from use of such industrial products is estimated at less than 0.015mg/kg. Acco-rding to Kadim, this is a small quantity and does not pose a public health concern. “However, we found out that chicken product samples from eight out of 16 poultry companies contain melamine in the range of 25.6-73mg/kg.”

The study tested 51 randomly collected meat and meat product samples from 35 local, regional and international companies. The samples represented cattle, she-ep and poultry, besides burgers, sausages, mortadella, salami and mincemeat from the processed meat category.

It also showed that the conc-entration of melamine in proc-essed poultry such as sausages, burger and mincemeat ranged between zero and 35.2 mg/kg. “However, melamine content in cattle and sheep meat samples was below the maximum residue limit,” he said. “The results indicated that some of the poultry companies may have used feed contaminated with melamine.”

These values were much higher than the maximum residue limit, consumption of which can cause kidney stones. Fifty per cent of poultry products tested were contaminated with more than the maximum permitted limit of melamine.

“The high levels of melamine must be taken seriously as poultry consumption among Omanis has increased by 75-80 per cent in recent years,” Kadim added.
He cited the example of China, where melamine was added to diluted milk for manufacturing powdered infant formula some years back. The adulterated formula resulted in 50,000 cases of kidney stones, mostly among children under three years of age.

Oman needs to strengthen sampling and develop techniques to monitor the potential hazards of contaminated food. “Screening of melamine residues in meat and meat products is very important, especially in Oman, where meat consumption is high,” Kad-im said.

Yes, another half-baked news story in the Omani press. No mention of brands impacted, or advice for consumers.

The issue of adulteration of many products with the plastic melamine, plus the rather nasty sounding cyanuric acid, is a world-wide issue, mainly thanks to the Chinese extreme laissez faire economy. There is little regulation, and what little inspection there is seems easiy corrupted and by-passed if there's a buck in it. There's a great extended article in wiki on Protein adulteration in the People's Republic of China.

The most likely cause of this contamination in Oman's chicken is via adulterated animal feed, where Chinese manufacturers add the melamine to boost measurements of 'protein' levels, faking even things labeled 'organic wheat gluten' by using ordinary wheat flour with added melamine and/or cyanuric acid. Yum.

The maximum recommended Total Daily Intake of Melamine?

...The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), in EFSA's Provisional Statement on a Request from the European Commission Related to Melamine and Structurally Related Compounds such as Cyanuric acid in Protein-rich Ingredients Used for Food and Feed, concluded: "EFSA provisionally recommends to apply a TDI of 0.5 mg/kg b.w. for the total of melamine and its analogues .... A source of uncertainty is the combined toxicity of melamine and cyanuric acid and their possible synergistic effects in relation to the recently observed toxicity linked to the acute renal failure and death of pet animals (cats and dogs) in the U.S. This mechanism is currently under investigation."

So, if you're a 60kg adult, you're allowed to eat up to a maximum of 30mg of melamine. According to the report in Muscat Daily, some of the chicken tested at 73mg/kg, so eating 400g of that chicken would max out your limit. However, children are more susceptible, and a child weighing 30 kg would be over the adult limit eating 200g of the stuff. And that's without allowing for the unknown impact of cyanuric acid, which makes melamine even more poisonous.

The fact that the brands were not named makes me suspect it was not restricted to imported chicken. This Chinese junk can enter the human food chain in so many ways, and melamine is difficult to test for. Are Omani Flour Mills using imports of gluten or other such products from China? Can they test for adulteration? Who in the Omani Government is testing for this stuff?

Meanwhile, avoid eating chicken, as well as all the other crap.
Be more aware of what you consume. Food Adulteration is a growing problem. Grass fed NZ & Aussie beef and lamb is a good option.

But in terms of Omani Health risk, I'd guess that fatty/sugar filled food is a much bigger problem in the Sultanate. We've all seen people in the supermarket queue loaded to the gunnels with highly processed foods and sugar by the ton - in a place plagued by obesity & diabetes.

International NGO 'Committee to protect Journalists' writes formal letter to His Majesty over trial of Al Zaman journalists

2011-10-13T20:21:00.006+04:00

Update on Omani journalists' trial for 'insulting' the Minister of Justice.

The trial of the 2 Al Zaman journalists over the alleged 'insult' to the Minister & Ministry of Justice will go to appeal this Saturday, 15th October.

You can find an Arabic summary of the case is here, and the original trial itself here.

The arrest and sentencing of the journalists to 5 months imprisonment has draw international attention, including the NGO 'Committee to Protect Journalists' [CPJ]. The NGO recently wrote a letter to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos (see below) to highlight their concerns over the treatment of the journos, their unfair trial, the new Publications Law amendment, and most interestingly, the reports of interference in the trial by the Attorney General.

The letter refers to reports that the Oman's Attorney General Al Hilali ordered the judge to pass a ruling condemning the newspaper and its editors. The journalists' lawyer, Ahmed al-Ajami, reportedly alleged that the Justice Minister called the Attorney General and told him to make clear to the judge what ruling should be made.

Oh dear, that doesn't sound very... just.

See CPJ concerned by politicized trial in Oman.

October 11, 2011

His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Sa'id
Sultan, Head of the Supreme Judicial Council, Prime Minister, and
Commander-in-Chief of the Omani Armed Forces
Office of the Sultan
The Royal Palace
PO Box 875
Muscat 113
Sultanate of Oman

Via facsimile: +968 24 735 375

Your Majesty Sultan Qaboos:

The Committee to Protect Journalists is writing to bring to your attention reports of an unfair trial of two Omani journalists and a civil servant sentenced to imprisonment on defamation charges. We ask you, in your capacity as head of the Supreme Judicial Council, to instruct the judicial authorities to respect the letter of the law and allow the defendants an opportunity to prove their innocence. This case will be appealed on October 15, and we hope the verdict against the newspaper and the three men will be reversed. We are also alarmed by the October 9 royal decree that amends an article in the Press and Publications Law, further tightening government control over the media, and urge you to consider the negative effect the amendment will have on independent media in Oman.

On September 21, an Omani court sentenced Editor-in-Chief Ibrahim al-Ma'mari and editor Youssef al-Haj of independent newspaper Al-Zaman, and longtime civil servant Haroun al-Mukeebli, to five months' imprisonment on charges of "defaming" and "insulting the dignity" of the minister of justice and his deputy. The court also ordered Al-Zaman to shut down for one month. The defamation charges stem from a May 14 article written by al-Haj in Al-Zaman alleging that the justice minister and his deputy refused to grant a salary and grade increase to al-Mukeebli. Al-Zaman has been allowed to operate until the appeals court rules on the case, and the defendants have been free on bail.

We are also concerned by highly credible reports that Attorney General Hussein al-Hilali ordered the judge to pass a ruling condemning the newspaper and its editors. One of the sources cited in these stories is the journalists' lawyer, Ahmed al-Ajami, who also alleged that the justice minister called al-Hilali and told him to make clear to the judge what ruling should be made. Al-Ajami told Al-Zaman that the journalists had not been given a fair trial and said that the prosecutor did not submit a written or oral statement, which is inconsistent with Omani law and internationally recognized fair trial standards.

Oman's Minister of Justice, a political appointee, also holds the post of deputy head of the Supreme Judicial Council, so it is vital to ensure that this trial be carried out in a transparent and fair manner. The credibility and independence of Oman's judiciary depend on it.

The October 9 royal decree amending Article 26 of the Press and Publications Law prohibits publishing "anything which may prejudice the safety of the state or its security, all that is related to their bylaws and internal regulations, any information or news or official secret communications, whether the publication was through visual, audio, or print or through the Internet, unless permission is obtained from the respective authority. It is also banned to publish the wordings of agreements and treaties concluded by the government before they are published in the official gazette." The failure here to unambiguously define "prejudicing the safety of the state" invites maximalist interpretations of the law and allows overzealous prosecutors to abuse it. In addition, the sweeping nature of the amendment and the ambiguity of its meaning create significant concerns about the fairness of future legal proceedings.

We urge your majesty, as the head of the Supreme Judicial Council, to condemn the botched trial of these journalists and ensure they are given an opportunity to prove their innocence. We also urge your majesty to consider the effect the amendment will have on independent media in Oman. Your actions could affirm Oman's commitment to press freedom and the rule of law.

Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter. We look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Joel Simon
Executive Director

Let's see what happens on Saturday.

The new Great Game? Iran accused of ploting Saudi Ambassador's assassination

2011-10-12T11:59:00.000+04:00

Oh oh. This isn't good.

Reuters: Oct. 11 - An Iranian in custody has confessed to an alleged $1.5 million assassination plot to kill the Saudi ambassador of the United States and provided information about involvement by factions of the Iranian government, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder tells a news conference.

Photo: Iranian President Ahmadinejad, said "Who, me?. No way!"

We've all seen the ~~Saudi~~ Bahrain response to the (predominantly Shia, linked to Iran) protests there - massive military force, riot police, imprisonment (including 15yrs for Doctors who had the gall to treat injured protesters), harassment. Sh. Fluffy, the Crown Prince, who called for dialogue and calm was immediately shifted to one side and the iron fist returned. Firmly. Note The reports that the UAE, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar sent troops too. Pakistan sent mercenaries.

.... [Itanian News]
...
attacks come two days after Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Qatar dispatched their armed forces to crisis-hit Bahrain to quash anti-government protests in the tiny Persian Gulf state.
...

[Ms Dragon calls the reports of Oman troops being sent as erroneous. I suspect we probably sent ROP & 'Observers' from ISS]

So the report today from the US Attorney General that the Feds had busted 'factions of the Iranian Government' funding a terrorist plot to kill the Saudi Ambassador (and countless innocents) on US soil, well, that was always going to be a big deal.

Anyway it plays - Iranian Gov did plan it (and how tremendously stupid to do it and then to get caught!), or bits did it (more likely), or it's a cunning Mossad/CIA conspiracy (it won't be the FBI. They're cops), or heck, even a cunning Saudi Intel black op - there are no 'uninteresting' explanations.

But the Saudis are gonna be pissed off in a big way if it was Iranian. EG, here just now on Reuters.

Saudi to 'take measures' in response to Iran-Americans arrested for plot to blow-up top adviser and security confident to King.

(Reuters) - The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will be expected to 'take measures' by its people after U.S. authorities broke up a plot by two men linked to the Iranian government to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in the United States.

"After this incident many in the kingdom will expect the kingdom to take measures, the least of which will be to pull the Saudi ambassador from Iran," said Abdullah Alshammari, a government official in Riyadh. "In the opinion of Saudi decision makers, this situation is not going to pass easily."

Saudi Arabia mistrusts Shi'ite power Iran, and together with the United States accuses Tehran of backing terrorism and pursuing nuclear arms.

"There were always problems with Iran and Saudi Arabia, what is new now is that America is involved... The fact that the Saudi ambassador was the target in the United States, I believe this will mean the kingdom and the United States will take a joint decision together," Alshammari said. "An ambassador of the level of Adel Al-Jubeir, who was an adviser to the royal court, that is a great provocation for Saudi Arabia and therefore we expect that the kingdom will take steps in this matter."

Hmmm. 'Take steps' sounds potentially ominous.

At least the USA will allow a trial and some evidence in public court. So Iran (and Saudi...) can always see what the evidence is I guess. That would NOT happen in Iran or Saudi, bastions of press freedom that they are.

'Just in time' change in Oman's Publication Law? Another botched job.

2011-10-11T20:00:00.008+04:00

Oman often has a very ad-hoc way of developing legislation. A couple of days ago, HM's Government issued an update to Article 26 of the Publishing law. It seems more than co-incidental that on the 15th October the Appeal case will be held for the local journalists sentenced to 6 months in prison (they're out on bail right now) for 'insulting'* the Minister & Ministry of Justice (yes, really. That's a criminal offense in Oman). I would expect this new law should not apply to their Appeal (ex-post facto / retrospective legislation anyone?), but I guess it does send a message to the Judges!

* Note, independent newspaper Al-Zaman was ordered shut-down for 1 month for publishing an article alleging corruption in the Ministry of Justice on 15 August 2011. The article's author, prominent Omani journalist and film maker Youssef al-Haj, and his Editor and source in the Ministry were arrested, interrogated, and sentenced to 6 months in prison.

This new law is lazy, even by Oman's typically vague and broad legislative standards. Hell, it makes it illegal to publish (quote) "anything" which "may" bear on internal or external security. Reading the law in translation, it appears to make saying essentially anything at all even remotely to do with Omani Government arguably illegal. This is sloppy, lazy law making. No definition of terms, no exclusions, and creating a broad crime whose very definition is subject to the opinion of someone in the Government.

This is unfortunately fully consistent with the Basic Law of Oman, namely:

Article 29 [Expression]
Freedom of opinion and expression, whether spoken, written or in other forms, is guaranteed within the limits of the Law. [my emphasis]

IE, Omanis quite legally have no freedom of expression, because so many laws make almost any public expression not just illegal but criminal. Those arrested Al-Zaman journalists are about to find out how the lottery of Omani publication law works. (see earlier post here). I suppose if they are found guilty they will be beholding to an appeal for clemency from HM. This is not the way to run a legal system.

This was an opportunity wasted; a chance to update the laws involved with publishing - press, TV, radio, internet - in a systematic, competent, comprehensive way. Preferably involving independent review (eg, the Majlis Al Shura) and public comment.

Instead we get another of these vague & ill defined statements of good intent that will in reality be used as further restraints on constructive public dialogue of real issues. Another law that Government functionaries can hide behind and avoid scrutiny.

It will be very interesting to see what happens at the Appeal.

ONA issued the new law.

Decree amends publication law.
His Majesty Sultan Qaboos has issued Royal Decree No 95/2011 amending some provisions of the Law of Publications and Publishing. Article 1 stipulates that Article 26 of the said Publications and Publishing Law shall be replaced with the following text: “Article 26: It is prohibited to publish anything which may prejudice the safety of the state or its internal or external security or all that relates to military and security apparatuses, their bylaws and internal regulations, any documents or information or news or official secret communications, either by publication through visual, audio or print media or through the Internet or any means of the information technology unless a permission is obtained from the competent authority.

It is also prohibited to publish the wordings of the agreements and treaties concluded by the government before they are published in the official gazette.

...

Presto!

The Golden Ticket...

2011-10-06T03:06:00.004+04:00

It seems the Ministry of Higher Education is announcing a new ""transparent" process to award the next crop of overseas graduate sponsored students.

I noticed it in the Khaleej Times here.

Oman pledges transparency in scholarship selections [Khaleej Times]

6 October 2011 MUSCAT — The authorities have pledged transparency in selecting candidates for the newly-announced government scholarships for 1,000 students.
The grants, for Master and Ph D students, were ordered by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said earlier this year. Two hundred scholars will receive the scholarship annually over the next five years.

Higher Education Minister Dr Rawiyah bint Saud Al Busaidiyah, who said on Tuesday that the programme would be launched soon, assured that the ‘principle of transparency’ would be applied in deciding eligible aspirants. The choice would be entirely based on merit, she added. She said an electronic system would be used to select the right candidates by the Standardised Admission Centre, stressing that the grant was open to ‘all members of the society in accordance with the prescribed conditions and terms.’ She added the selected students would be sent to the best and internationally-rated universities around the world.

Busaidiyah noted that the royal order for the scholarships coincided with ‘a new inspiring period in the comprehensive development’ in the country with several major projects under implementation in different sectors.

“One of the main goals that is expected to be achieved after completing the programme over the next five-year period is to provide enough experienced and specialised Omani cadres in various specialties so that they will be able to make a tangible impact on the development process,” she added. She said the ministry was in talks with government departments to seek their views to decide the most crucial specialities needed in the country now and in the future.

Based on replies received from them, the ministry has prepared a list of areas in which the selected students will pursue studies.

ravindranath@khaleejtimes.com

So, the competition begins! Imagine. Several years at an overseas University all expenses paid courtesy of HM's Government.

Winners of this "merit based" system would be set-up pretty well to get a guaranteed 'development for a technical or management level' job in a Ministry. And that makes you set for life.

Photo: Willie Wonka's Golden Ticket - this could be you!

Not a bad prospect, especially with your 3 year overseas ~~holiday~~ degree paid for.

Are there any readers who can keep us up to date on the outcome of this edu-lottery?

The emphasis on transparency is related to previous complaints about relatives of Ministers getting free scolarships - the magical wasta at work. Or Nepotism. Or both.

So it'll be with some interest how this turns out.

Nabil Al Busaidi, Omani Adventurer. Exclusive Interview Part 2

2011-10-02T17:45:00.001+04:00

We continue with Part 2 of our exclusive interview with Nabil Al Busaidi, Omani Adventurer.

Nabil Al Busaidi Interview: Part 2
Location: Somewhere in Nepal, above base camp, Mount Everest*.

[interview continues. You can read Part 1 here]

UD: You've come close to death many times on your adventures. What thoughts go through your mind at that point?
Nabs: In the North Pole, I thought I was going to die several times, but one time it actually seemed close to happening. Far too close.

I was lost in a blizzard, the wind was blowing around 100 kmph, visibility was down to 5 metres, my GPS was not working, we were in a rubble field so large that the blocks were 2-3 metres high, so I couldn’t see my team mates even if they were one meter away but on the other side...and then I fell through a crack in the ice, and I couldn't get out. I was jammed in so tight that I could hardly breathe. There was nothing for me to grab to pull myself out, and I couldn’t get a toe hold to push myself out. As I realised that this would probably be the end, I relaxed and accepted it. Even if I got out, where would I go? I didn’t have the equipment to sit out a blizzard, so if I got out, I would only swap one death for another.

And then I laughed myself silly as I remembered the farewell message I had left my brother. We are both big jokers, and before I left I recorded a message for him in case I died. I knew that I would have the last laugh if he was watching that video, so I played a joke on him and that amused me no end!! I thought that was a pretty fitting way to go, laughing at the whole world.

And then I thought of my best friend, and how worried she had been when I had missed the scheduled satellite phone call one night previously, and how she had been close to tears for 24 hours. So I did what could technically be called an epileptic fit, until I fought scratched and dragged myself out of the ice, and then I walked as fast as I could in the direction I thought best, determined to generate heat and die fighting to the last moment.

Somehow, I managed to see one of my team cresting one of the boulders about 100 meters away, in a brief break in the weather, and eventually I was reunited with them, though we were still in a lot of danger from exposure, at least the most immediate threat of death had passed.

When I fell through the ice in Everest, it was very different. I didn’t even care about dying, all I cared about was not being able to summit. Very different situation, and very different attitude. When I look back it seems odd that I was more worried that my climb was over than worrying about rescue and descent to base camp and getting medical attention.

UD: What is the best thing readers of Muscat Confidential could do to help you, apart from just sending you some cash?
Nabs: To be honest, I do not want cash from individuals, although with time running out, it may come to that! What I really hoped I could achieve by being on your blog is 2 fold.

Firstly by being put in front of all your readers, I hoped that enough decision makers and influencers would be sufficiently encouraged to assist in raising corporate funds in whatever way they were capable and willing. More specifically that would mean senior executives in larger retail organisations or FMCG pushing my cause on my behalf. A bank for example or such like. These companies could really benefit from a sustained PR campaign, in English and Arabic, across Oman and the GCC that is inspirational and aspirational.

I would also really like the Ministry of Tourism to assist in producing the documentary of my trek to the South Pole. Nat Geo were sufficiently impressed with the North Pole to say they would be interested in broadcasting anything I made of the South, and we are hoping to highlight Oman as a destination to millions of people, but I seem to be stuck in a bureaucratic holding pattern concerning support for the filming.

Secondly, I was hoping that your readers would like the idea of me going to their children's schools and talking to them, and thus the parents would start asking the school principals to invite me in. Currently I have only 5 schools scheduled for my proposed 100 school tour, so there are plenty of schools still to come!

Plus, some schools are so large, that I could conceivably go several times. I also would like the Ministry of Education to support me so that I can go visit Government schools (at the moment I can only go to private schools that invite me). It seems a bit odd that only expat kids get the benefit of my school tour and Omani kids don’t!

UD: How do you think we could improve the opportunities for Omani kids currently in school or University? What advice would you give them?
Nabs: I am no guru in this field, and some of my exposure to this issue has been gleaned from your blog. What I have noticed in comparison to my experiences in the UK is that expectations are a lot higher here [UD: on the part of students] for a similar level of education, experience and attitude. At some stage there will have to be a rationalisation of the job market as the status quo cannot be sustained indefinitely.

One of the values that I hope I am spreading is that if you want something you have to go and get it, no one else will give it to you. And reward is linked to effort. It is not something many people can immediately appreciate, but there is a reason that less than 300 people have walked to the South Pole, and it isn't just inaccessibility or finance.

UD: What's your plan going forward? What are your new goals, and what will it take to get them?
Nabs: After the South Pole I am definitely calling it quits and looking after myself first. So the usual stuff settling down, getting a house, getting married, 9 to 5 etc. Normal things for all your readers, but quite scary for me!

UD: I know some of my female readers want to ask: Are you single?
Nabs: Ha ha ha! Yes I am. Single, straight and searching! So please make sure you put a good photo of me with this article, match maker Dragon!

UD: Done. That won't be difficult!

Photo: Yes, Nabil is single and an eligible bachelor ladies!

UD: What are the biggest difficulties you face when trying to raise sponsorship for your next goal?
Nabs: The simple answer is cash. If I had some cash, it would easier to raise the sponorship funds. The longer answer has multiple factors.

Arabic coverage. For various reasons, most of my coverage is in English, but most of the population speaks Arabic. Even though all my information is disseminated equally by email, the Arabic press tend not to follow up, or if they ever do, they ask for the content to be faxed to them. As you can imagine, I do not carry a fax machine on expeditions! When I had the photo exhibition in City Centre I had a comments book and it was totally filled with Omanis saying they had never heard of my feat which was a shame but highlights one of the reasons that it is hard to convince Omani companies the benefits of sponsoring me.

Support. I am a one man band. I do almost everything on my own. And there is a lot to do...training, physio, organising the expedition, doing presentations, meetings, school visits, sponsor commitments, responding to the media, writing articles, producing a documentary, publishing a book, running a website etc each one of which could be made into a full time job if done to the fullest extent. It is great fun in the sense that I am doing something I want to do, instead of living a 9 to 5 rut, but it is also inefficient in that if I were able to hire someone to share some of the administrative work load, then I would be able to spend more time on delivering the things that only I can do. Like walking to the Poles! Compare my set up with Oman Sail who are absolutely world class in what they are doing...but they have the staff, support and finances to do that.

Realm of experience. One of my biggest problems for the North Pole was that most locals did not know where it was, or had never heard of it. Shocking but true. So it is hard to sell a concept that you have basically just invented as far they are concerned. On top of that, trying to convey the sheer difficulty of walking 650 km is outside the realm of most peoples experience, never mind explaining minus 80 Celsius. One of the beauties of the school tour is that students will be able to spend time in sub zero conditions, and hopefully will be able to extrapolate that experience to understand what I went through and what it takes to do something like that. Also having done the magnetic North, people are much more aware.

Leveraging opportunity. A lot of the time when I can convince a company of the marketing possibilities that associating with me presents, the opportunities are not exploited to the fullest. That is usually the internal marketing department not being proactive enough to follow up on all the ideas discussed. Thus when I go back to the company for the next expedition, they cite the lack of return on investment as reason for declining. A brilliant counter example is KPMG who sponsored me in return for being the "publishers" of the coffee table book amongst other things. Copies of the book were then sent to almost every country partner around the world, as well as other CIP, clients and dignitaries. They chose a niche that suited their business, and executed it perfectly although admittedly in a limited way.

Inertia. The truth is, things move at a different speed in Oman. That is not a good thing or a bad thing. It is just a fact. I consistently add in more lead time in my planning when it involves Oman, and I am still struggling to get things done on time. For example I contacted 40 schools 4 weeks before the start of the school tour, and I am still waiting for 30 schools to get back to me. And of course everyone knows that Ramadhan and summer are slow go and no go business wise. And it becomes a self fulfilling perception. I contacted a big corporation around 6 months before the North Pole trek, and followed up every month. 2 months before I left I spoke to the expat that I was in contact with, and when he heard how long was left he said I was a typical Omani leaving everything to the last minute, conveniently ignoring the emails I had been sending for the previous 4 months!

UD: Lastly, who are your top sponsors right now? We can give them a free plug.
Nabs: For my proposed Centenary South Pole Expedition, my sponsors so far are Port of Salalah, Ministry of Sports Affairs, and Berlitz Language school.

UD: Nabs, my tail is almost frozen and the crew are telling me our weather window is closing. Gotta get back to that 5 star hotel that's waiting for me. How you do this is amazingly inspirational and totally insane at the same time. See you back in Oman! Here's some Kendal Mint Cake, BTW. Thanks for the contact. I'm a fan.

Nabs: That is very kind of you to say! Mutual admiration society then!

And with that, my time was over. Nabil Al Busaidi, Omani Adventurer & Exceptionalist.

He waved as we left him, neither of us knowing if we'd meet again...

What a super nice guy.

And I know there must be many readers and fans of Muscat Confidential that can help Nabs in his South Pole expedition, and at the same time help give some inspiration to the nation, and even the region.

Get your school to invite Nabil to speak. Talk to your buddies in the various Ministries. And those CEOs and Board members of (presumably exceptional) Omani Companies reading this (yes, I know who you are), heck, get your cheque book out and get a hold of some great PR for your products/CSR while you can.

It's also important to realise that when you do sponsor an athlete for your company, you'll need to spend additional money on your own business's PR campaign to embed the sponsorship slant in your overall marketing efforts - that's how to get best value for the sponsorship.

Contact Nabil now at info@arabadventurer.com
Here's his website.

*Location Nepal: Not really. And helicopters can't even reach base camp at Everest anyhow - it's just too high! The interview was conducted via email in late Sept 2011.

Exclusive Interview with Nabil 'Nabs' Al Busaidi: Omani Adventurer

2011-09-29T11:01:00.001+04:00

One of the things Oman needs more of is Exceptionalism.

As I once posted, can you imagine someone in say, New York, or Hong Kong, buying something Omani and saying to his/her friend "Awesome - made in Oman! Now that's the best shit there is man."

At the moment I can only think of 2 things that fit that: Amouage perfume, and Omani Frankincense. [Happy for readers to nominate anything I missed on this short list]

Exceptionalism. It begins with the idea that being the best is a valid goal. And then proving it. And 'the best' can mean many things. The best in the World, sure, but even 'the best in the region', or 'the best in Oman' or 'the best in my village' are valid. You need passion for that goal. How many Omanis have that attitude? How many are encouraged to dare aim that high? That take risks to succeed. Big risks. Chasing a vision of success.

Today Muscat Confidential publishes part 1 of its exclusive interview with someone who has done that. The First Arab to walk to the magnetic North Pole. The first Arab to row across an ocean.

Nabil Al Busaidi, aka 'Nabs'.

Photo: Nabs Al Busaidi. Steady ladies, steady! (and yes, he's single) [copyright Nabil Al Busaidi]

Here's his website.

Have a gander at his list of achievements:

An active adventurer, Nabs has undertaken the following expeditions since 2009:
April 2009, he became the first Arab to walk the 650 km from Resolute Bay to the magnetic North Pole and one of less than 500 ever to walk to a pole.

Later that year, Nabs helped Commander Richard Ryan, a United States Naval officer, set a World Record for a wheelchair traverse from Land’s End, Cornwall, England to John O’Groats, Scotland; a total distance of 1,451 km in 8 days 10 hours.

December 2009, successfully completed a climb of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa at 5,895m and one of the 7 summits.

January 2010, Nabs became the first Omani, second Arab, and one of only 1,400 to climb the highest mountain in Antarctica, Mount Vinson – (4,897m) also one of the 7 summits.

April 2010, Nabs was hoping to be the first Omani to summit Mt Everest, but survived a fall that left him with several broken bones in one ankle and required evacuation from base camp.

2011: Set yet another world record by becoming the first Arab to row over 4,600 km across the Atlantic and joined an exclusive club of less than 500 ever to row an ocean.

Impressive.

Photo: Nabil 'Nabs' Al Busaidi on his trek to the Magnetic North Pole in 2009 [copyright Nabil Al Busaidi]

Undercover Dragon traveled far into the higher reaches of Mount Everest to speak mano-a-mano to Nabs on his expedition. Here's the report.

Nabil Al Busaidi Interview: Part 1
Location: Somewhere in Nepal, above base camp*.

Undercover Dragon: The large Chinook stuggled to make progress against the howling gale outside the protection of the plexi-glass. All I could see was white, endless white. Only the GPS and the instruments enabled us to get to where the expeditionary team were. When we landed in a moment of clarity in the snow, the icy blast as the door slid open greeted us with 40deg below zero. That's F or C, take your pick. I exited the protection of the chopper and crawled to the small hole in the snow that concealed the temporary refuge protecting Omani Adventurer, Nabil Al Busaidi. The tent beneath was quickly resealed and the relative quietness and protection from the wind was a welcome refuge, even after my short time walking/crawling from the landing zone.

[photo copyright Nabil Al Busaidi]

UD: Good afternoon Nabil! I'm glad you made it to the rendezvous point!

Nabil Al Busaidi: No problem Mr Dragon. Thanks for meeting me.

UD: Why did you decide to become an adventurer?
Nabs: I didn’t consciously decide to become an adventurer, it just evolved over time.

I was working as director of finance and admin for a company in Bahrain, and due to the economic downturn, there wasn’t much business. I decided that I would make myself redundant, formally as opposed to practically, and use the 3 months gardening leave to prepare for the North Pole. After I came back from the North Pole, I fully expected to get back into corporate life, but one thing kept leading to another, and before I knew it, it was 12 months later and I was deciding to go for Everest...

UD: How can you afford this lifestyle? Were you born with a silver spoon in your mouth?
Nabs: Not at all. I fund myself with whatever I can raise. Some people seem to think I make a living out of this, but financially, I am much worse off than if I had stayed working. I have no savings left, I no longer have the deposit for a house, I am in constant debt and I could go on...I am currently living off my book sales hand to mouth! But that isn't intended as a sob story, just bursting any illusions people have over my lifestyle.

The assumption is that the only metric for measuring success or progress is financial. If that were so, then I admit I am a complete failure. I started off near the top, and sunk into debt. But I am so much richer in so many ways, and I don’t mean in just my personal adventures. I have brought a lot of pride to Omanis. I am able to mobilize a lot of charitable efforts. I have met people that I would never have expected. And I have done things I would never have expected. For example, being interviewed live on Italian TV by Miss Italy! The after party for the James Blunt concert, the Crown Prince of Bahrain. And I met two of the best friends I have ever made through this.

But back to the question, I am only able to afford this thanks to the amount of support I get from the private sector. Fortunately, there are many business leaders who either see the potential benefit of being associated with the media exposure I generate, or do it for their own CSR [UD: Corporate Social Responsibility] reasons.

I realise that most companies expect a return on any type of sponsorship, so I tailor make packages that can give great return on investment if leveraged correctly by the respective marketing deparments. Whether that is realised or not is up to the companies themselves of course, but I know how they think, and I do my best to address that.

UD: How supportive of your efforts has the Government been? Has that changed over time?
Nabs: The ministry of sports were very sceptical before I went to the North Pole for very valid reasons. I was an unknown quantity, I had no track record that they could appreciate, and what I was attempting was so outside the envelope of their experience that they couldn’t see the relevance to Oman or the ministry of sports.

Of course since then the attitude has changed a lot. When I broke my ankles on Everest, the first person to call me, even before my family, was the Minister of Sports himself!

However, despite that, all my funding still has to be raised by myself and through the commercial world rather than through grants from the Government. It is tough work raising sponsorship, much harder than the expeditions themselves. Sir Ranulph Fiennes estimates that 95% of his time and effort is spent on fund raising, and I would have to agree.

UD: I presume Sir Ranulph Fiennes was a point of inspiration? Have you ever met?
Nabs: Funnily enough he is the godfather of a girl I was friends with a long time ago in London, and long before I ever thought of doing any of this. Apparently he knows of me through his god daughter, and I have read several of his books, where he actually mentions his god daughter's father as one of his mentors!

UD: On a change of topic, what do you think of the political situation in the Middle East lately and the 'Arab Spring'?
Nabs: I am a very apolitical person to be honest, and my views are a cross between apathetic and wilfully ignorant. However, this time I have a valid excuse. When I set out to row across the Atlantic, there was some vague mentions of unrest in Tunisia. When I got to the other side, New Zealand, Japan, Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Oman, Bahrain, Yemen had all happened! It was all a bit of a surprise to be fair, and also explains why there was more coverage of the Atlantic row in the UK than in Oman or Bahrain, places where I would normally expect great coverage.

I missed everything that happened in Oman as I was still living in Bahrain until April [2011].

One thing that we took exception to, as residents in Bahrain, was the awful standards of journalism and reporting. Anyone calling the "Pearl Roundabout" the "Pearl Square" was immediately discredited locally, but when the news is being spread by CNN, BBC and Sky there is little you can do to counter the spread of disinformation.

I am sure the third hand nature of the journalism, without fact checking or people on the ground, caused more problems as subversive elements went out of their way to further mislead.

The most ridiculous report I think was in the UK Independent, with Robert Fisk a major culprit (and probably duped victim) claiming that 150,000 demonstrators were at the Pearl Roundabout. If you could get 15,000 people in that small area, I would be surprised, and bearing in mind that the total Shia population is 300,000 I have no idea how they got 50% of them in an area the size of a stadium.

.... to be continued

Contact Nabil now at info@arabadventurer.com

Here's his website.

Coming up in the Nabil Al Busaidi Interview Part 2: Nabs on being near death in the Artic. His thoughts when he had the nearly fatal accident on Everest. His biggest hurdles to getting sponsorship. How you can help. And his plans beyond the South Pole.

And as a special treat, here are Nabs' top 7 most interesting responses to requests for support!

1) What is Everest? (I answer) If it is so high why are you climbing it?

2) Where is the North Pole? Is it in India?

3) Why should we pay you to go on holiday?

4) We want to be the naming sponsor, so don’t talk to anyone else. (Major national company, that then pulled out the day after the final day for payment, leaving me scrambling for funds, or cancelling)

5) We don’t want to be associated with you in case you fail (Charity official)

6) I don’t give a damn. Why can’t Omanis do something original? (European CEO in Oman)

7) I’ve been there at least 20 times. Every time I fly to America I fly over it. What’s the big deal?

* Note: This interview was actually conducted via email in late Sept 2011. No actual helicopters were harmed as a result of this interview.

Minister of Justice presses charges against Omani newspaper for 'insulting him and the Ministry'. Courts order shutdown and jail 2 journalists

2011-09-27T19:18:00.015+04:00

Here's a topic for the incoming Majlis Al Shura to fix - Oman's antiquated media and 'freedom of expression' (sic) laws. In a criminal case brought by the Minister of Justice Mohamed Al-Hanai, a few days ago the Omani courts ruled against a small Muscat-based Arabic language paper Al-Zaman, ordering the paper closed for a month and sentencing an editor and journalist to 5 months in prison for publishing allegations of corruption within the Ministry. The case goes to appeal on Oct 15th.

These are the charges:
- insulting the Justice Ministry
- insulting the Justice Minister and his Under-Secretary
- trying to create divisions within Omani society
- violating article 60 of the civil code (the publications law)
- working as a journalist without a permit.

What an evil bunch. Who would ever commit such heinous acts? They were insulting a Minister of the Crown; impuning his reputation (albeit based on reports of allegations to the contrary). As for the last 3 charges, well, almost any publication can be found guilty of those if you want to.

[side note to UD from Consigliere on list above: - Yep (although not this Ministry), Yep (although not this Minister), arguably; yep (who hasn't?); yep (obviously) ].

Er, indeed Consigliere. Noted. Five months in prison, you say? I think we all await the results of the appeal on baited breath. However I fear the problem is with the law itself, not the legal process or the probity of the Courts. I bet I could legally convict my cat. with a violation of Article 60.

I mean, the person pressing charges is the Minister in charge of the law! I suspect his legal case is pretty well honed.

Photo: Insulted Minister of Justice for Oman Mohamed Al-Hanai shown here on left (Muscat Daily)

Dhofari Gucci blogged about it today too here.

The news of their arrest and conviction was reported world wide (Journalists write the world's news, remember chaps?) (eg. BBC) and was even reported in the Times of Oman. Here's the BBC report:

Oman editors jailed for 'insulting' justice minister

A court in Oman has jailed two senior journalists for five months for insulting the justice minister.

The court also ordered the closure of Ibrahim al-Maamary Yussuf and al-Haj's newspaper, Azzaman, for one month.

The newspaper had published articles alleging corruption inside the justice ministry.

The case stirred complaints about media clampdowns in the Gulf Arab nation, which faced small but significant pro-reform protests earlier this year.

An Omani official, Haron Saeed, was also sentenced to five months in jail in the same case.

All three were found guilty of "insulting" Justice Minister Mohamed al-Hanai and his under secretary of state by accusing them of "fraud, deception and prevarications" in an article published on 14 May.

Defence lawyer Ahmed al-Ajmi said he had succeeded in having the three freed on bail and the order closing the newspaper suspended, until an appeal against the verdicts on 15 October.
...

Oman's media laws are ill-defined, poorly served by legal president, and give broad reasons for courts to convict. Note the trial was a criminal case, not just a civil suit. And readers should know that in this specific case, under the law, it would NOT be a defense to simply prove the allegations are true.(!)

So, the Minister of Justice was well within his legal rights to press charges, presumably also feeling darn right insulted, and the courts would not have had difficulty reaching a legally valid verdict in his favour, as the law is so draconian. What the case has highlighted is the true state of play with journalism and law in the Sultanate, something I've blogged about often.

There is no real freedom of expression in Oman, especially in the licensed media. This blog has been blocked by the internet authorities several times in the past.

It's about time Omani law recognised that public criticism of the Government's performance or of Government Ministers, especially if true, is not the same thing as sedition. At the same time, journalists should know that reporting hearsay and accusations as if they were true means those claims first need to be substantiated, or they can be correctly considered libel in any reasonable jurisdiction. Even then it should be a civil case.

The big international Journalism NGO Reporters without Borders is also involved:

MUSCAT-BASED NEWSPAPER CLOSED, JOURNALISTS FACING TRIAL OVER ARTICLE ABOUT JUSTICE MINISTRY

Reporters Without Borders has written to Sultan Qaboos, Oman’s head of state, expressing deep concern at tomorrow’s trial of Yousef Al-Haj, a journalist with the Muscat-based daily Al-Zaman, as a result of a complaint by justice minister Mohamed Al-Hanai about article published on 14 May.

In its letter, sent on 11 August, Reporters Without Borders voiced amazement at the range and scale of the charges brought against Al-Haj in response to the article, which quoted a justice ministry employee’s allegations about growing corruption within the ministry and favouritism in promotions.

“The proceedings are out of all proportion to the gravity of the offence and we call for their immediate withdrawal,” the letter said. “We fear that Yousef Al-Haj will not have time to organize his defence for the first hearing and will not get a fair trial.”

After being summoned at short notice for interrogation at the prosecutor’s office on 5 July, without having time to notify is lawyer, Al-Haj was charged with:

insulting the justice ministry
insulting the justice minister and his under-secretary
trying to create divisions within Omani society
violating article 60 of the civil code (the publications law)
working as a journalist without a permit.

Reporters Without Borders has been told that Al-Zaman editor Ibrahim Al-Mo’amari had applied for press cards for his journalists and had obtained the requested accreditation for all of them except Al-Haj.

On returning to the newspaper after his interrogation on 5 July, Al-Haj was surprised to find he had been banned by the information ministry from writing any further articles for publication. The ban is still in force. He had been interrogated by the police three times in the past without being banned.

The Reporters Without Borders letter also advised against closing Al-Zaman in response to an order issued by a Muscat court in connection with the case. “It would be regrettable if the Omani courts upheld this decision, which would violate freedom of the press and would give credence to the journalist’s allegedly defamatory claims.” The newspaper has nonetheless been closed.

The president of Al-Zaman’s board, its editor and one of its design editors are also to be tried tomorrow on a charge of illegally employing Al-Haj without a permit from the information ministry. Many journalists work without permits in Oman.

So, lots of ~~good~~ press for Oman in the global media, just as we approach the Majlis elections (which were supposed be the 'good news' story).

Still, Muscat Confidential says well done Justice Minister Mohamed Al-Hanai! His job is to enforce the law, and he's a man that clearly enjoys his work. He's got guts.

I mean, we've had riots, strikes, civil disobedience, looting, arson, demonstrations, sit-ins, arrests, imprisonment, wholesale changes to the Cabinet & the constitution, and then yet further protests. (and that's just what was reported in the Times of Oman)

And now people choose to insult the Minister of Legal Affairs by publishing tattle-tale from his junior staff about corruption and nepotism. My god - has it come to this? This, this is anarchy.

I join the honorable Minister of Justice in saying, No.

Not here.

Not now.

Here, we draw the line.

Insulting a Minister? How about you try a few months imprisoned at His Majesty's pleasure my son.

Booyakkashah.

On a different topic entirely, Enforcing the law, Saudi Arabia Style.

HM once again rescues American prisoners from Iran, and the special relationship between Oman and the USA.

2011-09-25T22:46:00.009+04:00

Oman has always had a very close relationship with the USA. His Majesty, as befits a professional diplomat, has long had a consistent foreign policy that Oman - while retaining full sovereignty - should basically get along with both its regional neighbours and the great powers. In fact, a treaty of friendship and navigation, one of the first agreements of its kind between the USA and an Arab state, was concluded between the United States and Muscat way back in 1833.

Oman has not joined the US-led chorus prevalent in the rest of the GCC states to isolate Iran. Instead, Oman has consistently pursued engagement with Iran as being in its own best interests. Oman has never been too friendly with the Saudis, especially as they funded and supported the Iman of Nizwa's rebellion, and sees Iran as a regional balance against any attempted dominance in the region by the Wahabis of Saudi, as exemplified by the recent protests in Bahrain.

This has enabled Oman to act as a trusted intermediary between the US and Iran. The results of this were evident last week as Oman secured the release of the 2 American 'hikers', who were apparently stupid enough to go wandering near the Iraq/Iran border and got nabbed by the Iranians and thrown into jail for 'spying'. (I mean, come on, who would ever think that it's a good idea to go anywhere near Iran if you have an American passport?)

HM not only negotiated for their release, but also personally paid the Iranian's ~~blackmail/blood money~~ 'bail', a nice round sum of half a million US$ per person, which allows the American Administration to state as fact that they did not pay Iran a cent.

So Barack Obama gave HM a call yesterday to personally thank him.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama thanked Oman's Sultan Qaboos on Friday for his role in getting Iran to free two US hikers jailed there for spying and illegal entry for over two years.

Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer, both 29, were flown into Muscat on an Omani Royal Air Force plane Wednesday after the Gulf sultanate of Oman paid their $1 million bail to get them released from Tehran's notorious Evin prison. Their case had poisoned already tense ties between Tehran and Washington.

Obama called Sultan Qaboos bin Said "to convey the United States' deepest appreciation for the Sultan's exceptional and successful role in securing the release of the young American hikers from Iranian detention and the cooperation between our governments in this endeavor," the White House said.

"The president expressed our gratitude to the sultan and his special envoy, Salim al-Ismaili, for sparing no effort to secure the release of Sarah Shourd last year, and Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal this past Wednesday, thus ending a painful chapter for the hikers and their families."

Shourd, Bauer's fiancee, was released last year on $500,000 bail also paid by Oman.
During their call, Obama and Sultan Qaboos "affirmed that the friendship and partnership between our two nations, as manifested in our cooperation for the release of the hikers, have only grown stronger, and that the United States and Oman will continue to work together on a broad range of common interests," the White House added in its statement.
...

I just hope HM asked President Obama for a visit (the last visit by a US President was Clinton). Something timed just after the Shura elections next month would be great PR for both of them. The press releases would almost write themselves. What greater contrast with the on-going disaster that is Yemen?

Photo: Judgmentally-challenged American hikers Shane Bauer (L) and Josh Fattal hold a press conference after arriving free in Oman (ripped from AFP, Mohammed Mahjoub)

A history of Military Cooperation
The close relationship between Oman and the USA is something the Omani Government has always avoided discussing in public (see the wikileaks cables), afraid of stirring up those Omanis and other Arabs who would get worked up about such superficial issues as Israel, US foreign policy, etc.

Oman has allowed the US to place emergency war materials [USAF Prepositioned War Reserve Materiel, aka WRM] in Oman for decades, recently extending in December 2010 the 10 year duration Base Access Agreement (BAA) first agreed in 1980. In return, the Americans are being allowed to build (at their own cost) a new 36,000 sqm warehousing facility for this purpose, plus a large refueling capability, at the Oman Airforce base in Al Musannah, north of Muscat, to the tune of a whopping $166 million. This will replace the previous facilities at Seeb. The details are publicly available via the US Airforce budget submission to Congress for funding.

... A requirement exists to construct a new airlift apron, taxiway and lighting along with fuel storage and distribution system to support two C-5 or equivalent commercial wide body strategic airlift aircraft at Al Musanah AB, Oman. The fuel storage delivery system must be capable of sustaining a maximum of four(4) C-5 flights a day for seven (7) consecutive days. Maximum fuel load calculated at 189,270 liters per flight.

In support of Overseas Contingency Operations, Al Musanah AB has been designated as a key strategic location for future US development. The Sultan of Oman has mandated that the US War Reserve Materiel (WRM) outload site at Seeb be relocated due to the commercial development of Seeb International Airport.

The Sultan of Oman has offered Al Musanah AB as a viable alternative to Seeb AB. The US government has accepted the offer and consequently developed a long range strategic and tactical plan that fully develops Al Musanah AB in accordance with future US defense posture plans. The initial phase relocates the entire WRM compound from Seeb by FY 12 (AMAB 08-3000). The follow phase (this project) begins the initial strategic development phase of this effort by developing a limited "Gas-n-Go" capability. This capability will provide aircraft with the ability to land at Al Musanah AB, refuel and then depart toward a final destination.
...

There is a lot of information about the relationship between Oman and US available via the US Congressional Research Service, especially stuff written by their Middle East expert Kenneth Katzman, eg here. A quote:

The Sultanate of Oman is a long-time U.S. ally in the Persian Gulf; it has allowed U.S. access to its military facilities for virtually every U.S. military operation in and around the Gulf since 1980, despite the sensitivities in Oman and throughout the Middle East about a U.S. military presence there.

The US is also long active at the RAFO airport base on Masirah Island, known as 'Camp Justice' and apparently nicknamed Moon Base Alpha by the American troops stationed there due to being pretty much at the end of the earth.

HM Sultan Qaboos interview with US in 2005: On Women wearing Hijab, Free speech, Iran, and a whole heap more.

2011-09-04T21:25:00.011+04:00

As I wrote when Wikileaks released the first few cables, one of the best parts of the material were the possibility of more interviews with HM Sultan Qaboos.

HM does not do many interviews, and getting to 'sit in' on a small discussion with His Majesty is a rare and wonderful honour. HM is one smart cookie, and his advise and observations are generally pretty spot on.

In this cable from 2005, just released, he gives a far ranging view of his opinions across the Middle East: Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi, and some domestic issues.

In the middle of the discussion is this, HM is reported to have discussed (* see disclaimer) the Hijab.

...

¶8. (C) Revealing much about his own views on religion, the Sultan observed that religion combines many features: fundamental pillars of belief, rules of interpersonal behavior, and a kind of social contract, among others. Islam, he said, strictly proscribes only a very narrow band of activities, such as drinking blood and eating pork; everything else is simply cultural interpretation.

He finds it ridiculous that some people claim women must wear a hijab as an article of faith, whereas the Quran makes no such requirement.

...

Wow. Once again, HM totally rocks. Take that creeping Wahabi-ism. Ladies, over to you! You are free to wear what you want - including the Hijab - but the reason you can wear a hijab is because it's up to you and your cultural traditions, NOT because someone has the right to tell you to wear it or force you to wear it under a religious threat. I guess it wasn't necessary to mention the Niqab.

Photo: Omani Hijab - not prescribed by Quran.

On freespeech and extremism:
Later, he talks about freedom of expression. As well as saying (when discussing Iraq) that "Ordinary people do not want religious or ethnic strife, but rather jobs and personal security", HM expanded on the importance of Arabs expressing their opinions more openly. :

...
¶15. (C) Asked to gauge the strength of terror groups today, the Sultan agreed with GEN Abizaid that they appear to be weaker, but that it is difficult to know what they may be organizing themselves for in the future. He felt extremist ideology has been discredited by its senseless violence.

The Sultan argued that freedom of conscience and speech were the best antidote to extremist ideology, and was encouraged that Arabs appear to be getting over their fear of speaking out and expressing their views. It is time, he said, to let the silent majority speak and exile extremists to the margins of society where they belong.

He also thought that couching harsh ideologies in religious cloaks was likewise losing its appeal, in part given the human nature of fearing eternal damnation for violating true religious tenets.

...

So HM also supports free speech, and cites the connection between free speech and its impact of suppressing extremism. People have always wondered how the Sablas and Forums and blogs remained on-line, now we know! It also speaks to HM's responses to the protests this year.

Advice on Iran:
Earlier, HM generously gives his visitor, the US CENTCOM General Abizaid, some really excellent advice on Iran:

...
Offering the unique perspective of an ancient state that has always bordered Iran, the Sultan cautioned the U.S. not to be fooled by the superficial patina of the "Islamic Republic of Iran." "You are dealing with Persia, not the 'Islamic Republic.'"
...

This is so true. Every Iranian I meet just wants a peaceful secure economy in Iran, and almost always they have relatives in the USA, and actually really don't mind the USA at all. I wish the new Republican presidential candidates could get that. That one observation contains a heap of deep strategic wisdom, IMHO.

He gives more advice on Iran to the General, detailed in a different cable here

Implications for Oman
I just wish HM would give more speeches and interviews of this nature, in public. In this way his views would have a more pervasive and perhaps longer lasting impact, as he is so sensible in his prescriptions. His arguments are so convincing and imbued with integrity. What a leader. He should show it off a lot more.

How can Omanis get a chance to share more directly in this leadership via the media? Can you imagine HM tweeting?

President Obama has a blog, website, tweeter account, photos, speeches, etc etc etc. Why doesn't HM bypass the MOI and get some young Omani on-line intelligensia to hook him up on the information superhighway?

Follow this link to see the whole interview. It's too big to post here in full.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: * These alleged confidential documents are more accurately "what wikileaks and their anonymous source purports to be what those representatives from the US State department chose to commit formally in writing (and after editing and review) to the US Secretary of State about what HM Sultan Qaboos was perceived by them to have probably said, or inferred, to them about what HM's opinions were, in an unstated context, and when knowingly shared by HM with official representatives of the US State Department in a non-121 meeting attended by other persons".

Gedit? Caveat Emptor indeed. We weren't there, so you don't know what really happened, right?

In this world, some (or most) of these cables may be official unoffical propaganda/black intel, from almost anyone. It's just the internet after all. So readers are advised that all this is for entertainment value only. Treat it as a novel. For god's sake don't go off and do anything silly based on these digital bits and bytes. And that advice applies to professionals and amateurs alike!

Muscat Confidential Mentioned in Dispatches: Wiki leaks releases thousands of Muscat sourced US cables

2011-09-04T02:00:00.006+04:00

Finally. After having made Muscat sourced US Diplomatic cables only a handful of the early cable leaks, Wikileaks has released the whole shebang.

Excellent.

There's some great stuff in there, and I'm still working through it.

And really nice to get an actual quoted ~~suggested link for the President~~ mention for Muscat Confidential in one one I found about Blue City and the legal case between the partners:

...

SUBJECT: AN AL-SAID LOSES HIS DAY IN COURT
REF: MUSCAT 188
-------
Summary
-------

¶1. (C) An investment group reportedly controlled by a
prominent member of Oman's ruling family failed to persuade a
Muscat court to remove a Bahraini investor from the
multi-billion dollar Blue City real estate venture. The
episode suggests that the Sultanate sees preserving its
reputation for judicial fairness and independence and its
image as an attractive site for foreign investment as a
higher priority than intervening in its legal system to
benefit a prominent member of the royal family. End Summary.

...

¶3. (U) Although only one Omani newspaper, the private Arabic-language daily "al-Azzamn," published a story on the verdict, popular English-language blog sites "Muscat Confidential" and "Muscati," as well as the Bahraini press, have written in detail about the dispute, which became public late last year. ...

Neat! The President reads Muscat Confidential!

These cables are perfect for students of US-Oman relations, Omani Foreign Policy, Miltary relationships, economics, strategic business, the FTA, man, you name it. The Omani twitterati are already long a buzz with the material.

And to start with a highlight cable, here is a complete summary by the US State Dept. on the Oligarchical "Big Families" of Oman: Zawawi, Zubair, Shanfari, Al Sultan, Bahwan, Kimji, ... so here it is. Our favourite Blue City royal businessman, astute investor HH Sayyid Haitham, gets a section too.

SUBJECT: OMAN, INC.: BUSINESS OLIGARCHS AND GOVERNMENT IN OMAN'S
ECONOMY

REF: A. 09 MUSCAT 845; B. 08 MUSCAT 540; C. 08 MUSCAT 501
¶D. 08 MUSCAT 430; E. 08 MUSCAT 384; F. 08 MUSCAT 256
¶G. 08 MUSCAT 188

Summary:
¶1. (C) Oman's business landscape remains dominated by a handful of
local families who work either in tandem with, or in the shadow of,
government-run enterprises. As the Sultanate's economy diversifies
away from petroleum into fields such as industrial production and
tourism, these families have parlayed their privileged positions
and government ties into developing new business opportunities.
While the government publicly has called for an increase in the
number and participation of small and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs), the major role of the state and omnipresence of the large
trading houses will ensure these families' continued dominance as
Oman's economy continues to expand. End Summary.

An Oligarchy Takes Hold
¶2. (C) Oman's private sector is best described as an oligopoly.
After Sultan Qaboos assumed power from his father in 1970, a
handful of families came to dominate the private sector. These
families are similar in many respects: many come from humble
beginnings, most are not directly related to the al-Said ruling
family, but almost all owe their fortunes in part to ties to the
Sultan or members of his government. As Oman's economy developed
and evolved, these families extended their business reach to meet
the growing needs of the government, Omani consumers, and, more
lately, the tourism industry. As a result, they control
conglomerates that operate in a wide array of sectors, from
construction to cars, and from manufacturing to hotels.

¶3. (SBU) In recent years, Oman's government has encouraged the
development of industrial areas, most notably the northern port
city of Sohar, as well as large real estate projects. These
initiatives are part of a long-term effort to diversify the economy
and reduce the country's dependence on hydrocarbons, which
currently account for 79% of state revenues. The government's new
economic priorities - industrial ventures and real estate
development - have provided new opportunities for Oman's oligarchy.

¶4. (C) Given the state's substantial role in economic planning, it
is not surprising that the family with the closest relationship to
the Sultan - the Zawawis - is one of the country's richest. While
the Zawawi fortune remains large, it also has remained relatively
unchanged over time, according to post contacts. By contrast,
other private sector leaders - the Zubair and Bahwan families and
the Sultan's cousin, Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq al-Said - have become
more involved in new and growing sectors, raising their rank within
the business community's hierarchy.

The Zawawi Family - OMZEST Group
¶5. (C) The Zawawis, a merchant family with origins in Saudi
Arabia, have had a close relationship with the ruling al-Said
family for over a century. The relationship blossomed under Sultan
Qaboos as Oman's economy rapidly expanded. Omar Zawawi, who
attended Harvard in the 1960s and was trained as a physician and
holds an MD, is currently the head of the family and possibly the
richest man in Oman. He is also a member of the Sultan's "kitchen
cabinet," a handful of individuals who are not government cabinet
members, but have regular access to the Sultan and advise him on
key matters. Zawawi's brother Qais had a more visible role in the
government as Deputy Prime Minister until his death in 1995. Omar
Zawawi's official title, Senior Advisor for External Affairs, is
somewhat misleading, as he plays a highly influential role in
domestic economic policy making in addition to foreign policy
matters. He has an unmatched combination of acuity regarding
international affairs and direct access to the Sultan; his hand may
be detected in Oman's recent and surprisingly quick decision to
permit the transit of anti-piracy security teams (ref A.).

¶6. (SBU) Zawawi's company, OMZEST Group, is the umbrella for 75
wholly owned and associated companies with an estimated 4,000
employees. The group's activities include agriculture, banking,
contracting, manufacturing, and travel and tourism, among others.
OMZEST's key business, however, is manufacturing, from which it
derives approximately 43 percent of its revenue. (Note: OMZEST's
exact revenue and profits are not known. End Note.) OMZEST is
heavily involved in new manufacturing ventures at the burgeoning
Sohar port, which the government has targeted for development as
part of its drive to diversify the Omani economy. OMZEST, for
example, controls a 30 percent stake in Oman Methanol Company, a
joint venture that has built a $450 million methanol plant with a
production capacity of one million tons per annum (tpa). Oman
Methanol is in the midst of constructing a second plant, also
capable of producing one million tpa. OMZEST also holds a 10
percent stake in Alsig, a joint venture that owns an industrial gas
production facility in the Sohar port area with an initial
production capacity of 200 tons per day of nitrogen. The plant may
be upgraded over time to produce oxygen and other gases, depending
on demand from industries in the Sohar Port complex.

¶7. (C) OMZEST is a player in the banking arena, with a controlling
interest in Oman's third largest bank, Oman International Bank.
While it benefited, as did all Omani banks, from the liquidity
generated from high oil prices, as well as several government and
Royal Diwan accounts under its purview, the bank appears not to be
particularly well-run and therefore by local standards vulnerable
in the face of regional and international economic difficulties.
One banking contact noted that he would "never work for Oman
International Bank," while another complained about the
difficulties in working under the bank's micro-managing chairwoman
- Reem Zawawi, Omar's daughter.

The Bahwan Family - Suhail and Saud Bahwan Group
¶8. (C) The Bahwans, members of the Mukhaini tribe from the coastal
city of Sur, got their start as the exclusive agents for Toyota in
Oman, a right they received thanks to Sultan Qaboos' direct
intervention. Until 2002, brothers Suhail and Saud Bahwan jointly
operated the Bahwan group, most likely the second largest
conglomerate in Oman in terms of profits. While the brothers have
split the firm, the two new companies remain leaders in the
economy. Much has been made about the alleged bad blood in the
separation, but post contacts believe that it is overplayed, and
that the two companies remain somewhat aligned. One company
official noted to Econoff that while the brothers are fiercely
competitive, even with each other, they remain "family."

¶9. (SBU) The Suhail Bahwan Group appears to be the larger and more
diversified of the two. It employs approximately 10,000 people and
includes interests in engineering and construction, automobile
sales, telecommunications, software design, structural steel, and
chemicals and fertilizer products, among others. While the group
retains some ties to the original family automobile business as the
exclusive agent in Oman for BMW, Nissan and Renault, like OMZEST,
Suhail Bahwan has invested heavily in industrial projects,
including recent projects near the ports at Sohar and Salalah, as
well as in the National Bank of Oman, the country's second-largest
financial institution. The group is expanding its profile in
vocational training and education; partnered with Virginia Tech, it
is currently waiting for Ministry of Higher Education permission to
found Oman's fourth private university.

¶10. (SBU) Bahwan Engineering is a heavyweight in the local
economy, and has grown its business beyond Oman's borders by
establishing offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It has participated
in the construction of a number of high-profile projects in Oman,
including LNG facilities (Oman LNG, Qalhat LNG), power stations
(Sohar, Barka, Ghubra), hospitals (Ibra), industrial plants (Sohar
Aluminum), banks (Central Bank, Bank Dhofar, Oman International
Bank), shopping malls (Msucat's two City Centre malls, along with
th city's thid largest mall, the Markaz al-Bahja), and hotels
(Muscat Intercontinental, Muscat Crowne Plaza).

¶11. (U) The company's industrial ventures include Suhail Chemical
Industries, which manufactures sulfuric acid in the Sohar
Industrial Area, and the Sohar Fertilizer Project, a $638 million
complex that includes an ammonia plant with a production capacity
of 2,000 metric tons per day (mtd) and two granular urea plants
with a combined production capacity of 3,500 mtd. The group also
plans to add 30,000 tons per year of structural steel component
manufacturing capacity at Sohar. Finally, Suhail Bahwan is an
investor in Octal Petrochemical, a U.S.-based firm which controls a
plant in the Salalah free zone that produces 30,000 tons per year
of polyethylene plastics and has plans for major expansion (ref D).

¶12. (C) The Saud Bahwan Group has approximately 9,400 employees
and annual sales of more than $3 billion. Growing in recent years
from a base of 3,000 employees, the company's primary business is
automotive and heavy equipment sales, as well as sales of
automotive parts and accessories. The group represents Toyota,
Ford and MAN commercial trucks, as well as Komatsu construction
equipment in Oman. In addition, the group acts as the exclusive
agent for Hertz Rent-a-Car. Patriarch Saud Bahwan died in late
2008, but as he had in recent years passed most executive authority
to his children, the company's direction has been relatively
unaffected. Sheikh Saud was long Oman's highest profile
(non-royal) philanthropist, one whose gifts included a generous
(anonymously given ) sums to The American International School of
Muscat (TAISM).

The Zubair Family - Zubair Corporation
¶13. (C) The Zubairs are ethnically Baluchi from the Huti tribe, a
group traditionally with a humble social status. However, the
family's long-standing personal relationship with Sultan Qaboos has
brought them tremendous wealth. The founder of Zubair Corporation,
Mohammed Zubair, is believed to have been a childhood companion of
the Sultan, as their mothers were close friends. Zubair became
Minister of Commerce in 1974, four years after Sultan Qaboos took
power, and remained in that position until 1983, after which he
became the Sultan's advisor for economic planning affairs. (Note:
While like Zawawi a "special advisor" to the Sultan, he is not as
close to Oman's ruler. And, unlike Zawawi, Zubair has generally
steered clear of politics, domestic or international, to focus on
his business interests. End Note.) While Mohammed Zubair remains
associated with Zubair Corporation, his son Hani al-Zubair now
serves as its chairman. The Zubairs have long been considered
locally the Sultanate's most cultured family; the family's private
collection of Omani arts and crafts are now housed in Oman's only
truly world-class museum, the Bait al-Zubair.

¶14. (SBU) Zubair Corporation has an estimated 2,400 employees and
is the parent company of 60 firms, subsidiaries, and associated
ventures. The company's divisions include automotive sales, art
and heritage, hospitality, telecom and IT, construction, retail
manufacturing, and advertising and publishing. Zubair represents
Volkswagen, Chrysler, Jeep, Mitsubishi, Peugeot, and Yamaha, among
other companies.

¶15. (SBU) One of the Zubairs' most prominent and successful
ventures to date is the Shangri La Barr Al Jissah hotel complex,
which opened outside Muscat in 2006. The Zubairs, in partnership
with the government, invested $180 million in the site, which
covers 124 acres and contains three hotels with a total of 640
rooms. Further development on the project has added luxurious
private residences, including apartments and villas. The success
of the Barr Al Jissah complex has encouraged more large-scale real
estate development construction in Oman, including projects under
construction at Sifah, Yenkit, and Blue City.

¶16. (SBU) The Zubair Corporation is dabbling in the Sohar port
industrial area as well. It holds a 10% stake in the Sohar Power
Company, the owner of the $550 million Sohar Power and
Desalinization Plant, which has a power generation capacity of 585
megawatts (MW) and desalinization capacity of 33 million gallons
per day. Recently, the Zubairs entered into a $30 million joint
venture with an Indian engineering and construction company, Larsen
and Toubro, to build a plant in Sohar that will manufacture
products for the offshore oil and gas sector.

¶17. (C) Post contacts report that the Zubair Corporation is
undergoing a shake-up in personnel to inject new blood into the
company. In 2008, Zubair appointed Giles Cunningham as the
company's new Chief Executive Officer. In a conversation with
Econoff, Cunningham viewed the company as a leading economic
powerhouse in Oman, but commented that it needed to gain focus in
determining which new opportunities to pursue. A former banker in
the region, Cunningham stated that the company's potential for
growth and the Zubairs' keen sense of business attracted him to
Oman.

The Sultan Family - W.J. Towell
¶18. (SBU) The Sultan family is an established Lawatiya Shi'a clan
(Ref B) that in 1866 founded W.J. Towell in partnership with the
company's namesake William Jack Towell. Towell, who is believed to
have been an American citizen, later, sold his share in the firm to
the Sultans in the 1890s. After Sultan Qaboos came to power in
1970, W.J. Towell managed some of the country's first major
infrastructure projects.

¶19. (C) The family's head is Kamal Sultan, who is now
incapacitated and serves as Honorary Chairman of the firm. His
son, Jawad Hussein Sultan, is Chairman. The company's main market
advantage is family member Maqbool bin Ali Sultan, who was a
director of the firm before he became Minister of Commerce and
Industry in 1991. Maqbool is well-connected in Oman's business
landscape, as he also serves as the Chairman of Oman Oil Company, a
primary investment arm of the government, and Chairman of the Sohar
Industrial Port Corporation, the landlord of the Port of Sohar. He
also is a close colleague of Ahmed bin Abdul Nabi Macki, who is the
Sultanate's powerful National Economy Minister, as well as the
Deputy Chairman of the National Resources Council, Chairman of Oman
Shipping Company, and Chairman of Oman Air.

¶20. (SBU) W.J. Towell currently has an estimated 1,000 direct-hire
employees and is involved in healthcare products, furniture sales,
automobile sales, cleaning services, construction services, real
estate, and grocery retailing and distribution, among other areas.
The firm also represents a variety of foreign companies in Oman,
including Mazda, Mars, and Chicago Pneumatic. Given the family
connection to Sohar, W.J. Towell has become involved in
industrialization efforts in the port city. The company drafted
the port's master plan, holds a 10% stake in Sohar Power Company,
and for years been the chief advocate for constructing a
multi-billion aluminum smelter near Sohar, a project that is now
being implemented as a joint venture of Abu Dhabi Water and
Electricity Authority, Oman Oil Company and Alcan. Towell is a
major property developer in Oman, with signature projects in the
expat-heavy neighborhoods of Madinat al-Sultan Qaboos and Shatti
al-Qurm, developments whose success has cushioned the cancellation
or postponement of additional residential and resort properties.

Al Sa'id Family - A Growing Force in Business?
¶21. (C) The royal Al Sa'id family has long had a notable, if low
profile, role in the private sector, but in recent years some
members have expanded their commercial activities. The more
traditional (less commercially minded) branch of the family is led
by the Sultan's paternal uncle, Sayyid Shabib bin Taimur Al Sa'id.
In 1982, Sayyid Shabib established the Tawoos Group, a diversified
firm with interests in telecommunications, agriculture, and oil
field supplies. Tawoos Group is now run by Sayyid Shabib's
half-brother, Samir Fancy, and has not significantly changed its
business in recent years. Tawoos' main division, Renaissance
Services, was one of the first family-owned companies to become
publicly traded on the Muscat Securities Market. Renaissance
focuses primarily on services, including facilities management,
cleaning and catering, IT services, and education and training.
Tawoos is interested in further expanding its overseas presence,
evidenced by the company's participation in an official Omani
commercial delegation to Baghdad in 2008 (ref C).

¶22. (C) The business interests controlled by Sultan Qaboos'
cousin, Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq Al Sa'id, the Minister of Heritage
and Culture and one of the possible successors to the Sultan, and
his brother, Sayyid Talal, appear far more dynamic than those
controlled by Sayyid Shabib. The brothers have interests in two
major firms - National Trading Company and Oman Holdings
International (OHI) - which are active in advertising and media,
telecommunications, tourism, energy services and construction,
among other sectors. National Training Company's financial results
are not available publicly.

¶23. (SBU) National Trading Company is the quieter of the two
firms. Established in 1982, the company - like the Zubair
Corporation and W.J. Towell - holds a 10% stake in the Sohar Power
and Desalinization Plant. It also has a 6.4% stake in Oman
Chlorine, a publicly traded firm that controls a chemical plant in
Sohar. It created "National Trading and Projects Company" in 2005,
which works closely with OHI in the fields of oil and gas, water,
power, and telecommunications.

¶24. (C) Sayyid Haitham and another brother, Sayyid Qais, are the
primary investors in the Muscat Hills Golf and Country Club, a
swank development near Muscat International Airport. The $110
million venture includes an 18-hole championship golf course
surrounded by a planned community. Phase 1 of the community is
expected to be complete by late 2009 and consists of 80 deluxe
villas around Muscat's first green golf course. The course itself
opened only after Sayyid Haitham shook up the project management
staff and reportedly brokered a deal with Muscat Municipality
Chairman Abdullah bin Abbas for use of the municipality's recycled
water.

¶25. (C) Sayyid Haitham's most important and visible project,
however, is the mega-real estate venture Blue City, in which he
shares a 30% stake with another investor. Blue City (Al Medina Al
Zarqa in Arabic), was announced as by far Oman's most ambitious
development, with a total expected cost of $20 billion. Its
original plans called for the construction of an entirely new urban
area, with residences, schools, health facilities and hotels for
200,000 people. The development was the subject of a legal battle
in which Sayyid Haitham's company "Cyclone" unsuccessfully tried to
acquire full ownership of the project from Bahrain-based AAJ
Holdings, which controls 70% of Blue City (Ref F). Its prospects
have been the subject of significant local gossip over the past
year, as ambitious plans for an urban center that would have
challenged Sohar and even Muscat have been gradually scaled back to
a more realistic (if still highly ambitious)
residential/resort/commercial complex. The project's difficulties
have, to an extent, tarnished Sayyid Haitham's reputation, if not
his prospects in the succession.

Ma'shani Family - Muscat Overseas Group
¶26. (C) The Ma'shanis are another family with close ties to Sultan
Qaboos, in this case through his late and much-loved mother; the
clan elder, Sheikh Mustahail bin Ahman al-Ma'shani, is the Sultan's
maternal uncle. He previously served as Minister of Social Affairs
and Labor and is now a State Advisor, as well as chairman of the
family company he started in 1974, Muscat Overseas Group. One of
his sons, Salim bin Mustahail, is an advisor at the Diwan of Royal
Court (a position that carries ministerial rank), as well as
vice-chairman of the family business. In July 2008, Salim was
appointed chairman of Nawras Telecommunications, the second largest
provider of cellular phone service in Oman. (Note: Qatar Telecom
is the majority shareholder in Nawras. End Note.)

¶27. (SBU) Reflecting the family's power base in the southern
Dhofar region, Muscat Overseas Group is the most powerful business
group in Salalah, Dhofar's capital. Its business operations
include trading, contracting, oil field supplies and drilling,
tourism, agriculture and real estate. It also is a 4% stakeholder
in Bank Muscat, Oman's largest bank.

¶28. (SBU) The firm's investments are channeled, in part, through
the Dhofar International Development and Investment Holding Company
(DIDIHC), where Sheikh Mustahail's son Khalid was appointed
chairman in 2008. (Note: The Shanfari family from Dhofar is also
a player in DIDIHC, with the family patron, Saeed bin Ahmen Al
Shanfari, previously serving as the chairman. End Note.) DIDIHC
holds a 30% stake in Bank Dhofar, 25% in Dhofar Insurance, 25% in
Salalah Medical Supplies Manufacturing Company, 16% in Dhofar
University, 14% in Dhofar Tourism Company, 10% in Salalah Port
Services Company, 5% in Oman Oil Company, 4% in Dhofar Power, and
an unknown stake in Octal Petrochemicals.

Shanfari Family - Shanfari Group
¶29. (C) The Shanfari represent the other prominent Dhofari family.
Shanfari Group Chairman Saeed al-Shanfari was a close contact of
Sultan Qaboos before his ascent to power. In 1974, Shanfari was
rewarded for his loyalty by being named Minister of Oil and Gas, a
position he held until 1997, when he was "retired" by the Sultan.
Post contacts report that his personal connection to the Sultan has
all but disappeared.

¶30. (C) Nevertheless, the Shanfari Group of Companies, established
by Saeed in 1970, remains a well-known trading house in Oman. In
addition to military sales, the group is involved in the
construction, transport and logistics, manufacturing, and tourism
sectors. It serves as one of the representatives of the Jeep and
Harley Davidson brands in Oman. (Note: the Shanfari Group had
exclusive rights to Jeep until 2005, when it reluctantly agreed to
share the brand with the Zubair Corporation after the U.S.-based
vehicle manufacturer complained of poor marketing efforts.
However, in 2008, Chrysler awarded Shanfari the right to market
Dodge, a brand previously reserved for Zubair. End Note.) The
Shanfari Group also holds the exclusive rights to a string of
luxury brands, such as Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, and also
Saab, though one company official admitted to Econoff that those
are "just for show," since they generate negligible business in
terms of volume. Saeed Shanfari further retains significant stakes
in Dhofar-based projects through his stake in DIDIHC.

¶31. (C) Saeed's son Adil serves as the Shanfari Group's chairman
and CEO and is fond of the U.S., with several of his children
studying at a military school in Kansas. Another of Saeed's son,
Thamer, a U.S. university graduate and former participant in a
State Department International Visitor Program, was in 2008
designated for sanctions by the U.S. Treasury Department for his
questionable business dealings - which did not involve other family
members - in the Democratic Republic of the Congo benefiting
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.

Darwish Family - Mohsin Haider Darwish (MHD LLC)
¶32. (C) The Darwish family is part of Oman's Baharna Shi's
community (Ref B), a group that is believed to have its roots in
Bahrain. The Darwishes have been notable merchants in the Gulf
since the late nineteenth century. Mohsin Haider Darwish is the
family's patriarch and managing director of the family company, MHD
LLC, while his two daughters, Lujaina Mohsin Darwish and Areej
Mohsin Darwish, serve as deputy managing directors (as such, they
are among the Sultanate's leading businesswomen). MHD, which has
an estimated 750 employees, remains an important player in the
local economy, but observers do not see it as being as dynamic as
top-tier firms such as OMZEST, Bahwan, and Zubair. MHD's divisions
include automotive sales, electrical goods and electronics
merchandising, chemicals, medical equipment and building materials.
In the automotive sector, MHD represents Jaguar, Land Rover and
Volvo. MHD retains a 10% stake in the industrial gas venture
"Alsig," in which OMZEST also has a 10% share.

Khimji family: Khimji Ramdas and Ajit Khimji
¶33. (C) the Khimjis are of Indian origin with commercial ties to
Oman that go back more than a century. The family lent money to
Sultan Qaboos' father, Sultan Sa'id; Sultan Qaboos granted Omani
citizenship to the Khimjis after he came to power. Notably, as
Hindus, the family traditionally has not intermarried with
non-Indians, but one member of the family, Rishi Khimji, is now
married to Sayyida Tania al-Sa'id, the daughter of Sayyid Shabib
al-Sa'id, the founder of Tawoos Group; Sayyida Tania is an
increasingly visible environmental activist and among the most
publicly active female al-Saids.

¶34. (SBU) Established in 1870, the family's operations are now
split into two - Khimji Ramdas and Ajit Khimji. Khimji Ramdas is
divided into four sectors: consumer products, lifestyle,
infrastructure, and projects and logistics. Much of its business
revolves around the retaining sector; it represents such prominent
brands as Proctor & Gamble, Ralph Lauren, and Samsonite. In
addition, the company acts as the exclusive agent for Pizza Hut,
and runs its own "Khimji Mart" consumer goods stores. The projects
and logistics division supplies military and firefighting equipment
to the government, while in the defense sector the company
represents Humvee.

¶35. (SBU) Ajit Khimji's business line takes a smaller, though
parallel, focus on consumer products, dining, and retailing. It
runs a number of well-known and highly regarded restaurants (among
the handful of non-hotel-based restaurants to hold liquor
licenses), , holds the franchise for Europcar, and serves as the
general services agent for Swiss (the national carrier) through its
travel agency. In addition, it owns an insurance company, several
coffee shops, bookstores, and dry-cleaning outlets.

State Reigns Supreme
¶36. (SBU) The strong position of Oman's leading families will
continue to benefit from the government's pre-eminent role in the
economy. At the forefront of the government's significant holdings
is Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), which s the country's primary
oil producer. Established in 1951, PDO is 60%-owned by the Omani
government and 34%-owned by Royal Dutch Shell, with the remaining
shares held by French-based Total and Portuguese-based Partax. PDO
controls 90% of Oman's reserves, 109 of the 130 fields, and the
lion's share of total production. In 2004, the government renewed
PDO's concession for another 40 years, though there was some
grumbling about the generosity of the extension, given falling
production rates and Shell's fudging of its Omani reserves
estimates, which greatly embarrassed the Omani government.
Nevertheless, the government has committed itself to making
significant investments in enhanced oil recovery techniques on
behalf of PDO during the course of the current five-year economic
plan (2006-2011), with an estimated investment in 2008 of $1.74
billion in petroleum production.

¶37. (SBU) In spite of the significant investment figures in PDO,
the government has moved to allow greater foreign competition in
the development of its petroleum fields. It is careful, however,
to retain a sizable equity stake in new oil-related ventures. For
example, complementing PDO's production is U.S.-based Occidental
Petroleum, which is investing over $3 billion in its Mukhaizna
field concession. In transferring the concession to Oxy from PDO,
the government acquired a 20% stake in "Occidental Mukhaizna"
through its Oman Oil operations. (Note: Occidental retains a 45%
stake, while Shell Oman has 17% and UAE-based Liwa Energy has a 15%
share. End Note.)

¶38. (SBU) In addition to its efforts in the petroleum sector, the
Omani government has substantially invested in the liquefied
natural gas (LNG) industry. In 1994, the government established
Oman LNG, which began operations in April 2000 with two 3.3 metric
ton pr annum (MTPA) LNG production trains. Heading the consortium
is the government, with a 51% stake, followed by Royal Dutch Shell
(30%), Total (5.5%), and Portuguese and Japanese equity holders.
In 2003, the Omani government formed Qalhat LNG to operate a third
train along side those managed by Oman LNG. Qalhat's primary
stakeholder is the government (47%), followed by Oman LNG (36.8%),
Union Fenosa (7%), and a collection of Japanese equity partners.
LNG shipped from Oman to points in Asia and Europe is carried by
seven tankers owned by the Oman Shipping Company, which is 80%
owned by the Ministry of Finance and 20% owned by the Oman Oil
Company. Domestic distribution of gas is handled by the Oman Gas
Company, which is 80% owned by the Ministry of Oil and Gas, and 20%
owned by the Oman Oil Company.

Investing through Oman Oil
¶39. (U) The Oman Oil Company plays a key role in the private
sector. In 1992, the government established Oman Oil to invest
surplus oil revenues both domestically and internationally. The
company is chaired by the Minister of Commerce and Industry, with
the Minister of Oil and Gas serving as the Vice chairman. Other
government officials, including the Secretary General of the
Ministry of National Economy and a Board Member of the Central
bank, round out the board. On the domestic front, in addition to
its stakes in Oman gas Company and Oman Shipping Company, Oman Oil
is involved in the Dolphin Energy Project (cross-border gas sales
to the UAE) and the Oman Oil Marketing Company (retail distributor
of gasoline).

¶40. (U) In 2002, the government entered into a 50-50 joint venture
with the Port of Rotterdam to create the sohar Industrial Port
Corporation (SIPC), which serves as the landlord for the industrial
complex. (Note: The Minister of Commerce and Industry serves as
the Chairman of SIPC. End Note.) Since SIPC's establishment, Oman
Oil has attracted a number of foreign participants into joint
ventures, including a polypropylene and aromatics plant with
Korea-based LG and an aluminum smelter with Canada-based Alcan.
Oman Oil is also a 20% owner in the Sohar Refinery Company, with
the Ministry of Finance holding an 80% stake.

Implications of the Norway Terrorist Attack for Oman - and you

2011-08-04T18:09:00.006+04:00

The recent horrific terrorist attack in Norway by a right-wing Fascist 'Christian' highlighted many things - the rush by everyone to immediately assume it was perpetrated by Islamic extremists; the extent to which even 'peaceful' countries like rich & civilised Norway are at risk; and the tremendous loss of lives that one individual can achieve.

But the attack also offers some learnings for all of us about this sort of threat - the fact that a 'lone wolf' psychopathic nutcase can kill a lot of innocent people, anywhere.

Photo: A lone wolf - perhaps the biggest threat for terrorism in Oman. Pic ripped from Yoav Perlman

In Oman, we are not Norway. Oman is surrounded by unstable countries with militant groups: Yemen, Saudi, Pakistan, etc, and the long land and sea borders are porous. South Yemen has a history of antipathy against Oman, supporting the 1960-1970s war in Dhofar. There is also a history of domestic militants, usually centered on the old Nizwa notion of overthrowing the coastal Government and implementing a radical Ibadhi Imamate theocracy. This was the supposed aim of those arrested and tried in recent times for attempting to bomb the Muscat Feastival, as well as a protracted civil war in the 1950s between the Sultan and the Imam (For those unfamiliar, see wiki's Oman History).

While Oman still dedicates a significant % of GDP to internal security, and its security forces have been very successful at arresting several such homegrown terrorist cells, what can be done against such acts by dedicated and disciplined individuals? A great article by Muscat Confidential favourites STRATFOR highlights that such individuals can be identified and stopped, not by the dedicated Internal Security/Counter Terrorism forces, but by people like you.

It depends on the fact that even in the case of such a 'lone wolf' terrorist, they must still do several things operationally to conduct such an attack that exposes them to discovery at a few key stages in the process, such as obtaining funding, acquiring weapons, scoping potential targets, and often seeking support.

So whether it's AQAP; some radicalised idiots centered around the recent protests, or simply when your weird next door neighbour has a psychotic episode, there are things you can and should do to help stop such horrible things happening in Oman. As an earlier excellent STRATFOR article ('How to Tell if Your Neighbor is a Bombmaker') says:

... Many of the steps required to conduct a terrorist attack are undertaken in a manner that makes the actions visible to any outside observer. It is at these junctures in the terrorist attack cycle that people practicing good situational awareness can detect these attack steps — not only to avoid the danger themselves, but also to alert the authorities to the suspicious activity.

Detecting grassroots operatives can be difficult, but it is possible if observers focus not only on the “who” aspect of a terrorist attack but also the “how” — that is, those activities that indicate an attack is in the works.

.

Exactly. While Omanis of late may tend to look to the all-powerful Government to do pretty much everything for them, it is critically important for ordinary Omani citizens to be on the lookout for such suspicious activity. It is very difficult, as discussed in the article below, for the dedicated guys and gals in the ISS to stop such dangerous people on their own. In being alert and aware, ordinary people and ROP officers may save lives. The same would also hold for the many Omani students at University abroad, where they are potentially in daily contact with disaffected and radicalised religious extremists without even realising it.

Here's the full STRATFOR article:

Fighting Grassroots Terrorism: How Local Vigilance Can Help
August 3, 2011. By Scott Stewart

In the wake of the July 22 Oslo attacks, as I have talked with people in the United States and Europe, I have noticed two themes in the conversations. The first is the claim that the attacks came from an unexpected source and were therefore impossible to stop. The second theme is that detecting such attacks is the sole province of dedicated counterterrorism authorities.

As discussed in last week’s Security Weekly, even in so-called “unexpected” attacks there are specific operational tasks that must be executed in order to conduct an operation. Such tasks can be detected, and unexpected attacks emanating from lone wolf actors can indeed be thwarted if such indicators are being looked for. Alleged Oslo attack perpetrator Anders Breivik reportedly conducted several actions that would have made him vulnerable to detection had the authorities been vigilant and focused on those possible actions.

This is why it is critical to look at the mechanics of attacks in order to identify the steps that must be undertaken to complete them and then focus on identifying people taking such steps. Focusing on the “how” rather than the “who” is an effective way for authorities to get on the proactive side of the action/reaction continuum.

Considering this concept of focusing on the how, one quickly reaches a convergence with the second theme, which involves the role and capabilities of dedicated counterterrorism resources. The primary agency tasked with counterterrorism in most countries tends to have limited resources that are stretched thin trying to cover known or suspected threats. These agencies simply do not have the manpower to look for attack-planning indicators — especially in a world where militant actors are increasingly adopting the leaderless-resistance model, which is designed to avoid detection by counterterrorism forces.

When these factors are combined they highlight the fact that, as the threat posed by militants adhering to the leaderless-resistance model (whom we frequently refer to as “grassroots militants”) increases, so does the need for grassroots defenders.

Grassroots Threats
As we noted last week, Breivik’s concept of self-appointed and anonymous “Justiciar Knights” who operate as lone wolves or in small phantom cells is not a unique concept. Breivik was clearly influenced by the militant-group case studies he outlined in his manifesto. In recent decades, governments have become fairly efficient at identifying and gathering intelligence on known groups that pose a threat to conduct violent attacks. This is especially true in the realm of technical intelligence, where dramatic increases have been made in the ability to capture and process huge amounts of data from landline, cellphone and Internet communications, but governments have also become quite adept at penetrating militant groups and recruiting informants. Even before 9/11, government successes against militant groups had led white supremacist groups and militant animal-rights and environmentalist groups to adopt a leaderless resistance model for their violent and illegal activities.

In the post-9/11 world, intelligence and security services have dramatically increased the resources dedicated to counterterrorism, and the efforts of these services have proved very effective when focused on known organizations and individuals. Indeed, in recent years we have seen a trend where jihadist groups like al Qaeda and its franchises have encouraged aspiring militants to undertake lone wolf and small cell activities rather than travel to places like Pakistan and Yemen to link up with the groups and receive training in terrorist tradecraft. For several years now, STRATFOR has emphasized the nature of this decentralized threat.

We see no sign of this trend toward leaderless resistance reversing in the near future, and our forecast is that the grassroots threat will continue to grow, not only from the jihadist realm but also from far-right and far-left actors.

Stretched Thin
As noted above, most counterterrorism intelligence efforts have been designed to identify and track people with links to known militant groups, and in that regard they are fairly effective. However, they have been largely ineffective in identifying grassroots militants. The focus on identifying and monitoring the activities of someone connected to a known militant group is understandable given that operatives connected to groups such as Hezbollah or al Qaeda have access to much better training and far greater resources than their grassroots counterparts. In general, militants linked to organizations pose a more severe threat than do most grassroots militants, and thus counterterrorism agencies focus much of their attention on the more potent threat.

That said, grassroots operatives can and do kill people. Although they tend to focus on softer targets than operatives connected to larger groups, some grassroots attacks have been quite deadly. The July 2005 London bombings, for example, killed 52 people, and Breivik was able to kill 77 in his twin attacks in Norway.

One problem for most counterterrorism agencies is that counterterrorism is not their sole (and in some cases even primary) mission. Often, such as the case with MI5 in the United Kingdom, the primary counterterrorism agency also has substantial foreign counterintelligence responsibilities. In the case of the FBI, it has not only counterterrorism and foreign counterintelligence missions but also a host of other responsibilities such as investigating bank robberies, kidnappings, white-collar crime, cyber crimes and public corruption.

The resources of the primary counterterrorism agencies are also quite finite. For example, the FBI has fewer than 14,000 special agents to fulfill its many responsibilities, and while counterterrorism has become its top mission in the post-9/11 era, only a portion of its agents (estimated to be between 2,500 and 3,000) are assigned to counterterrorism investigations at any one time.

Counterterrorism investigations can also be very labor intensive. Even in a case where a subject is under electronic surveillance, it takes a great deal of manpower to file all the paperwork required for the court orders, monitor the surveillance equipment and, if necessary, translate conversations picked up from the surveillance efforts and run down and or task out additional investigative leads developed during the monitoring. Seemingly little things like conducting a “trash cover” on the subject (sifting through the trash a subject places out on the curb for evidence and intelligence) can add hours of investigative effort every week. If full physical and electronic surveillance is put in place on a subject, such a 24/7 operation can tie up as many as 100 special agents, surveillance operatives, technicians, photographers, analysts, interpreters and supervisors.

Again, given the potential threat posed by known or suspected al Qaeda, Hezbollah or, currently, Libyan government operatives, it is understandable why so many resources would be devoted to investigating and neutralizing that potential threat. However, the problem with this focus on known actors is that it leaves very little resources for proactive counterterrorism tasks such as looking for signs of potential operational activities such as preoperational surveillance or weapons acquisition conducted by previously unknown individuals. Indeed, this is a huge undertaking for agencies with limited resources.

Furthermore, in the case of a lone wolf or small cell, there simply may not be any clear-cut chain of command, a specific building to target or a communication network to compromise — the specialties of Western intelligence agencies. The leaderless-resistance organization is, by design, nebulous and hard to map and quantify. This lack of structure and communication poses a problem for Western counterterrorism agencies, as Breivik accurately noted in his manifesto. Also, since this grassroots threat emanates from a large variety of actors, it is impossible to profile potential militants based on race, religion or ethnicity. Instead, their actions must be scrutinized.

Grassroots Defenders
All grassroots militants engage in activities that make their plots vulnerable to detection. Due to the limited number of dedicated counterterrorism practitioners, these mistakes are far more likely to be witnessed by someone other than an FBI or MI5 agent. This fact highlights the importance of what we call grassroots defenders, that is, a decentralized network of people practicing situational awareness who notice and report possible indications of terrorist behavior such as acquiring weapons, building bombs and conducting preoperational surveillance.

Clearly, the most important pool of grassroots defenders is ordinary police officers on patrol. While there are fewer than 14,000 FBI agents in the entire United States, there are some 34,000 officers in the New York City Police Department alone and an estimated 800,000 local and state police officers across the United States. While the vast majority of these officers are not assigned primarily to investigate terrorism, they often find themselves in a position to encounter grassroots militants who make operational security errors or are in the process of committing crimes in advance of an attack, such as document fraud, illegally obtaining weapons or illegally raising funds for an attack.

In July 2005, police in Torrance, Calif., thwarted a grassroots plot that came to light during an investigation of a string of armed robberies. After arresting one suspect, Levar Haney Washington, police searching his apartment uncovered material indicating that Washington was part of a small jihadist cell that was planning to attack a number of targets. Hezbollah’s multimillion-dollar cigarette-smuggling network was uncovered when a sharp North Carolina sheriff’s deputy found the group’s activities suspicious and tipped off the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives, thus launching the massive “Operation Smokescreen” investigation.

Traffic stops by regular cops also have identified several potential grassroots jihadists. In August 2007, two Middle Eastern men stopped by a sheriff’s deputy for speeding near Goose Creek, S.C., were charged with possession of a destructive device. Likewise, a traffic stop by a police officer in September 2001 in Alexandria, Va., led to an investigation that uncovered the so-called Virginia Jihad Network. At the time of the 9/11 attacks, the operation’s leader, Mohamed Atta, was the subject of an outstanding bench warrant for failing to appear in court after being stopped for driving without a license. More recently, in May 2011 we saw the New York Police Department disrupt an alleged jihadist plot. Then in June, the Seattle Police Department detected a plot that it thwarted with the cooperation of the FBI. Both of these plots were disrupted during the weapons-acquisition phase.

In some countries, networks have been established to promote this concept of heightened local-police vigilance and to provide training for officers and crime analysts. The U.S. government has established something it calls the National Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative, which is an attempt to provide local police with training to optimize their situational awareness and to help them collect and analyze information pertaining to potential terrorist-planning activity and then to share that information with other agencies enrolled in the program. However, the initiative has only a handful of state and local law enforcement agencies participating at the present time.

But police are not the only grassroots defenders. Other people such as neighbors, store clerks, landlords and motel managers can also find themselves in a position to notice operational planning activities. Such activities can include purchasing bombmaking components and firearms, creating improvised explosive mixtures and conducting preoperational surveillance. On July 27, 2011, an alert clerk at a gun store in Killeen, Texas, called the local police after a man who came into the store to buy smokeless powder exhibited an unusual demeanor. They located the individual and after questioning him learned he was planning to detonate an improvised explosive device and conduct an armed assault against a local Killeen restaurant popular with soldiers from nearby Fort Hood. The clerk’s situational awareness and his decision to call the police likely saved many lives.

And it’s important to remember than an alert street vendor was the first person to sound the alarm in the failed May 2010 Times Square bombing attempt, and it was a concerned family member who provided authorities with the information to thwart a planned November 2010 attack against a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland, Oregon.

Ordinary citizens exercising situational awareness can and have saved lives. This reality has been the driving force behind programs like the New York Police Department’s “If You See Something, Say Something” campaign. This program was subsequently adopted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as a means of encouraging citizens to report potential terrorist behavior.

There is one other factor to consider. As we have previously discussed, counterterrorism spending comes in a perceptible boom-and-bust cycle. Next month will mark the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Since those attacks there has not been a successful large-scale terrorist attack on U.S. soil. This, along with the budget problems the United States is facing, will increase the current downward trend of counterterrorism funding in the United States and accentuate the need for more grassroots defenders.

This article was reproduced with permission from STRATFOR

Happy Ramadan, plus a plug for blogger The Linoleum Surfer

2011-08-02T21:06:00.006+04:00

Yes, Ramadan, the holy month of feasting, over-eating, day time sleeping, night time partying, Egyptian TV soap operas, extra-crazy driving, and holidays is here!

Enjoy, those few of you who are choosing to stay in Oman. A tip to new arrivals who are staying in Oman while all the bars and bulk stores are closed - the 5 star hotels are often an effective Ramadan-free zone AND offer low special summer rates to residents. As a hotel guest the mini-bar is always open and you can still have wine with dinner. Tourism Enriches indeed.

Please drive with extra care in the hour or so before Iftar. In fact, best to avoid driving altogether at this time. And keep your fingers crossed as you take off from Muscat folks, as last month Oman's Air Traffic Control allowed yet another near miss between a recent PIA flight and a Kingfisher aircraft. Although the Omanis blame the pilots (naturally), my sources indicate it was clearly a fault of the Oman ATC system procedures.

Meanwhile, Big Brother here:
The Oman Telecoms Regulator, the TRA, is planning to increase controls on Expat mobile communications further by explicitly linking your SIM card to your residency permit.

Oman's Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRA) is considering plans to link mobile phone SIM cards of expatriates to their resident card, Muscat Daily has reported. The SIM card will automatically get cancelled along with their resident card upon their exiting the country at the end of their service contract.

Obviously, demanding a residency card to even get a SIM card, and then listening in on all your phone calls and text messages is not enough.

And, a plug:
A big plug to relatively new Oman-based blogger The Linoleum Surfer. Sarcastic & witty political & social commentary. Wonderful. Highly recommended.

Apologies it took me this long to add you to my blog list.

A question for the reader: Oman for Gay Expat?

2011-07-27T05:40:00.004+04:00

While I'm away, one I'd like to pass to my many readers and facebook fans.

Answers please (as comments) to a fellow reader of Muscat Confidential, who asks:

Hello there,

I may be moving to Oman, I am from [Somewhere in Europe] and I am gay. I have a partner and we have been together for 6 years. We are thinking about getting married.

Now I have the chance to move to Oman for work and we are quite worried about him getting a visa. Since homosexual acts, per se, are outlawed, I would like some recommendation by perhaps another expat on how to proceed when requesting the visa. Should we say we are married? should we look for an alternative?

By Anonymous on Sexual Adventures in Oman on 7/26/11

Over to you. My answer soon.

Apologies - still alive, just still on vacation

2011-07-26T05:08:00.004+04:00

Readers,

I realise I've not posted for a while. Sorry if I worried any of you.*

All is fine in the Dragon's Lair.

I'm still on vacation. Or Holiday, depending where you are. I got very busy flying all around collecting treasure and spending quality time with Ms Dragon. And then I went on vacation.

I'll be back on-line presently. It's all been pretty quiet in Muscat anyhow it seems, and with all the joys a summer Ramadan is about to kick in, I guess it's 'run away' to other places for a while for many of you as well!

Meanwhile, send me emails if you have any news.

* No, no conspiracy, not in/just out of prison, nor ill, nor in any dire straights what so ever. Nor am I in Oman.

New Amnesty appeal for latest arrests. Protesters in court. HM makes CBS list of World's enduring Dictatorships.

2011-05-19T03:05:00.005+04:00

Amnesty International have just updated their campaign in support of the arrested peaceful protesters. They also report the verdicts from todays trial in Al Khuwair.

OMAN MUST CHARGE OR RELEASE DETAINED PROTESTERS
Since February, Omanis have called for change in largely peaceful protests
© Demotix

18 May 2011
The Omani authorities must say where and why they are holding some six people arrested during a recent peaceful protest in the capital Muscat, Amnesty International said today, as more than two dozen others faced trial on protest-related charges.

Fifteen people were arrested by Omani security forces on 14 May during a protest in Muscat calling for the release of others detained two days earlier in pro-reform protests.

Prominent female lawyer Basma al-Kiyumi was released on 16 May, and on 17 May some eight other activists were released, among them Muhammad al-Habssi and Ibrahim Sa’id al-Hajri. It is not known where the remaining six – including Nabhan al-Hanashi – are, or if any charges have been brought against them.

“The authorities in Oman must immediately provide details on the whereabouts of all protesters being held and either charge them with a recognizable criminal offence or release them,” said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme Director.

“If they are being detained solely for participating in a peaceful public protest they should be released immediately and unconditionally.”

“Any charges should be made public, and trials against the accused must conform to international fair trial standards.”

Amnesty International is concerned that those who continue to be held following the protest in Muscat on 14 May are being detained incommunicado and may be at risk of torture or ill-treatment.

Basma al-Kiyumi was charged in connection with participating in an unlawful gathering and released on bail to await trial at future date. It is not clear if other protesters who were released on 17 May were charged or not.

Another group of 27 men who had taken part in protests during March and April appeared before a Muscat court today and were charged with a number of offences including banditry, setting fire to government buildings, and insulting officials. The men pleaded not guilty and the case was adjourned until 23 May. Two of the men, Khaled al-Hantholi, and ‘Ammar al-Hani’i, were not granted bail and remain detained at the Central Prison.

At least three people have been killed and others injured during recent public protests in Oman amid allegations that the security forces have used excessive force against protesters. Many people have been arrested, including dozens who were detained in the northern city of Sohar on 29 March.
...

More 'Oman in the news'
CBS, mega US media corp, just released their latest edition of 'Enduring Dictators, show casing all the world's dictatorships. Naturally, it's Oman. There are a few small errors, but, this is how Oman is seen in some circles.

CBS News: Enduring Dictators.

May 18, 2011 4:54 PM

The world's enduring dictators: Qaboos bin Said, Oman
By Joshua Norman

Oman's leader Sultan Qaboos bin Said attends the third day of celebrations marking 40 years since he took the throne at Midan al-Fath Stadium in Muscat on December 1, 2010. (Credit: Getty Images) This is an installment in the WorldWatch series, "The world's enduring dictators," inspired by events in Tunisia and Egypt, in which CBSNews.com takes a look at the men who continue to rule their lands unimpeded by law. See a complete explanation of the series and a list of others profiled here.
Qaboos bin Said, Oman

Length of rule: 41 years.
Sultan Qaboos took the throne in 1970 after deposing his father in a palace coup, and has put his stamp on his country in many ways, even changing its name from "Muscat and Oman" to the "Sultanate of Oman." His part of the Arabian peninsula has been ruled by the al-Said family since 1744.

Most despotic acts:
The current "Arab Spring"-inspired protests in the country have seen at least two deaths. Protesters have complained about rampant government corruption, high unemployment and the lack of a parliament with legislative powers. There has been several waves of arrests of anti-government protestors amid an ongoing and aggressive crackdown against discontent. Although Oman has been accused of human trafficking - especially of foreign laborers - for some time, the government has allegedly begun enforcing laws against on the practice.

Outlook for change:
As mentioned earlier, several protest leaders have been detained and released in rolling waves of arrests in the past few months, and dissatisfaction with the state of affairs in the country is high. While disgruntlement amongst the populace is obvious, the extreme dearth of foreign press coverage and lack of general press freedom there leaves it unclear as to whether the protesters want the sultan to leave, or simply want their government to function better. Beyond the recent protests, there is concern about succession in the country, as there is no heir apparent or any clear legislation on who may be the next Sultan.

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503543_162-20064069-503543.html#ixzz1MkSaLBG1

Oman's heavy handed treatment of peaceful protestors may catch the Global media's attention.

2011-05-17T22:51:00.009+04:00

Tension remains high in Salalah, as the families and friends of those arrested on Thursday & Friday - having been rounded up by the Army for protesting via a sit-in outside the Governor's place downtown - are now forming a second protest outside the local prison demanding their release.

According to reports from Salalah local blogger Dhofari Gucci, several of the protests lead 'speakers' were arrested and immediately taken back to Muscat "...namely Nasser Sakroon, Bakhit Al Mahri, Fahim Al Mashani, Salim Al Mashani, Amer Hardan , and others...."

Oman does not provide its ~~citizens~~ subjects the right of habeous corpus**, and so I presume these gentlemen are getting the extended VIP tour of the Dark Castle, ISS's brand new mega-bunker-fortress up above Qurm.

Photo 23.589849, 58.477162: Oman's Internal Security Services new building: The Dark Castle. The Government is currently hosting extended tours for a few lucky representatives of Salalah-based human rights activists.

The Ministry of Information dismissed the press release and described the arrests as yet another example of the caring nature of Oman's Government: "We're simply giving these long suffering protesters a chance to get away from it all, with an unforgetable trip away, and all expenses paid too. It's an experience I'm hoping our guests will find quite... enlightening." The Minister of the Interior added, "We've always been a Government that listens to the people. In the case of our new guests from Salalah, we'll even be recording what they say! I think reasonable people will see how we want to hear absolutely everything they have to tell us."

Meanwhile,
News of the surprise round-up of what had been a generally peaceful scene has reached the wire services, and despite the dominance of extremely violent reports coming from Syria and Yemen, Oman's news often made the editorial cut too. So far, Sultan Qaboos is still generally being portrayed as responding with moderation. So far.

But the release of an international press statement condemning the arrests of "human rights activists" issued by 'a group of Omani Activists', and picked up by wire service AFP, was soon appearing on hundreds of media outlets, including The LA Times (see a few others below*). At a stroke, this has successfully branded the protesters as the good guys. Does Oman News Agency not realise that by refering to them with words like "provocateurs" and "attempt[ing] to incite sedition", it makes HM sound just like Ghaddafi or Ahmadinejad?

Omani authorities have carried out a wave of arrests against human rights activists calling for reforms in the Gulf monarchy, a group of activists says in a statement received by AFP on Tuesday.

"We strongly condemn the repression and restrictions to the legitimate right of activists to express themselves peacefully," said the statement. The activists described the "arrests targeting those who were calling for rational dialogue" as "disappointing".

Great PR for the (un-named) 'activists'. The protesters are learning fast.

I think the Government's agressive move on what was a peaceful sit-in was pretty damn stupid. They could have just left them there, harmlessly talking to each other and delegations of minor civil servants, while in the real world simply by-passing them, ignoring most of their 'demands' and doing what-ever the Government wanted. If the protesters ever really got out of hand and used violence, then they could properly arrest those breaking the law, and deal with them in the courts.

Detaining people against their will for the "seditious crime" of peacefully sitting around and voicing an opinion comes across as simultaneously despotic and weak. Doing under cover of night with APCs & military troops from the north of the country, while shutting down the internet and mobile phones... well, it just lets everyone around the world play the 'spot the dictatorship' game.

For now, HM's reasonable reputation is standing. But that won't last very long.

I can only suggest readers support Amnesty International's approach to this. While they have not yet responded to the latest arrests, from their recent release about the earlier detention of the Sohar protesters, here is the informattion you need:

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in Arabic, English or your own language:
 Welcome the release without charge of those arrested following the protests in Sohar and Muscat;
 Urge the authorities to ensure that the at least nine men who remain detained are protected from torture and other
ill-treatment, and given regular access to their families, lawyers and any medical attention they may require;
 Call for their immediate and unconditional release if they are prisoners of conscience held solely for peacefully
exercising their rights to freedom of expression and assembly; otherwise they should be released unless they are
promptly charged with recognizable criminal offences and tried in conformity with international fair trial standards;
 Ask for details of any charges brought against them and clarification of their current legal status and whereabouts
in detention.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 2 JUNE 2011 TO:

His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Sa’id
Head of State, Prime Minister, Foreign
Affairs, Defence and Finance Minister
Diwan of the Royal Court
The Palace, Muscat 113
Sultanate of Oman
Fax: +968 24 735 375

Salutation: Your Majesty

His Excellency Sayyid Hamoud bin
Faisal bin Said Al Busaidi
Minister of the Interior
Ministry of Interior
PO Box 127
Ruwi 112, Muscat
Sultanate of Oman

Salutation: Your Excellency

And copies to:
Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Riyam i
Chairman
National Human Rights Commission
P.O.Box 29, Postal Code: 103
Bareq A' Shati, Muscat, Sultanate of
Oman
Fax: +968 24648801
Email: enquiry@nhrc.om

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country. Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above
date. This is the first update of UA 96/11. Further information: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE20/001/2011/en

* Reports:
AFP, Iran TV, the medialine, Zaywa, etc.

** Habeous Corpus
I'd recommend to interested readers the history of this important principal of English common law. (from wikipedia): The first recorded usage of habeas corpus was in 1305, during the reign of King Edward I. However, other writs were issued with the same effect as early as the reign of Henry II in the twelfth century. Blackstone explained the basis of the writ, saying "The King is at all times entitled to have an account, why the liberty of any of his subjects is restrained, wherever that restraint may be inflicted."

Indeed. Note this does not prevent people being held without trial where such things are deemed legal, nor does it ensure a fair trail. But it does force an explanation of their imprisonment, which only seem just.

wiki again:

...
The writ of habeas corpus is one of what are called the "extraordinary", "common law", or "prerogative writs", which were historically issued by the English courts in the name of the monarch to control inferior courts and public authorities within the kingdom. The most common of the other such prerogative writs are quo warranto, prohibito, mandamus, procedendo, and certiorari. The due process for such petitions is not simply civil or criminal, because they incorporate the presumption of non-authority. The official who is the respondent has the burden to prove his authority to do or not do something. Failing this, the court must decide for the petitioner, who may be any person, not just an interested party. This differs from a motion in a civil process in which the movant must have standing, and bears the burden of proof.
...

UAE - as always, best avoided. Crown Prince Al Nahyan sets up mercenary army

2011-05-15T18:54:00.005+04:00

It's long been the advice of Muscat Confidential that the UAE is 'best avoided'. A thin veneer of oil wealth supplied shiny stuff barely covers a culture of intolerance and expat exploitation. There is little true rule of law.

As recently commented in the previous post, The New York Times has just broken a big story that Sheik Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan has established a secret UAE based mercenary army in copperation with Blackwater founder Eric Prince. The outfit, staffed with mercs from Latin America to South Africa [but specifically no Muslims] is tasked with a mission scope that includes suppressing local riots, from expat labour camps or locals, plus defending islands from occupation by a few Iranians.

Photo: Effective ruler of the UAE, Sheik Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.

While the unit was set up long before the Arab Spring swept the region, old Ghaddafi has shown that when you're a dictator it's useful to have a few rentals on hand who have no qualms shooting the local civilian populace.

...
Mr. Prince, who resettled here last year after his security business faced mounting legal problems in the United States, was hired by the crown prince of Abu Dhabi to put together an 800-member battalion of foreign troops for the U.A.E., according to former employees on the project, American officials and corporate documents obtained by The New York Times.

The force is intended to conduct special operations missions inside and outside the country, defend oil pipelines and skyscrapers from terrorist attacks and put down internal revolts, the documents show. Such troops could be deployed if the Emirates faced unrest in their crowded labor camps or were challenged by pro-democracy protests like those sweeping the Arab world this year.

The U.A.E.’s rulers, viewing their own military as inadequate, also hope that the troops could blunt the regional aggression of Iran, the country’s biggest foe, the former employees said. The training camp, located on a sprawling Emirati base called Zayed Military City, is hidden behind concrete walls laced with barbed wire. Photographs show rows of identical yellow temporary buildings, used for barracks and mess halls, and a motor pool, which houses Humvees and fuel trucks. The Colombians, along with South African and other foreign troops, are trained by retired American soldiers and veterans of the German and British special operations units and the French Foreign Legion, according to the former employees and American officials.
...

It's a long article. You can read it in full here.

Meanwhile, a UAE man was busted in Thailand while attempting to board a 1st class flight to Dubai with carry on that contained a baby leopard, panther, bear and monkeys. He obviously wasn't too worried about being searched on arrival in the UAE...

Post-script: The smuggler was one Noor Mahmoodr, a 36 year old male from UAE, according to freeland.org. No word on who he was smuggling them for...

UAE: Best avoided.

123Orion May charity gig huge success (as usual!). Government patience snaps in Dhofar, everybody arrested

2011-05-14T07:27:00.007+04:00

As the powers that be open up a giant can of military-backed wuppass on the peaceful demonstrators in Salalah, using a huge force of army troops + ROP & ISS + teargas, and switching off south Oman's entire mobile phone network and internet for 2 hours while doing so, it's good to know good folks have been keeping it real in Muscat.

123Orion's sell out charity gig in Muscat on May 5th raised 360 rials [US$900] for the Japanese Earthquake victims.

Photo" 123Orion rock the house for earthquake victims.

Well done JON G. Wish I could have been there.

Meanwhile in Salalah, things are going to get worse I suspect. Hopefully no-where near neighbouring Yemeni levels, but Dhofaris are not the sort to take being forced to shut up lying down. Keep checking Dhofari Gucci for latest news folks.

Sitting around in a roundabout calling for investigations into Ministerial corruption is, of course, extremely illegal in Oman.

Someone's patience has clearly expired.

PS
As posted in a comment on Muscat Mutterings, the Oman News Agency explained the situation quite clearly, here repeated in the Oman Observer (The Government owned newspaper):

Provocateurs held
Fri, 13 May 2011
MUSCAT — An official security source said security and military authorities yesterday arrested a number of provocateurs in Muscat Governorate and Wilayat of Salalah.
The source said deliberate inciting of rioting and public disorder by the detainees has reached a level that necessitated intervention to prevent them from continuing to break the law and stop their attempts to incite sedition, which has nothing to do with the public interest.

The source said security authorities commends citizens and those who co-operated for they know the real intentions of those persons who committed the unacceptable and who have no justification to continue gatherings and sit-ins. The authorities affirmed they will not hesitate to apply the law and protect the security of citizens and the nation.

Quite right. Sit-ins are very provocative.