Times of Oman Interview with Undercover Dragon.

I few days ago I was contacted by a local reporter working for Times of Oman, along with many other English Bloggers in or about the Sultanate, for a story on blogging in Oman.

Picture: The Dragon does an interview. (From The Paperbag Princess).

Here is the unedited interview in full. The interview was held via email on 8th Feb, 2010. I'm publishing this here hopefully the day before the story is printed in Times of Oman. While I'm not yet convinced there will be any mention of Muscat Confidential in the story, I am thinking that if I am mentioned it will be in pretty derogatory terms... So I wanted to put the interview on public record. Maybe I'm just getting paranoid.

I'm very pleased to have been given the opportunity to answer some questions, many of which I hadn't considered before.

It wasn't something I'd thought of doing, but in hindsight I'm glad I did. I tried to answer the questions as much as I could. It is bit schizoid being the author of the Dragon, I must admit. I'm sure most of you realise, especially those who blog, that Mr Dragon is as much a character as he is myself.

Hope you enjoy. And well done Times of Oman*.

Undercover Dragon,
Muscat 2010.


>>>>
>>>> How is it that you have your finger on the pulse of much that is Oman,
>>>> all the time?
>>>>
I probably only scratch the surface of what's going on with what I can
publish. But there have been a few stories that people are interested
in that have never been picked up by the print media or other on-line
news suppliers. Actually, a lot of what I write about is already
somewhere in the public domain, and its just connecting some dots or
making some observations.

>>>>
>>>> Are you not afraid your cover will be blown?
>>>>
While it would not be good to be public with my identity, as I'd
prefer to keep it separate from my professional and personal life, it
doesn't keep me awake at night! More importantly, it would probably
make the blog far less entertaining. And it's very important to be
entertaining. No-one wants to just read stale news items.


>>>>
>>>> (Dare I ask this?) How do you cover your web footprint?
>>>>
Its not that difficult to protect ones internet footprint from casual
observers, or to a certain extent, even from the internet service
provider. But unless one goes to extraordinary lengths there is no way
to protect yourself from the professionals. Occasional lapses in
Omantel's internet censorship software indicate that Omantel is
tracking the TCP/IP numbers that access Muscat Confidential within
Oman. The website itself is hosted in the USA. In fact, how do you
really know I'm in Oman at all?

>>>>
>>>> Does anyone know who you are?
>>>>
A few people do. But there are not very many, and they are very, very
close personal friends who know how important maintaining that
anonymity is. You don't have to know who I am to know that Undercover
Dragon exists or is real. That's one of the fascinating things about
the internet.


>>>>
>>>> Have you ever gotten into any kind of trouble with the authorities?
>>>>
No, not really. Some of my posts have annoyed some individuals within
the Government, but being annoying is not illegal. If the real
authorities thought the blog was illegal it would be trivial to block
access to the site, and they haven't done so. Oman's internet and
freedom of speech laws are potentially draconian as they stand, but in
practice they are not as bad as a lot of people think. The problem is
that the laws are so vague and poorly drafted they conceptually
include almost any critique of anyone connected to the Government,
even when the information is in the public domain already and the
statements are accepted as true. The punishments include some serious
jail time, and have not really been tested in the courts at all, so
no-one knows what the laws really mean or where the legal boundaries
are. Just look at the recent court cases involving the internet forums
and the sudden deportations of journalists.


>>>>
>>>> What is it that you are trying to achieve with your blog?
>>>>
First, I think Oman is in a period of transition
from an economy based on exporting oil and gas to, well, whatever the
future holds. Its obvious that the present growth rate in the
population far exceeds the growth in net foreign income from oil and
gas (and the export industries based on gas, like aluminum and
petrochemicals), while at the same time we continue to import almost
everything the country needs to live, including much of our food,
technology, labour and skills. People have become accustomed to a
highly paternalistic state providing everything for them, and expect
all the nice things a modern lifestyle can provide, without earning it
on their own merits. Its unsustainable.

 I think a key part of that transition is having a society much more
open to criticism, to improve the Government and the performance of
the economic agents within the country. I'm personally convinced that
His Majesty has long foreseen a time when Oman's Government will be
able to be based on a model closer to a constitutional Monarchy,
perhaps more similar to a Northern European model, with an elected
representative chamber that exercises real control over the executive
branches of Government. But democracy is not primarily about votes.
This is where the West has made a huge mistake. Free speech, a free
press, intellectual freedom, freedom of information and freedom of
association are far, far more important than votes to ensuring a
Government has the support of the people it governs. It's almost
irrelevant if people actually cast formal ballots. Just look at Iran.
People need to be able to discuss openly how the Government's money is
being spent, the quality of their schools and healthcare, abuse of
power, and how their various Government Ministers are performing. I'd
like to think the blog is a very small part of the beginning of that
in Oman.

As you work for Times of Oman:
I presume you're curious about my occasional criticism of Times Of Oman Editorial by Essa Al Zedjali. I often make comments about the
Times of Oman editorials because I think the newspapers here could
really help drive this transition, instead of blindly supporting the
idea that everything the Government does is perfect and couldn't be
improved; its pure propaganda. This therefore supports a culture where
power and corruption win over true principals of equal rights, and
treats the people like idiots. That waste offends me deeply. I also
think that many of the comments made about Israel and 'Jews' are both
illegal under Omani law and simply serve to make the solution to the
problem of Palestine much more difficult to attain, namely a 2 state
solution based on the 1967 borders (with adjustments of equal areas to
balance realities). It's part of the attempt to distract people in
Oman from what's wrong here by getting them to think about Israel.  I
think the opportunity to really lead opinion, given the tremendous
reach and resources the printed press has in Oman, is being wasted in
the pursuit of pontificating vanity, pandering to ugly prejudices and
ignorance, and trying to obtain wasta while covering up ineptitude. In
addition, these opinions have often been picked up elsewhere in the
world media and sometimes make Oman, as a nation, look as ignorant
and, to be frank, bat shit crazy as somewhere like Yemen or Pakistan.
Unfortunately, so much of the material published by Times of Oman, and
most of the other media outlets, is so ironically entertainingly
stupid and asinine that it would be more difficult to blog if it were
otherwise! I know I'm joined by many true Omani intellectuals in my
derision of these aspects of the Omani press and TV.

>>>>
>>>> How long have you been in Oman?
>>>>
Quite some time. Lets just say, many years.

>>>>
>>>> How do you cultivate your sources?
>>>>
It's taken time. By sticking with the blog and growing its reputation,
increasingly people email me directly with various stories and
information. I also hear a lot from people who know things and talk
about it in public, when they perhaps shouldn't. Most of it I don't
publish, because I like to double or even triple check what I blog,
and to do that in many situations is almost impossible without
compromising either my sources or myself. I also take great efforts to
protect my sources' anonymity, so one develops a relationship based on
mutual trust and respect. There are some stories I would love to be
able to post, but to do so from within Oman would be illegal under the
censorship laws here, so I don't. The internet is also a wonderful
source of free information if you take the time to look, and do some
research.

>>>>
>>>> Have you seen any tangible results of all that you critique, discuss and
>>>> put forth for debate on your blog?
>>>>
Thats debatable I guess. I'd like to think that part of the reason we
are seeing slightly more bravery in the printed media here over the
past 18 months or so, especially led by Apex publishing and Muscat
Daily, is due to the fact of what I blog. Muscat Confidential has been
showing, perhaps, that things are not as bad as publishers or
journalists originally thought about the law. It's early days though.
Omani culture, nor the authorities in general, are not even ready to
see what is demonstrably true being published, let alone opinion that
is offensive to some people. In the USA, for example, a standard and
total defense against libel is that what was published is true. That
is not the case in Omani law, nor is it accepted by most Omanis.
Several of my posts have been picked up in the Arabic forums which are
far more popular, and have triggered discussion on topics such as the
recent story I published on the abysmal quality of Oman's higher
education.

>>>>
>>>> How do you relate to Omanis that you deal with on a regular basis? I
>>>> mean to ask, do you see the attitudes of this country or the projected
>>>> attitudes, reflected in colleagues, friends, acquaintances that are Omani?
>>>>
I don't see such stereotypes as being very relevant or useful. There's
a range in all societies. What counts is behaviour and intellectual
integrity, not your passport.


>>>>
>>>> Why hasn't anyone found you out yet?
>>>>
Probably because I don't meet with people, even though I've often been
asked. And I'm careful to ensure that what I write is generally
unsourcable to a unique individual. I'm sure that if I was a threat to
Omani security (which I am not) or posting things that are seriously
illegal (which I don't), that Internal Security could find me in
moments! Fortunately, Internal Security are both very good at what
they do, and have more important things to do than worry about
bloggers that occasionally offend self-righteous and incompetent civil
servants, pseudo-intellectual editors, rapacious property developers
or unemployed and woefully ignorant University students. Thank
goodness.

>>>>
>>>> What do you think of the Omani bloggers and their work on the
>>>> blogosphere, especially the women?
>>>>
Perhaps the only reason Oman has made the progress it has is its
hardworking women, and Oman has fortunately had a relatively
progressive attitude to women in society, especially compared to the
rest of the region. I think the internet has been a tremendous boost
to empowering women in Oman and the region. All strength to them.
Plus, most of the interesting Omani blogs are in Arabic, which I don't
read very well.


>>>>
>>>> Has blogging made you more aware and seeking of information? How has
>>>> your blog and people's response to it affected your personality?
>>>>
No, not really. While I'm always looking for interesting stories, I
still have to hold down a job and live a normal life. It's just a
blog, lets not get too carried away. But its always nice when it comes
up in conversation. There is a certain self-centered vanity to
blogging that's hard to deny.

>>>>
>>>> I know it sounds redundant, but a lot of what you say in your blog could
>>>> get you into trouble, despite you disclaimer. People will misinterpret
>>>> anything, you will agree. So how have you stayed out of trouble for this
>>>> long?
>>>>
I've stayed out of trouble because I take pains to stay within the
law, and to remain anonymous. That I haven't been blocked despite
numerous complaints may indicate that some people at a sufficiently
high level within the Government support the concept of Muscat
Confidential and agree that Oman needs a greater degree of discussion.
Or they just haven't noticed and/or don't care, because nothing I do
is in any way a threat to the status quo and I don't blog in Arabic.
And people have a very short attention span.


>>>>
>>>> Your analyses is usually very incisive and pretty harsh on the whole,
>>>> about various topics. What do you hope to achieve with taking that kind of a
>>>> stance on these things?
>>>>
If people want to get smoke blown up their ass, and live in a
delusional world populated by Unicorns that crap butterflies and spend
all day patting themselves on the back, they already can get plenty of
that from the mainstream Omani media. Critique and satire is the
essence of what the blog is about. It's much more entertaining that
way, and people like to be amused. If the blog was boring and
happy-clappy, no one would read it, and then there wouldn't be much
point, would there?


>>>>
>>>> Will you tell me where your sources are? And how you gain their trust?
>>>>
Oh yes. I get a lot of emails from .... I'm kidding. Of course not.
But I suspect some of them are real life journalists who come across
things they can't print; or ordinary people who don't like something
but can't tell anyone because they would loose their job. And I have a
lot of friends in the various Ministries who tell me things.  A lot.
The trust comes from being accurate, or saying things that are true
and interesting.


>>>>
>>>> Thank you for the interview.
>>>>

Thank you for the opportunity, and for even trying to do this story. I am curious to see how it turns out. Keep up the effort.

* I know. Even I'm having difficulty actually seeing that phrase in print on MC...

Undercover Dragon