Events in Tunisia ignored by the Omani Press?

I find the deafening silence of the Omani mainstream English media on the implications of revolution in Tunisia extremely interesting. It must, however, have been topic no.1 in the social media in the Sultanate, esp. Twitter. The Observer had just a snippet of news here, but it comes across as bare minimum reportage.

The FT had a nice analysis here.

Arab leaders around the region seem mesmerized by the rapid change in sentiment among the Tunisians. The similarities to Oman (and many other Arab states) are clear. For now, Oman is still able to boost the economy sufficiently, and the current Sultan enjoys enviable popular support. But as youth unemployment continues to rise (and it is already worryingly high), and population growth exceeds (by far) the combined rise in net oil and gas export receipts, the pressure is on. Libya is already showing signs of strain, and Eqypt must be extra worried.

The Tunisia experience is also providing lessons for the populace too: Tunisia appears to be descending into chaos quite rapidly, with looting, violence and degeneration of civil order. Not the best way to complete a transition of governance structure.

But all I've seen in the Omani on-line press is the story of some Omani students in Tunisia who can't get to the ATM and were running out of food.

ROP seek investigation of speeding fines corruption allegation, and threatens whistle blowing reporter with prosecution

Ah, rain. Excellent. The trees are now cleaned of over a years' worth of dust, and it was a beautiful day in Muscat. Surface flooding was pretty mild and the rain was a welcome break from the unrelenting blue sky and sunshine.

Meanwhile, I've been meaning to post about the strange case of the ROP Speeding fines corruption allegation.

An article in one of Oman's Arabic newspapers last week accused some members of the Royal Oman Police, aka the ROP, of falsifying the assignment of speeding fines by transferring the fines in the computer system from those that did the crime to innocent drivers, enabling the errant speeders to avoid paying.

Wow, that's ground breaking stuff for an Omani newspaper, especially an Arabic one.

In response, the head of the ROP, Inspector General of Police and Customs, Lieutenant General Malik bin Sulaiman Al Ma’amari, issued a rare public statement published in both Arabic and English newspapers in Oman and in the UAE papers too, saying this would be investigated and that it was a threat to public trust in the ROP. (see below for the statement).

But in a much more interesting development, a local arabic blogger has published what appears to be an official instruction on letterhead from the Inspector General himself.


The leaked ROP documents from local blogger





The letter is to his head of public prosecutions, instructing him to:
(a) investigate the claim, and to follow the law if anyone is found to have done the illegal fine trannsfers (no matter how far it goes), and
(b) that they will be granted full access to the ROP computer systems to establish what happened.

in addition
(c) that the report has impuned the public reputation of the ROP, and that the reporter who made the claim is to be interrogated by Public Prospectutions to name his sources for the story, and if he either refuses to provide those sources or if the report is determined to be untrue, to seek prosectution against the reporter for bringing the ROP into disrepute. [Note: any readers with a more precise and professional English translation of the leaked documents would be welcomed!]

Now, bringing the reporter in for questioning is reasonable I suppose. Reporters have been jailed even in the USA for refusing to name sources under obstruction of justice charges.

But many have interpreted the leaked document as a threat to all journalists with the offense of defaming the ROP again mentioned. It brings up (again) the infamous Telecommunication Act Article 61(3) that makes it a criminal offense (punishable by jail time and/or fines) to publish anything "contrary to public order and common morals". It has also been deemed illegal by the courts to criticise in print Government officials under (again, criminal not civil) general anti-defamation laws.

However, I'd note on the positive side that if the instruction from I.G. Al Ma’amari implies that the reporter will only be punished if the report is untrue, that would be an improved interpretation on the current law. At present, the laws against disturbing 'public order', 'common morals', 'insulting' individuals (even if dead)and protecting Government officials from criticism do not really describe a defense against these broad and ill-defined offenses. In most countries a solid defense against charges of defamation is to show that the statements were true. This is NOT the case (as far as I'm aware - BlueChi?) under Omani law.

So, admitting that the reporter was OK to publish the story if the charges against the ROP are found to be true would be a big improvement!

It will be interesting to see where this story goes.


Published press Statement following the allegations of ROP corruption

Muscat: Inspector General of Police and Customs, Lieutenant General Malik Bin Sulaiman Al Ma’amari, has promised serious action against errant police officers, if they are found guilty.

“I cannot confirm or deny the case in which traffic policemen were accused of transferring violations from a person’s register to another motorist’s,” Al Ma’amari told Arabic daily Al Shabiba in response to reports in [the] Arabic daily about the alleged violations committed by police personnel.

Lt. Gen.Al Ma’amari said it was a serious issue as the trust of citizens and residents in the police apparatus was at stake.
“We are determined to severely deal with any personnel, if the incident is proved true,” he said.

He, however, said that it is up to the concerned courts to declare who is innocent and who is not, adding that some police personnel who were involved in violations and detained earlier have been duly punished as per the law.

He added “We have some cases of violations by personnel under investigation by the Public Prosecution”.

...

Social Distortion - a reader complaint

I thought I'd share an interesting email from a reader about a recent post I made, the one highlighting a big story in the UK media about a British MP and the many times he has stayed in Oman.

I think the comment highlights a real problem in Oman, one that also relates to the big, big problems many in this culture seem to have with the very concept of free speech. The issues (see below) some people might have with the article (and my subsequently bringing this overseas story to your attention) are real, and strongly felt. Some might even feel insulted, angry, and/or confused as to why anyone would even think to say such things, and even worse, to act upon such thoughts and publish them.

Fair enough.

But.... Free Speech quintessentially implies sometimes listening to other people when they say things you disagree with. Perhaps strongly. And perhaps even worse, seeing or reading or hearing things that occasionally one might find exceptionally offensive.

As its often said, Stalin was a great fan of free speech, as long as you only said what he agreed with.

How does Oman address this problem, while the Government are attempting to expose more and more of the population to the outside world, tourists, the Internet, and many Omani experience a severe reaction to many of the things they - as a result - see and hear?

(to Undercover Dragon)

This piece of news is in bad taste. Politicians come go and it is in the Arab tradition to offer them a gift at the end of their visit. Why single out this homosexual? The article in Daily mail dismayed many here in the Sultanate by associating an openly gay individual to our nation. Furthermore it is an insult to us seeing the individual's photo in the same page as MAWALANA The SULTAN who almost all Omanis revere. UD has hit all Oman below the belt by coming up with such a trash.

Take note almost all Omanis are dismayed by UD's action

Dragon Responds:
Omanis deserve to know what is being published elsewhere, about their country and HM, don't they? Simply pretending there is no outside world, like some kind of cultural and intellectual ostrich, is stupid and childish.

Grow up.

I did not publish such photos (as were published in the UK) partially for some of the reasons you mention.

That this British Member of Parliament came here, stayed here, and was a guest of HM is fact. That the man came here with his (now) partner is fact. That Alan Duncan is homosexual is (as far as anyone knows) a fact. That he remains a member of her Majesty's loyal opposition, and remains a member of Parliament, is a fact.

That this story was in the UK media, and discussed Oman and HM, is a fact.

That you choose to dislike that these things are facts, fair enough. And I can understand.

BUT, are you really that naive? How old are you?

Welcome to the world [identity withheld]. Not everyone gives a second thought about your concerns, or even agrees with them, you know?

Regards,
Dragon

OK Readers. There it is. Thought you'd be interested.
Opinions?

Oman ranks 50th in networked readiness out of 134 countries

The World Economic Forum released last week its ranking of countries for internet readiness in The Global Information Technology Report 2008-2009. You can read the full report here.

Oman came 50th, up from 53 last year, beating countries like Greece and Kuwait.

The Country report for Oman highlights 1 or 2 really low ranking scores that contributed to keeping the overall ranking as low as it was.

The one that caught my eye was our miserable rank of 126/134 for Freedom of the Press. These are the only countries reported as having a less free press than us:
Moldova, Lesotho, Chad, Armenia, Libya, Venezuela, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe. To be beaten on this by paragons like China, Saudi Arabia and the Kyrgyz Republic is something we could perhaps do something about.

Also, we didn't do too well on invention, with zero patents in 2007 (albeit along with 45 other countries). We were even beaten on that one by Zimbabwe. Enforcing contracts seems complex too.

But we did very well in some other areas: having a low burden of Government regulation, low taxes, and it being relatively easy to start a business, amongst others.

here's a selection of some of the indicators.

Oman
Key indicators

Population (millions), 2007............................................................2.6
GDP (PPP) per capita (int’l $), 2007 ......................................23,987
Internet users per 100 population, 2007 ..................................13.1
Internet bandwidth (mB/s) per 10,000 population, 2007..........4.8
Mobile telephone subscribers per 100 population, 2007......96.3
Networked Readiness Index
Edition (number of economies) Rank
2008–2009 (134) ...................................................50
2007–2008 (127) ...............................................................................53
2006–2007 (122)..............................................................................n/a
Global Competitiveness Index 2008–2009 (134) 38
Environment component 51
Market environment 42
1.01 Venture capital availability..................................................22
1.02 Financial market sophistication .........................................46
1.03 Availability of latest technologies ......................................55
1.04 State of cluster development ............................................49
1.05 Utility patents, 2007* ........................................................89
1.06 High-tech exports, 2006* ................................................119
1.07 Burden of government regulation .......................................7
1.08 Extent and effect of taxation...............................................7
1.09 Total tax rate, 2007*..........................................................11
1.10 Time required to start a business, 2008*..........................38
1.11 No. of procedures required to start a business, 2008* ....46
1.12 Intensity of local competition ............................................84
1.13 Freedom of the press......................................................126
1.14 Accessibility of digital content...........................................77
Political and regulatory environment 44
2.01 Effectiveness of law-making bodies..................................22
2.02 Laws relating to ICT ..........................................................42
2.03 Judicial independence .......................................................34
2.04 Intellectual property protection .........................................30
2.05 Efficiency of legal framework............................................27
2.06 Property rights ...................................................................41
2.07 Quality of competition in the ISP sector ...........................95
2.08 Number of procedures to enforce a contract, 2008*......127
2.09 Time to enforce a contract, 2008* ....................................81
Infrastructure environment 78
3.01 Number of telephone lines, 2007*....................................89
3.02 Secure Internet servers, 2007*.........................................79
3.03 Electricity production, 2005*.............................................45
3.04 Availability of scientists and engineers..............................95
3.05 Quality of scientific research institutions ..........................59
3.06 Tertiary enrollment, 2006*.................................................77
3.07 Education expenditure, 2006*...........................................81

Oman Media awards itself a free dinner and an undeserved pat on the back

Yes, its Oman's first Media Awards celebration.

In a flurry of self promotion and in the spirit of 'any excuse for a free dinner', there are apparently going to be awards for best journalist, best newspapers, etc etc.

Yawn.

The winners will undoubtably get a plaque, and will crow about being the best in Oman. I guess it might increase competition between the papers. But picking the 'best in Oman' is not exactly setting the bar very high...

Quote of the article for me was this one:

“The awards will give recognition to the commendable efforts of reporters in informing people and create awareness among the public on different topics.

As everyone in Oman knows the papers here take about 3 mins to read cover to cover, as they are so generally lacking in content and consisting mainly of copy paste from the wire services, repeating anything issued by the Goernment News Agency, & reprinted press releases.

So, readers are encouraged to send me your nominations for Muscat Confidential's Alternative Media Awards, in the following catagories:
- worse article written by a local journalist
- most sycophantic article
- most full of hyperbole press release, printed verbatim
- best non-event to get on the front page
- most obscure connection blaming something bad on the American/Israeli conspiracy

Email your nominations to undercover.dragon (at) gmail.com, and please attach links!

Deadline Nov 9th.

Times of Oman - Media awards

Media gets its due: CPP to announce first media awards
Swati Dasgupta
Sunday, November 02, 2008

MUSCAT — To acknowledge the role of media and appreciate the contributions made by those associated with it, the first media awards in Oman for the year 2008 were announced yesterday.

At the press conference held at Crowne Plaza Hotel, Saleh Al Shaibany, managing director, Creative Press and Publishing, said addressing the gathering that media has always played a very important role in Oman.

“Several Arabic and English newspapers have been launched since the time of Renaissance. Hence it’s essential to recognise the outstanding achievements of individuals and organisations,” he said.

This media award is a brainchild of Creative Press & Publishing (CPP), publisher of City Business magazine, and is the first annual media award in Oman to honour reporters, publications and advertising agencies. Emphasising on the role of English language newspapers in Oman, Saleh Al Shaibany said that since there are very few locals writing for English dailies, it had become all the more necessary to appreciate their efforts and awards like this was a step in that direction. He expressed his heartfelt gratitude to National Bank of Oman (NBO) for supporting the event.

The awards have been divided into seven categories. They include the best English journalist of the year, best Arabic journalist of the year, best English daily newspaper of the year, best Arabic daily newspaper of the year, best English publication of the year, best Arabic publication of the year and best advertising campaign of the year.
...

Oman's useless newspapers and the even crappier food we eat

Generally, Oman is served by really, really bad newspapers. The only thing that generally comes close to analysis is carping about the Israelis and the Americans in the vein of 'its not the fault of the Arabs' I don't read Arabic unfortunately, but my Omani friends assure me theArabic ones are also total crap too.

Of all the Omani newspapers, Oman Tribute is definitely the one that occasionally dares to carry stories (like this one below) that point out when the spin of the Government is at odds with the facts.

We need a LOT more of this. Second paper would have to be The Observer, tremendously anti-West it may be. The Times of Oman is almost completely useless, and so far up the establishment’s butt as to be effectively just a propaganda piece for whoever the self-obsessed Editor Essa bin Mohammed Al Zedjali wants to suck up to. See here for a classic opinion piece on how fantastic the Ministry of Commerce and Industry is.

Tribune Monday 19th
Acute water shortage hits Nizwa
NIZWA Belying the tall claims made by authorities of supplying sufficient quantity of water to the Wilayat of Nizwa, residents are still facing acute water shortage.

Moreover, many wells and Aflaj, which were source of water supply to the locals, have dried up due to intense summer.

For days and weeks, residents get water from the distribution network only for minutes. They have to go to far-flung areas in search of water to do their household work.

The rich can pay the price of water from tankers but the poor cannot and hence suffer a lot due to water shortage as one gallon of water is being sold at RO1.700. The price of water increases further in the interiors if the road to the area is not approachable.

The wilayat was allocated 600,000 gallons of water. But the residents say that the quantity allocated is not enough for the people of the wilayat to meet their day-today household needs.

Oman rated a good betIn other news, thanks to the tremendous boost in oil revenues these past few years enabling Oman to climb out of the debt hole it got into in the late 90s, Oman is also looking good on the financial rating of its Sovereign bonds, effectively the country’s credit rating, scoring an A and putting Oman in the same basket as countries like the UAE, Qatar, Australia and New Zealand, to name a few. You see the whole list here:

And finally under the ‘Last Things Oman Needs More of’ section, another international purveyor of crap food is launching in Oman. Great. Again, it shows how Oman's reporters and editors are so lazy and desperate for cheap copy that they'll print any PR release verbatim.Oman Observer report.

By A Staff Reporter
MUSCAT — Dunkin’ Donuts, one of the world’s largest quick service restaurant companies, continues its rapid expansion and has announced its imminent launch of operations in Oman. Matrah Cold Stores LLC in partnership with the UAE franchisee have formed a joint venture company to manage the Dunkin Donuts brand in Oman. The initial outlets for Dunkin’ Donuts will open in Madinat al Sultan Qaboos, Ghala and at Shatti Cinema. David Rodgers, General Manager of Dunkin Donuts, UAE, said: “Due to the international popularity of the brand and the consumer demands of the rapidly changing environment in Oman, we are excited to have a presence here in the Sultanate, and feel that by partnering with MCS we are arriving in Oman at an excellent time and with MCS’s proven record in Oman we will be able to provide to customers an outstanding brand experience”. The launch has been confirmed for late May with the Dunkin Donuts being produced twice a day in the new purpose built and equipped kitchen in Wadi Kabir that will serve the shops to be established in the Muscat area.

Khalid Dalaty, Operations Manager for Dunkin Donuts Oman, said: “Having experienced a successful recent expansion within the UAE, we are sure Oman will enjoy the presence of Dunkin’ Donuts. News of our entry into Oman has been met with keen interest and we are delighted to offer Omani customers the very same service and quality that Dunkin’ Donuts is renowned for across the world.” Fans of the fast food restaurant chain will find its pleasantly styled and practically designed outlets globally, including in the Philippines, Indonesia, South Korea, Germany, Spain, Greece, Turkey, the UAE, and the United States. Worldwide, the quick service restaurant company recorded sales of over $4.7 billion in 2007.

Unusually, the launch of the dazzling new Dunkin’ Donuts business is coupled with an insightful partnership in the sphere of 'On demand medical treatment', a first for the Sultanate. Dunkin’ Donuts’ partner in Oman, International Insulin Corp, will be setting up small clinics specializing in the treatment of Type 2 diabetes directly adjacent to the new stores. ‘This will represent a real breakthrough for Oman’s current diabetics, and the many future ones. Oman is already a huge market for our insulin products and proprietary blood sugar testers, but the potential for massive growth is still here. Our partnership with Dunkin’ Donuts will significantly help to boost demand for diabetic treatment in the Sultanate, because while Oman’s youth represent more than half the population many of them have yet to develop diabetes like their parents. People will be able to feast to their pancreas’ content on refined starch, sugar and fat, and then obtain an instant boost of much needed insulin just a few steps away.’

The more observant of my readers may have spotted the last paragraph wasn’t actually printed… I just made that bit up.

Israeli and Omani Foreign Ministers meet in Qatar

Something you certainly won't be reading in Oman's local papers it seems is the meeting yesterday between Oman's Foreign Affairs Minister Yousef bin Alawi and the Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. They met at her hotel in Doha, Qatar.

These are the first official talks since 2000, although it was reported they met at a secret meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York in September 2006.

Although the meeting has been widely reported across the world, including other Gulf papers, the item is conspicuous by its total absence in the all local Omani press, both English and Arabic.

It looks to me like the meeting was indeed no big deal. The Yahoo article indicates the Omani Minister played it down and described it as an opportunity for them to both listen to each other, but that Oman still disagreed with the Israelis on, well, probably about everything, and there were no plans to reopen the Israeli 'trade office' (ie an effective Israeli Embassy) in Oman. Thank goodness, given the Israeli's on-going fascist behaviour.

Article links: Yahoo news , BBC , Khaleej Times .

In the Israeli press too, Israel National News ,

In the context of the forum, Foreign Minister Livni met with her counterpart from the Gulf Emirate of Oman in what was hailed as a first-of-its-kind public encounter. Omani government officials, however, played down the meeting. An aide to Oman's Foreign Minister Yousef bin Abdullah said it was "not meant to have a result," but merely to allow Foreign Minister Livni and her counterpart to exchange views, according to the French news agency AFP.

Oman and Israel have maintained low-level diplomatic and trade relations, although the oil-rich state backs Hamas. The Omani Foreign Minister ruled out the possibility of re-opening Israeli trade office in his country, closed after the beginning of the Oslo War in 2000, until the PA is constituted as a state.

Another nice pic being printed everywhere but in Oman: