Still no signs of a frank call for national unity from HM.
'Gimme more' protests continue apace, while the non-hydrocarbon exporting parts of the economy crumble... "A nice (albeit pricy) holiday in '
"I think not - aren't they rioting?" will be the typical answer.
This news release from Oman's official news agency seems - at least to me - to highlight the generation gap affecting the political dialog not just in Oman, but the region at large.
State Council's Social Committee Meets
Muscat, March 22 (ONA) --- The State Council's Social Committee today held its 6th meeting of the 4th annual sitting for the 4th term under the chair of honorable Dr. Su'aad bint Mohammed bin Ali Sulaiman, Head of the Social Committee in the presence of honorable members of the committee and the Assistant Secretary General for Sessions and Committees Affairs.
The meeting approved minutes of the previous meeting and viewed the report of following up procedures of implementing its decisions. The committee also continued discussing its study's topic "Contemporary Youth Issues in the Sultanate of Oman," which aims at addressing the status of contemporary youth issues and their needs, as well as, reviewing the role of the governmental and local institutions and departments in solving these issues, highlighting their most important challenges and proposing the appropriate recommendations to face them.
The committee reviewed other items listed on its agenda upon which it took the appropriate decisions.
--- Ends/AH/KH
Oh yes, lots of talk of agendas, and committees, and taking "the appropriate actions", with no description of any of the issues, points for and against, decisions taken or actions agreed.
What a load of bullshit.
Photo: 'Generation Gap' ripped from MadinahVision.com's photostreamA committee of old men discussing right now "Contemporary Youth Issues in the Sultanate of Oman"?
How about:
- Unemployment
- Inability to get married (and thus have sex, regular sex, with a member of the opposite sex, before the age of 35)
- The perceived inequity of seeing the young relatives of Oman's rich and powerful oligarchs cruising in their Porsches and Lexi (?) with an apparently well funded stipend from on high
- Wasta, especially in Government or Government owned and/or supported companies
- No freedom to discuss these issues in the media, especially print media
- Voting and how the elected people can actually be responsible and accountable for legislation
And the default setting - of everyone - it that it's up to the Government to fix these problems, rather than as is often the case, how it's the Government policies that are causing them in the first place. And protecting the precious dears from reality is high on the list.
More soon.
