[The following translation from Arabic is provided by Khuloud]
A Statement Regarding the Sultanic Decrees
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Your Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Saeed- Sultan of Oman
In reference to each of the following:
First: The Sultanic Decrees issued on February 26, 2011 to address the preparation of the statute of an independent authority for consumer protection, to study the feasibility of establishing cooperative societies, and to implement some adjustments to the system of student rewards.
Second: The two Sultanic Decrees No. 13/2011 and No. 14/2011 that stipulate amendments to the make-up of the cabinet.
We were extremely shocked to learn of the abovementioned orders and decrees. Out of national duty demanded by true citizenship and its responsibilities, we the undersigned would like to assert the following:
1- Our great disappointment to this weak response to legitimate and clear national demands that affect all aspects of political, civil, economic, and social life in our country. So far, you had received such demands on an individual basis, but you recently received them within a collective document from Oman’s children.
2- That this response confirms people’s claims that sectarian and tribal wings and currents are powerful and in control of national decision-making in the Sultanate; that such decision-making serves their private agenda and is based on maintaining and furthering their own employment and commercial interests even if they conflict with the interest of the homeland and its citizens. For example, nothing resulted from transferring the Minister of Trade and Industry to the portfolio of the Ministry of Transport and Communications, which already had the lion’s share of the eighth five-year plan, or the appointment of the current Minister of Tourism. Both ministers belong to the same current whose control over the nation’s resources has lasted for tens of years. The two decisions confirm this particular current’s control over the country’s sources of revenues and its future projects, as well as deciding how these revenues are spent. Until now, this current has had a tight grip over several ministries, namely that of Finance, Economy, Transportation and Communication, Tourism, and the Central Bank.
3- We condemn the reappointment of the same old faces, and shuffling them between different cabinet portfolios like a boring game of chess that is no longer acceptable by Omanis who are not only becoming increasingly aware of their rights and duties, but have transformed this awareness-derived from the people, not the government- to a strong will to peacefully protest for positive change as the ideal route to reform.
4- We reject conferring the term “charity” on the decisions that are being made regarding public, not private money. Such terms undermine the right of the people to national resources, a right conferred upon them by true citizenship, and thus, they should not be made to feel grateful for these decisions. This rejection further expands when it comes to the decisions regarding basic rights that are at the heart of the government’s national responsibilities towards citizens and which it should have executed but has long ignored.
5- We reject the short-term policy of “patching up” to resolve the rampant corruption that has spread like cancer in the government’s body. We demand that such policies be replaced by a structured approach that is sponsored by state institutions in partnership with civil society institutions that have proven their competence despite the government’s efforts to curb them or slow down their work.
6- We demand the formation of a national accountability committee to go after all those involved in corruption and have stood in the way of the government’s reform and development efforts, and we believe you know exactly who each of those are.
7- We demand that all security services, the police, and the military deal in a civil and respectful manner with all Omani protesters, for after all, they are their children and brothers who have lost hope and patience and all they seek is a dignified life, not just for themselves, but for Oman’s next generations.
Your majesty… we the undersigned, in light of the popular uprisings taking place in Sohar, Sur, and Salalah, and before this spreads further in response to the policies that the government and its ministers have adopted so far, we urge you to read these lines addressed to you carefully and with the same attention you have shown us in the past. We look forward to your wisdom to implement real and convincing structural reforms, which will include the regime’s political and economic infrastructure, taking into consideration the Omani people’s declining love for you. These words may be the last appeal to you from a people exhausted by the poor performance of this aging, servile government which has spared no effort to satisfy its private interests and has completely ignored the demands of this dear country’s people through its narrow-minded policies.
May God bless Oman and make it a safe, free, and independent country.
For a list of the signatories and latest developments on the protests in Oman, please visit this blog or this facebook page.
Your Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Saeed- Sultan of Oman
In reference to each of the following:
First: The Sultanic Decrees issued on February 26, 2011 to address the preparation of the statute of an independent authority for consumer protection, to study the feasibility of establishing cooperative societies, and to implement some adjustments to the system of student rewards.
Second: The two Sultanic Decrees No. 13/2011 and No. 14/2011 that stipulate amendments to the make-up of the cabinet.
We were extremely shocked to learn of the abovementioned orders and decrees. Out of national duty demanded by true citizenship and its responsibilities, we the undersigned would like to assert the following:
1- Our great disappointment to this weak response to legitimate and clear national demands that affect all aspects of political, civil, economic, and social life in our country. So far, you had received such demands on an individual basis, but you recently received them within a collective document from Oman’s children.
2- That this response confirms people’s claims that sectarian and tribal wings and currents are powerful and in control of national decision-making in the Sultanate; that such decision-making serves their private agenda and is based on maintaining and furthering their own employment and commercial interests even if they conflict with the interest of the homeland and its citizens. For example, nothing resulted from transferring the Minister of Trade and Industry to the portfolio of the Ministry of Transport and Communications, which already had the lion’s share of the eighth five-year plan, or the appointment of the current Minister of Tourism. Both ministers belong to the same current whose control over the nation’s resources has lasted for tens of years. The two decisions confirm this particular current’s control over the country’s sources of revenues and its future projects, as well as deciding how these revenues are spent. Until now, this current has had a tight grip over several ministries, namely that of Finance, Economy, Transportation and Communication, Tourism, and the Central Bank.
3- We condemn the reappointment of the same old faces, and shuffling them between different cabinet portfolios like a boring game of chess that is no longer acceptable by Omanis who are not only becoming increasingly aware of their rights and duties, but have transformed this awareness-derived from the people, not the government- to a strong will to peacefully protest for positive change as the ideal route to reform.
4- We reject conferring the term “charity” on the decisions that are being made regarding public, not private money. Such terms undermine the right of the people to national resources, a right conferred upon them by true citizenship, and thus, they should not be made to feel grateful for these decisions. This rejection further expands when it comes to the decisions regarding basic rights that are at the heart of the government’s national responsibilities towards citizens and which it should have executed but has long ignored.
5- We reject the short-term policy of “patching up” to resolve the rampant corruption that has spread like cancer in the government’s body. We demand that such policies be replaced by a structured approach that is sponsored by state institutions in partnership with civil society institutions that have proven their competence despite the government’s efforts to curb them or slow down their work.
6- We demand the formation of a national accountability committee to go after all those involved in corruption and have stood in the way of the government’s reform and development efforts, and we believe you know exactly who each of those are.
7- We demand that all security services, the police, and the military deal in a civil and respectful manner with all Omani protesters, for after all, they are their children and brothers who have lost hope and patience and all they seek is a dignified life, not just for themselves, but for Oman’s next generations.
Your majesty… we the undersigned, in light of the popular uprisings taking place in Sohar, Sur, and Salalah, and before this spreads further in response to the policies that the government and its ministers have adopted so far, we urge you to read these lines addressed to you carefully and with the same attention you have shown us in the past. We look forward to your wisdom to implement real and convincing structural reforms, which will include the regime’s political and economic infrastructure, taking into consideration the Omani people’s declining love for you. These words may be the last appeal to you from a people exhausted by the poor performance of this aging, servile government which has spared no effort to satisfy its private interests and has completely ignored the demands of this dear country’s people through its narrow-minded policies.
May God bless Oman and make it a safe, free, and independent country.
For a list of the signatories and latest developments on the protests in Oman, please visit this blog or this facebook page.