Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
04MUSCAT2180
2004-12-15 06:40:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Muscat
Cable title:  

BANNED WRITERS SPARK COMMENTARY

Tags:  PHUM PGOV MU 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MUSCAT 002180 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

NEA/ARPI, DRL/CRA (DDOLAN),DRL/PHD, NEA/PPD, NEA/PI

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV MU
SUBJECT: BANNED WRITERS SPARK COMMENTARY


-------
SUMMARY
-------

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MUSCAT 002180

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

NEA/ARPI, DRL/CRA (DDOLAN),DRL/PHD, NEA/PPD, NEA/PI

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV MU
SUBJECT: BANNED WRITERS SPARK COMMENTARY


--------------
SUMMARY
--------------


1. (SBU) Journalist Mohammed al-Harthi (protect) and writer
Abdullah al-Riyami (protect) have been barred from publishing
in all media and press in Oman for having criticized the pace
of democratic reform in the country. The ban includes the
withdrawal of al-Harthi's weekly column "Platforms" from the
Arabic daily "Oman." The government's action is receiving
attention in the Arabic and international media and has been
a topic of considerable discussion in the Omani Internet
chatroom Al-Sablah. The public's ire is focused on the
Ministry of Information (MOI),sparking calls for more
freedom of the press in Oman. END SUMMARY.

-------------- --------------
DISCUSSION ON DEMOCRATIC REFORM LEADS TO CENSORSHIP
-------------- --------------


2. (SBU) Abdullah al-Riyami and fellow writer Mohammed
al-Harthi were both banned from Omani media and press after
appearing via teleconference on a program aired last July on
Iran's Arabic language satellite channel Al-Alam. The
program, Under the Ashes, was on the subject of democratic
reform and political participation in Oman. The two writers
expressed their doubts about the Omani government's
willingness to begin genuine democratic reform, noting that
elections to the 83-member Majlis al-Shura (Consultative
Council) are "a mere superficial exercise" to improve the
government's image abroad. Furthermore, they attributed the
downward trend in voter turnout for the 2000 and 2003
elections to the people's rejection of a parliament that they
claim has no influence on government.


3. (SBU) In apparent reaction to their comments on Al-Alam
and other public criticisms of the government, the MOI issued
verbal instructions to all editors of press and media,
forbidding interviews or publication of the two writers.
(Note: Mohammed Abdul Khaled (protect),a journalist with
the privately owned Arabic daily "Al-Watan," confirmed that
he received a circular from the MOI informing him of the ban.
End note.) Al-Harthi's weekly column "Platforms" was
abruptly removed from the government-owned Arabic daily
"Oman". Al-Riyami, already blacklisted from publication in
the Sultanate for the past 10 years, became marginalized even
further as the new ban prohibits reporters from interviewing

him or covering any events in which he participates. Both
writers told Poloff that journalists, producers, and editors
confirmed the ban, and Al-Harthi recounted that the day after
his appearance on Al-Alam, his editor told him to "take a
break" instead of submitting his latest article. When
pressed further, the editor confirmed that he had been given
instructions not to publish al-Harthi's work.

--------------
BAN DRAWS INTERNATIONAL ATTENTION
--------------


4. (U) The two writers have garnered both local and
international support. Fellow journalists in opposition to
the ban withdrew their submissions to the "Oman" weekly
supplement for three weeks, forcing a suspension of its
publication. Kuwait's daily "Al-Taleea" has published
articles rebuking the Ministry's action. In addition, the
France-based Reporters Without Borders and Canada-based
Committee to Protect Journalists have also taken on the
cause, sending letters to the Embassy of Oman in Washington,
D.C. and publishing letters of protest on the Internet. Both
organizations have urged Oman to allow the national media the
freedom to interview the two writers to prove that political
modernization is under way in Oman. Contributors to the
Internet chatroom Al-Sablah, in the past often quite critical
of Mohammed al-Harthi's views, have rallied in support of the
writers and referred to the Ministry of Information as the
"Ministry of Hiding."

--------------
THE LIMITS OF EXPRESSION
--------------


6. (U) The discussion in Al-Sablah has once again brought to
the forefront the issue of freedom of expression, with
journalists questioning to what degree it exists in Oman.
Articles 29 and 31 of the Basic Statute (Oman's de facto
constitution) guarantee freedom of the press and expression,
but "within the limits of the law." Prohibition against
"anything leading to discord, harming state security, or
abusing human dignity" are vague and vulnerable to subjective
enforcement. Fellow journalists and contributors to
Al-Sablah commented that al-Harthi did not exceed the law by
saying anything negative about the government, but instead
offered a frank discussion of the law. In addition to
assessing the legalities of al-Harthi's comments,
contributors to Al-Sablah complain of excessive praising of
the ministries and the absence of critical analysis in the
newspapers.


7. (SBU) Controls on free speech extend to alleged
harassment and imprisonment of journalists. Al-Harthi and
al-Riyami told Poloff of several cases of writers who have
been subjected to arrest and interrogation after posting
critical comments on Al-Sablah. Al-Harthi also recounted the
story of Yahyai Salem al-Mantheri, a colleague who had been
brought in for questioning by the police after complaints by
some people that characters in a fictional story by the
writer appeared eerily close to their lives. There have been
unsubstantiated stories of journalists arrested without due
process, including the case of a Sudanese writer for the
local Arabic daily "Al-Watan" who, after writing something
critical of Oman, was subsequently expelled from the country.
Al-Harthi discussed this subject in his appearance on
Al-Alam, saying that the Oman press law, little changed since
1984, "gives the Ministry of Information the power to try and
jail journalists without having to explain itself to anyone."

--------------
ATTEMPT TO DISGUISE HISTORY
--------------


8. (SBU) Al-Harthi, winner of the UK-based Ibn Batuta Award
for Excellence in Media last year, asserts that the MOI has
operated as a security apparatus since the intellectual
movements leading up to the Dhofar Rebellion in the early
1970's. Al-Harthi and al-Riyami point to bans, harassment of
journalists, virtual lack of libraries and limited access to
history as the MOI's tools to suppress intellectuals who
challenge the lack of freedom in Oman. According to
al-Harthy, one prominent example is Musalem bin Nafl
al-Katheri, a Dhofar revolutionist turned government
supporter. Al-Katheri recently completed his memoirs
discussing the Dhofar Rebellion and his subsequent work in
the government. In what al-Riyami says is an attempt to hide
history, al-Katheri's book, "The Bleeding Wound," was banned
by the government. Before banning the book however, the
government approached al-Katheri to purchase all rights to
it. When al-Katheri declined, he was invited to his
relative's house in Muscat where Internal Security was
waiting for him. He was again offered an opportunity to sell
his rights to the government and again refused. Al-Katheri
was then brought in to see the head of the Royal Omani Police
where the Inspector General and two judges were waiting.
According to al-Riyami, al-Katheri had no lawyer present and
was summarily sentenced to three years in jail. Shortly
after sentencing, al-Katheri suffered a serious heart attack
and, after spending time in the hospital, had his sentenced
commuted.

--------------
COMMENT
--------------


9. (SBU) The ban on the two writers apparently has been
publicized abroad by fellow journalist/activist Mohammed
al-Yahyai. Currently a journalist with Al-Hurra in the
United States, al-Yahyai is himself reportedly banned from
work in Oman and is actively campaigning for freedom of press
in the Gulf region. Several sources told Poloff that they
believe the MOI's ban has backfired, and they expect some
revisions in the press law might be enacted in order to take
the issue out of the spotlight. Both banned writers feel
this incident may ultimately have a positive impact in Oman,
pointing to evidence that the government is taking discreet
steps toward loosening controls. For the past year, "Nizwa"
magazine was required to be submitted to the Information
Ministry for censorship prior to publication. Just recently,
the MOI released the magazine from this requirement and it
has since gone back to self-censorship. In another case of
apparent MOI easing, a professor at Sultan Qaboos University
(SQU) was barred from publishing a translation of "Memories
of Zanzibar." The book has now been ordered for publication
by the MOI.
BALTIMORE