OMAN ONLINE: DOLLARS AND DISTORTIONS

UNCLAS MUSCAT 000149

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARP (TROBERTS),NEA/PPD (CWHITTLESEY),NEA/P
(FFINVER),IIP/G/NEA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KPAO SOCI MU
SUBJECT: OMAN ONLINE: DOLLARS AND DISTORTIONS



1. Summary: The Omani Internet chat room "Sablat al-Arab" -- or
simply "Al-Sablah" -- is the liveliest and most comprehensive
Arabic-language forum for political and social discourse in the
country, touching on issues and personalities rarely addressed in
the conventional media. While not totally free, nor wholly
reflective of Omani public opinion, Al-Sablah nevertheless offers
a worthwhile window into the hot topics and unvarnished views of
the day. This edition of Oman Online contains the following
topics:

-- Decoupling the Omani rial from the dollar
-- Bad press from arrests

End summary.

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Decoupling from the Dollar
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2. Al-Sablah members have repeatedly called upon the government
to decouple the Omani rial from the U.S. dollar. Participants
argue that the rial is negatively impacted by the decreased value
of the dollar. One Al-Sablah subscriber wrote, "The value of our
rial is being dragged down in world security markets because of
the weak American dollar." Many participants urged the
government to peg the rial to the Euro or link it to a basket of
currencies to protect its buying power. Another member stated,
"Although linking the rial to the dollar made sense in the 1980's
when oil prices were low, it does not make sense now. The
government should take the bold step of separating our currency
from the dollar." Other participants demanded that the
government justify any decision to keep the rial pegged to the
dollar. One stated, "The falling U.S. dollar will cause an
economic crisis in Oman. What will the Minister of National
Economy do to prevent this?" Another participant provided an
explanation of why the rial is pegged to the dollar, "We should
note that the rial is linked to the dollar because most oil
exports are sold in dollars. This is an important point to keep
in mind."

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Accusations of Abuse
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3. The broadcast media ran several reports on the arrest of local
religious leaders and police raids on their homes. The Paris-
based Arab Committee for Human Rights also issued a statement
describing the incidents. Al-Sablah members commented, "Why
would organizations like the Arab Committee for Human Rights care
about these Omanis when hundreds of our brothers in Palestine and
Iraq are suffering?" Several participants expressed sadness that
negative stories about Oman are finding their way into the media.
"After a long period of being ignored by the international media,
there is now one bad story about Oman after another. When it
comes to Oman, the media only seems interested in stories about
bans on journalists or human rights abuses." One participant
wrote, "It seems the world has only now become aware that there
are human rights violations in this country. If high profile
scholars had been the victims of human rights violations earlier,
perhaps the world would have seen the problem years ago."
Another member stated, "The government should act quickly to
explain the reason for its actions to restore public confidence."

BALTIMORE