The Eyes on Egypt and the Region group is providing breaking news and discussion of present events of the revolutionary conflicts in North Africa and the Middle East in its diary series Witnessing Revolution. Along with that initiative we are also providing background and analysis on the region to provide a context for the daily news. The previous diaries in this background series are:
A Region in Protest and Revolt
Will Arab Nationalism Shape the Course of the Reviolutions?
Saudi Arabia Background
In the last diary we looked at Saudi Arabia and the many national and international tensions of which it is the focus. It seems very useful to move to looking at the immediate neighbors of SA where revolutionary demonstrations and upheaval are already taking place. There are important political and ethnic interconnections that need to be explored.
When compared with its neighbor Saudi Arabia, the Sultanate of Oman looks almost like a garden of progressive political ideology. From CIA World Factbook
The inhabitants of the area of Oman have long prospered on Indian Ocean trade. In the late 18th century, a newly established sultanate in Muscat signed the first in a series of friendship treaties with Britain. Over time, Oman's dependence on British political and military advisors increased, but it never became a British colony. In 1970, QABOOS bin Said Al-Said overthrew the restrictive rule of his father; he has ruled as sultan ever since. His extensive modernization program has opened the country to the outside world while preserving the longstanding close ties with the UK. Oman's moderate, independent foreign policy has sought to maintain good relations with all Middle Eastern countries.
Legal system: based on English common law and Islamic law; ultimate appeal to the monarch.
Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal; note - members of the military and security forces are not allowed to vote.
Legislative branch: bicameral Majlis Oman consists of Majlis al-Dawla or upper chamber (71 seats; members appointed by the monarch; has only advisory powers and Majlis al-Shura or lower chamber (84 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms; body has only advisory powers)
elections: last held on 27 October 2007 (next to be held in 2011)
election results: new candidates won 46 seats and 38 members of the outgoing Majlis kept their positions; none of the 20 female candidates was elected
Oman is an Islamic nation. However a large majority of the population adhere to the Ibadhi branch of Islam. It is neither Sunni nor Shia. It is derived from the Khariji tradition. There are two major tribal groups, the Hinawis, representing the South Arabian branch and the Ghaffiris who are of North Arabian stock.
They have oil reserves of about 5 B barrels which are viewed as being on the decline. The country's location on the tip of the Arabian peninsula at the opening to the Persian Gulf is one of great strategic importance. Sultan Qaboos has introduced a series of five year economic development plans which have aimed for a more diversified economy. Oman entered into a free trade agreement with the US in 2009.
The country has a national labor force of slightly less than a million people. About 60% of the force is comprised of non-national migrants from South Asian countries. Much of the 40% of national workers are still engaged in traditional occupations of subsistence agriculture and fishing. Unemployment is estimated at 15% and there is an inflation rate of 4%. (CIA WFB).
There have now been protest marches in several cities in Oman with police making forceful attempts to suppress them. Some deaths have resulted from these confrontations. What are they upset about? The issues seem to be economic and political. The demands reflected in the protest signs include:
More jobs
Higher Salaries
Freedom of expression for the media
Changes in the Sultan's absolute political power
Control of corruption
The sultan promised 50,000 jobs, unemployment benefits of $390 per month and to consider widening the power of a quasi-parliamentary advisory council. What we see here is a similar pattern of economic tensions induced by neoliberal globalization. Oil money flows into the economy but is diverted to the benefit of a corrupt elite instead of actually producing the kind of economy which creates a prosperous middle class.
This is all pretty similar to the pattern of protests and attempts at appeasement that is going on all over the region. Conditions and protest in Oman are certainly not as intense and violent as they have been in other places such as Libya. However, they take on a greater importance because in conjunction with the conflicts in Yemen and Bahrain they amplify the pressure on Saudi Arabia. The Arabian peninsula is where the bulk of the Persian Gulf oil is. It is a perennially critical world economic and political hot spot. Events and developments there will have major global reverberations.