US embassy cable - 04MUSCAT2180

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, Human Rights (General) 
SUBJECT: BANNED WRITERS SPARK COMMENTARY 
 
 
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SUMMARY 
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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. 
 
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DISCUSSION ON DEMOCRATIC REFORM LEADS TO CENSORSHIP 
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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. 
 
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BAN DRAWS INTERNATIONAL ATTENTION 
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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." 
 
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THE LIMITS OF EXPRESSION 
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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." 
 
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ATTEMPT TO DISGUISE HISTORY 
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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. 
 
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COMMENT 
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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