Tuesday, March 08, 2011

Oman carried out its third government reshuffle in a month Monday, in the latest of a string of concessions aimed at appeasing protesters demanding jobs and political reforms in the Gulf Arab sultanate.
The latest concession comes as other Gulf states face political unrest including a major uprising against Bahrain’s monarchy and calls for pro-reform demonstrations this week in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

In Bahrain, pro-democracy activists protested at the U.S. Embassy Monday, calling for Washington to press the authorities for democratic reform after weeks of demonstrations.
Oman’s Sultan Qaboos bin Said issued decrees naming new ministers for the interior, commerce and other ministries, and replacing the economy ministry with a state committee, state media said. But he retained the foreign affairs and defense ministers, who have served more than two decades each.

Sultan Qaboos, in power since 1970, appointed Hamoud bin Faisal al-Bousaidi as interior minister and Saad bin Mohammed al-Saadi as commerce and industry minister.
Dozens of protesters staging a sit-in for a ninth day in front of the Shura Council, a quasi-parliamentary advisory body, cheered the news of the Cabinet reshuffle.

“The flushing out of old corrupt ministers and for some to be replaced by Shura members is at the top in our list of demands. We consider this as a major victory for us,” Faisal al-Ghabshi, a protester, told Reuters.
Around 200 staff of the flag carrier Oman Air, who started a strike Sunday for higher salaries, said they extended by a day a deadline after which they would try to ground flights.
“We have a new deadline on Tuesday at 4 p.m. to give the company more time. If no positive steps are taken we don’t fly,” said a cabin crew member Monday.

Usama al-Haremi, head of corporate communications at Oman Air, said: “Today, our board of directors had a meeting with our management team and they are serious in trying to resolve the problem.”
Speaking in Abu Dhabi, Oman’s Foreign Affairs Minister Youssef bin Alawi bin Abdullah said the country planned reforms which could include reducing the number of foreign workers.

“It’s clear now that we in Oman can do without several parts of the expatriate labor force in both the professional and technical field,” he said.
About 30 percent of Oman’s 2.7 million population are foreigners.

Oman’s unrest remains small compared with Gulf neighbor Bahrain where anti-government protests have entered their 22nd day Monday.

In Manama, dozens of activists gathered in front of the U.S. Embassy Monday morning, chanting slogans against Bahrain’s monarchy such as “The people want to topple the regime!”
U.S. Embassy political officer Ludovic Hood brought a box of doughnuts for the demonstrators as they gathered down the street from the embassy ahead of the protest rally.
“These sweets are a good gesture, but we hope it is translated into practical actions,” Mohammad Hassan, 35,  told Hood.

“The message we want to give is that this regime has to end, and the U.S. has to prove that it is with human rights, and the right for all people to decide [their] destiny,” Hassan said to Hood. “We are born free, and we want to live free.”

Hood told the demonstrators who clustered around him that the United States had a “strategic relationship” with the government of Bahrain which included dialogue on human rights.

“We’ve had a U.S. Navy presence here accepted by the great majority of people for many decades,” he said.
“But part of our ongoing engagement with the government is discussions on human rights and universal rights.”
He reiterated U.S. support for an initiative from the government for national dialogue.
On Monday afternoon, a crowd of demonstrators set out from Pearl Square and marched to the General Directorate of Criminal Investigation, where they met up with other protesters.
In an unrelated development, Bahraini Justice Minister Khaled bin Ali al-Khalifa arrived in Beirut Monday night on a private jet.

In Kuwait, youth groups will take to the streets Tuesday to demand the removal of the prime minister and for more political freedom.
“We will also distribute watermelons to lawmakers as they enter the parliament on Tuesday, as a symbol of chaos and discontent with their performance,” Mubarak Alhaza, a member of the Kafi [Enough] youth movement, told Reuters.
Shafiq Ghabra, a political science professor at Kuwait University, said he expected the protests Tuesday to be calmer than those that erupted in other Gulf states. – Agencies