Thousands protest in Oman

More than 3,000 protesters took to the streets after Friday prayers in Oman’s southern port of Salalah, making it one of the largest demonstrations since sporadic unrest began in the sultanate two months ago, reported Reuters.

Instead of conducting prayers in a mosque, the cleric Amer Hargan led them in a car park across the street from the governor’s office, where about 3,000 worshippers had gathered. They marched through the streets after listening to the Friday sermon.

“The Omani people are not afraid of protesting for as long as it takes for reform [to take effect]. First and foremost is to get government officials, who have been embezzling funds for years to stand trial,” Mr. Hargan told the crowd.

With no police in sight, the demonstration comes after more than three weeks when police quelled protesters in northern Oman.

They chanted slogans demanding a “reform of the regime” and for “holding the regime accountable” in an apparent reference to sacked ministers accused of corruption, Agence-France Presse reported.

Demonstrators have been staging a peaceful sit-in at the square in Salalah for the past several weeks in a number of tents that have been erected where some stay overnight.

The country’s ruler, Sultan Qaboos bin Said, a US ally who has ruled Oman for 40 years, promised a $2.6 billion spending package last Sunday after nearly two months of demonstrations inspired by popular uprisings that have spread across the Arab world.

Omani demonstrators have focused their demands on better wages, jobs and an end to graft. Many are angered by the state’s perceived reluctance to prosecute ministers sacked for corruption in response to demonstrations in February.

They are also impatient to see more employment opportunities, after the Sultan vowed last month to create 50,000 jobs.

“We are still waiting for the jobs we’ve been promised,” protester Seif al-Basaid told Reuters. “How long do we have to wait?”

Gulf Arab oil producers, keen to prevent popular uprisings from taking hold in their region, launched a $10 billion aid package each for Bahrain and Oman last month.

Oman, with a population of 3.02 million, is largely dependent on its oil resources, which are dwindling. Its GDP per capita is $25,800.

Last Wednesday, Sultan Qaboos pardoned 234 protestors arrested during demonstrations over the course of the last few weeks, Oman’s National Agency reported.

The 234 protestors “accused of vandalism and damages to private property during the demonstrations,” were pardoned, according to a statement from the state prosecutor.
However, the official agency did not report when they would be released or if they could face any charges.

Earlier in April, Oman’s prosecutor said that protestors had been detained but did not elaborate on the number. Activists said hundreds had been arrested during raids in their homes.

Protests began in Oman in February but have not been on the scale seen in other Arab nations. Dozens of protestors camped out in tents near the Shura Council in the capital Muscat. Their demands have focused on better wages, more jobs and an end to corruption.

Seven people have been killed in Sohar, according to doctors, since the protests began. The government, however, claims only two have died.

In March, the Sultan promised to give some legislative powers to the partially-elected Oman Council, an advisory body but those efforts have yet to take place.

(Dina Al-Shibeeb of Al Arabiya