Oman used to be a well kept secret.
Described as the ‘jewel of the Gulf’, a vibrant, beautiful country, Oman developed rapidly thanks to its vast oil supplies. Now it is making use of the many tourist opportunities available to it. Beautiful hotels have appeared along its shorelines and suddenly more people are visiting this special place.
However a brief encounter with a country only reveals the surface of a place.
Oman does not suffer from social poverty, high crime levels or other social problems such as drugs, homelessness or youth delinquency.
At least not outwardly.
Whilst it is true that Oman appears a safe country, it is also true that there are strict restrictions on what the Omani press is able to report.
The Telecommunication Act Article 61(3) makes it a criminal offence (punishable by jail time and/or fines) to publish anything “contrary to public order and common morals”. It has also been deemed illegal by the courts to criticise in print Government officials under (again, criminal not civil) general anti-defamation laws.
Surely any country would appear safe if its crime were not reported.
Everyone is aware of crime in the UK because of the abundance of stories in the UK press exposing it.
This attracts a different sort of criticism, such as accusations that the press is guilty of negative sensationalism in a shameless bid to sell content. Regardless, the UK press operates without restraints.
This freedom is unfortunately lacking in Oman’s press.
Bloggers in Oman’s community are beginning to challenge this. Anonymous and free from the censorship which stifles official news sources, these bloggers are bringing important issues to the public’s attention.
Muscat Confidential, The Muscatis and myitlawyer are blogs that discuss, amongst other things, rising corruption in the country.
These blogs are proof of how citizen journalism is helping to defeat efforts by authorities to control press freedom.
Lets now hope that Omantel, the country’s only current internet provider, does not block these sites.
If so, let other blogs be made to fill their place.
