Faris Al-Saqqaf: After 1994 War, Democracy Receded [Archives:2000/24/Law & Diplomacy]
In his address to the seminar of the Socialist Party on democracy held on June 4, Dr Faris Al-Saqqaf said democracy in Yemen was the product of external changes and alliance of the two ruling parties in 1990. We mean the pluralist democracy that gave way to establishment of political parties. The large-scale of press freedom was one of the aspects the democracy but unfortunately after the war of 1994, the democratic pursuit receded and its phenomena began to occupy narrower areas of application.
The democracy of 1990 was rather confined to the establishment of parties and margin of press freedom, while equal opportunities did not exist owing to the concentration of power, property and media and state institutions in the hands of first the two ruling parties and then the ruling party. Democracy here has not matured to the extent of peaceful transfer of power but the political forces are pinning hope that this matter could be realized by their peaceful struggle.
Rd added that before 1990 we talked about the absence of democracy and now we are speaking of incomplete democracy. This undoubtedly dictates on the opposition to stabilize the democratic culture and include it in educational curriculums in addition to reforming the constitutional and electoral system.
The political democratic attitudes of those who work in politics are moving on two directions. Some see the no avail of the projected democratic action because it establishes formality of democracy and gives legitimacy to a political system not capable of achieving democracy the way it should. The other trend sees it as a prelude to act and struggle within its boundary, though narrow it may be, to enlarge it and to rely on the time factor and change of people’s awareness and conduct. We are used to repeatedly talk about a critical vision or criticize the state or the political system while at the same time we care not about the political opposition.
The political opposition itself is suffering from problems. Frankly speaking, we speak out our demands from the political system and rulers, whereas we ourselves, in our parties, are not qualified as an instrument of change and do not possess the democratic specifications. Those who govern the parties are minorities encompassing groups within them. The parties are led by the symbol leader who represents the chief of the party. For more than three decades party leaderships remain the same. They have not been changed and have not conducted the transfer of party power and leadership. How can we demand the political regime or the ruling party of that while we do not practice it inside our organizations? We have to qualify ourselves, as instruments of democracy, for that.
The parties must be social, meaning to be closely connected with the society and its suffering, not only political . There are many issues and problems in our country , such as illiteracy and people’s living conditions. These areas are not seen as part of the political parties programs and are not part of their program of demands from the state.The society does not feel that these parties represent it. They are merely, as I earlier remarked, a reaction to the ruling party. They say the ruling party deals blows to democracy and tightens its grip against it, nevertheless when they were invited to a trip abroad, they responded positively. They respond to invitations and dialogues extended by the president but they go as listeners and without carrying a program or definite demands. The political parties are requested to actually revise and reconsider their slogans, political addresses and priorities, beginning from inside first.
Fares Al-Saqqaf, Future Studies Center
Oman: Renewal with Reason
written and illustrated by Dr. Hussein Shehadeh
The most important event in the modern history of the Sultanate of Oman was the take-over of power in a bloodless coup by the then 29 year-old Sultan Qaboos from his father on 23rd July 1970. That night is unforgettable to the Omanis, who danced joyfully in the streets, welcoming an era of vigor and vitality.
Sultan Qaboos bin Said meets you everywhere. His majesty waves and blinks in gold along the six-lane motorway from the airport to the capital, which just 29 years ago was trudged by camels and donkeys. In those days, Oman’s 300,000 square kilometers were served by less than 10 kilometers of asphalted roads. Today 5,600 kilometers of asphalt criss-cross the country.
Muscat looks to the sea at the foot of the cliffs reflected in the Gulf. Oman is clad in its best bib and tucker. Oman’s renaissance under Sultan Qaboos is celebrated for a whole week every November. On the hillsides, stylish modern houses have opened their jewel cases, gems cascade down the walls. Necklaces of emerald, scarlet and white adorn the skies in the country’s national colors.
All that has been achieved since 1970 can be attributed to Sultan Qaboos: the roads, more than a thousand schools and the university with their 500,000 students, all the health centers, hospitals, telecommunications, radio and TV stations, the international hotels, the motorways, domestic flights, oil riches, tourism, social and environmental developments.
“Before 1970 there was one school in Salalah, where I live,” says a 35-year-old Omani. ” We sat under a tree, just as boys, and read the Koran. Before 1970 we went to the mosque to pray for forgiveness for the ruler we had. Now we go there to invoking blessings for the Sultan’s good health and long life, God willing. Now I can send all my kids to schools, the girls included.”
When Sultan Qaboos wanted to set about building his nation he opened the doors to all his countrymen in exile, plus thousands of guest workers from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, the Philippines and Africa. Together, Oman’s 2.1 million inhabitants, of whom some 400,000 are foreigners, have brought about developments which in many respects are unique.
The Omanis rapidly acclimatized themselves to riches, and development continues unabated. This causes some concern so long as it remains uncertain where the next billions will come from. The oil reserves will last a while into the new millennium but Sultan Qaboos has long been talking of the need to prepare other economic legs to stand on.
The encouragement of private initiative and “Oman-ization” are the slogans these days. Omanis are already gradually taking over the jobs now held by foreigners. However, Western experts are still largely responsible for technical developments, while Indians, Pakistanis, Africans and Philippinos sweep the streets, serve in the hotels and drive the limousines.
Omanis look to their past when they pluck up the courage for a future with no guaranteed oil riches. They have worked hard, and have conquered the world before.
What astonishes first time visitors to Oman even more than the spectacular beaches, alpine mountain valleys, the fjord-like sunken valleys of the Musandam Peninsula jutting into the Gulf, and the forbidding inland deserts of shifting sands, is the care with which the country’s natural wonders and man-made conveniences are maintained. Oman’s major highways and its side roads have been broadened and well maintained. Its village houses have been modernized within rules which requires owners to maintain the contours and colors of traditional exteriors. And strict laws prohibit littering and regulate food preparation, water purity, and trash disposal to protect Oman’s residents and their tourist guests.
For formal occasions Omani men also wear outer robes in a variety of colors and a silver khanjar, a curved ceremonial dagger that is the mark of adulthood for all Omani males.
Unspoiled Oman is a tourist paradise. Oman’s leaders want to keep it that way and they will not be “stampeded into permitting a hedonistic Club Med atmosphere, although visitors who want a bottle of wine with their dinner or who enjoy a beer or a cocktail in their rooms or in a bar, will have no trouble in finding any of these things in Oman’s first class hotels. The preservation of tradition is not always an easy task when there are so many tempting attractions in the modern world. The Omanis are a rationally minded people, and the fear of eroding deeply rooted traditions and values are, in reality, quite remote. Unlike its neighbors in the Gulf region, Oman is a sea-faring nation that cultivated the land
From the very start the young Sultan tried to keep intact as much of Oman’s cultural inheritance as he could. He called upon the men to continue wearing their traditional dishdashas, their long white gowns. In their belts one still sees the symbol of masculinity, the khanjar, a curved Omani dagger in a richly decorated sheath.
Women in Oman now get an education and are actively urged by the Sultan to join the commercial community. Traditions are still honored, and especially in Bedouin camps you will see many women wearing traditional masks, or burqas.
This respect for tradition is paired with a sense of pride about progress. Omanis actually talk of a renaissance, restoration for their country to its former greatness. This enabled Oman to forge a reputation as a trading and seafaring nation at an early stage by virtue of its position between Asia and Africa and the monsoon winds.
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Hussein Shehadah is a Palestinian-born journalist and lecturer specializing in Arab culture and society in the Scandinavian countries. Dr. Shehadah has lived and worked in Denmark for more than 30 years.
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