Monday, February 28, 2011

Protesters in Oman set supermarket ablaze

"Demonstrators set a Lulu supermarket ablaze and rallied at two places in this Omani seaside town yesterday in a third consecutive day of clashes.

About 1,000 protesters blocked the entrances to the Sohar Industrial Area, home to the sultanate's major industries, demanding jobs, witnesses said."

The Sultan is reponding: "The sultan of Oman has ordered the hiring of 50,000 citizens in the wake of protests over the weekend that left at least one person dead and 11 others injured."

Read more: http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7023954013?Sultan%20of%20Oman%20orders%20hiring%20of%20tens%20of%20thousands#ixzz1FIaIueMc


I was going to write the other day about Oman and how peaceful it is. My parents visited Oman a few years ago and they loved it. They said it was so clean and beautiful! So I was a little surprised to read the other day about protests in Oman. I thought everybody loved the Sultan of Oman.

Oman is vital to US interests even more than Bahrain. The Strait of Hormuz is just 54 kilometers wide at its narrowest.

2 comments :

Maury said...

Unemployment is sky high in every Arab country. It makes no sense in these rich gulf states, because imported laborors usually outnumber citizens. Even Libya, with 30% unemployed, imported everything from construction labor to oilfield workers. Hundreds of thousands of foreign workers.

That said, it's hard to sympathize with protesters who set supermarkets ablaze.

Maury said...

SOHAR, Oman – Protesters set a supermarket ablaze and rallied at two places in this seaside town on Monday in a third consecutive day of unrest that has included deadly clashes in the strategic Gulf nation.

By late afternoon, protests spread to Sohar's port — Oman's second largest. Witnesses said about 500 protesters blocked trucks from entering the port, about 8 miles (12 kilometers) from protest's focal point at the roundabout.

Police did not respond to Monday's protests, witnesses said.

State media reported Sohar's civilian guards, including members of women's associations, repelled protesters' attempts to set fire to a health center and several commercial sites.

A high-level delegation planned to travel to Sohar to meet with protesters, who on Sunday set fire to cars, a police station and the governor's residence.

http://tinyurl.com/463hahr


These are just punk ass mobs. They just want to loot and burn. Bahrain has 100's of thousands of peaceful protesters. Protesters with legitimate grievances and demands. Oman has a few thousand thugs trying to take advantage of the situation.