The Omani Uprising was a series of protests and strikes in Oman over cost of living, corruption, high unemployment, low wages and a desire for greater democracy in 2011. It was part of the Arab Spring and a wider global wave of revolts from 2010 to 2014.
Background
After decolonisation by the British Empire in 1962, Oman effectively became an Islamic kingdom running off oil. The government heavily restricted women's rights, civil liberties and democracy. Combined with eventual economic stagnation with high unemployment and a rising cost of living, the country was ripe for revolution.
Events
The 17th of January march of about 200 Omanians occurred soon after the successful campaign in Tunisia to remove President Zine Al Abidine Bin Ali. This first action was held to demonstrate against corruption in the government and the cost of food. Police did not attempt to stop the march. On the 18th of February, after unrest increased in Bahrain, 350 people marched, this time demanding both an end to corruption and a more fair distribution of oil revenue; these protesters did not directly oppose the Sultan of Oman and police again did not attempt to stop the protest.
On the 26th of February, protests spread to Sohar, where 500 demonstrators blockaded a shopping mall. The next day, the 27th of February, protesters forced the closure of the Earth Roundabout to traffic by staging an occupation and blocking every access point to the main junction in the industrial port city. This occupation continued until the last day of strikes and protests. Protesters elsewhere in Sohar, however, who had been cordoned off by security forces, threw stones at police, who responded by using tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd. Witnesses report that two protesters were killed but the state would later claim that only one protester died. On the 28th of February in Sohar, protesters blockaded the Port of Oman and looted and burned a market. Omani army soldiers and tanks dispersed the blockade without opening fire. On the 1st of March in Muscat, approximately 50 demonstrators held a sit-in at the Consultative Assembly of Oman. The group grew to over 400 protesters. This was a well-organized sit-in including a tent camp with separate areas for men and women. A counter-protest was held the same day in Muscat in support of the Sultan, although it is not entirely clear how many of the demonstrators in that group were there voluntarily, as many were government workers. Large motorcades also regularly drove through the city in support of the government.
Meanwhile in Sohar, a vigil was held outside of a police station in which two protesters were being held as the occupation and blockade of the Globe Roundabout continued. On the 5th of March oil workers in Haima, a key oil region, began a sit-in demanding more investment in the region. On the 6th of March about 200 workers staged a protest at Oman Air in Muscat. They demanded a wage increase. Some workers called in sick, while others refused to work after arriving at their offices. One hundred protesters arrived outside the airline’s headquarters to protest in solidarity with the Oman Air workers. Walkouts and protests also occurred daily at Oman International Bank, Oman Investment Finance Company, and Muscat’s government-owned Intercontinental Hotel. The staff of Oman International Bank and Oman Investment and Finance Company staged a walkout in the morning and stood in silent protest in front of their offices. They wanted higher pay and additional overtime. Demonstrations spread throughout Muscat and then to the towns of Sur, Salalah, and Al Buraimi.
Two days later workers went on strike at Bank Muscat and succeeded in obtaining concessions and an increased salary on 13 March. On the 15th of March the oil workers at Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) went on strike to demand higher wages. 400 workers protested and held up placards outside of PDO headquarters in Muscat. Protesters also stopped work for several hours at the Marmul oil field and the Karn Al Alam gas field. On the 16th of March the oil and gas workers' protests and work stoppages continued. On the 17th of March over 1,000 strikers went from unit to unit at Rusayl Industrial Estate and forced all of its 150 units to stop their work. They demanded a 300-rial minimum wage, five-day work weeks, and Eid holidays off from work. Protesters also blockaded access to the estate with objects they had brought. The protests stopped production as well as transport of goods in and out of the estate. Security personnel from Oman's Security and Safety Services also blocked the main Sultan Qaboos Highway opposite the Muscat International Airport in a protest of their own. Students at Sohar College blocked expatriate teaching staff from entering the premises and demanded lower passing grades.
On the 20th of March about 200 workers at two oil refineries went on strike to demand higher wages. Protesters at the refineries stated that they wanted higher pay, better pension, training, regular promotions, and more Omanis in the management team. On the 28th of March mass media reported that dozens of youths had been holding a daily vigil throughout the course of the strikes in a square near the offices of Oman's Consultative Council. Protesters also camped out nightly in front of the parliament building in Muscat, outside the governor's office in Salalah, and in Sohar. On the 30th of March police used tear gas, rubber bullets, and baton beatings to clear about 100 protesters from the blockaded roundabouts in Sohar. Police made arrests of 57 protesters. The next day, hundred of people took to the streets, some beginning a sit-in, in protest of the arrests and police brutality. The police responded again with violence, though the Omani government claimed they were acting in self-defense against knife- or stone-wielding protesters, killing one protester, injuring several others, and arresting as many as a hundred more. On the 3rd of April, Government authorities released the detained protesters after questioning..
Scattered protests continued throughout the country, but the most significant action occurred in Salalah, where, on the 6th of May, hundreds of protesters took to the streets and bolstered protest camps. Large protests had occurred in Salalah every Friday after prayer for four weeks. On the 12th May, police cleared a camp, arresting as many as a hundred protesters. On the 13th of May and into the 14th May, police and army forces used baton beatings and tear gas to disperse and arrest many of the remaining protesters.
Results
Although the uprising failed to secure representative democracy in Oman, it did trigger economic reforms such as:
- Increasing job creation and unemployment relief programs
- Wage increases and infrastructure upgrades
- Decentralisation of some government functions, reducing corruption
- Doubling of state pensions
- The creation of a second public university
- Creating the first Islamic bank
References
Wikipedia - 2011 Omani protests
Global Nonviolent Action Database - Omanis make economic gains, press for democracy 2011