Tuesday, March 1, 2011

The protests come to the capital of OMN

A thousand protesters yesterday blocked access to the port and the refinery in Sohar, Oman's third largest city, to demand political reforms, jobs and higher wages. The protest, which was repeated for a third day, also reached the capital, Muscat, where a hundred people gathered outside the headquarters of the Advisory Council calling for a cessation of violence against citizens in Sohar, which left the police intervention least two people dead on Sunday.

"We see the benefit of our oil distributed evenly among the population," shouted through a loudspeaker one of the demonstrators in Sohar, the agency said. Meanwhile, dozens of people looted a nearby supermarket was burnt the previous day by the police, two government buildings and several vehicles.

Although the concentration prevented the passage of trucks to the port and industrial area, a refinery spokesman said that the export was not affected. Oman draws an average of 850,000 barrels of oil daily, of which exports 584,000. Security forces set up checks on all access roads to Sohar, a city of 100,000 inhabitants, to isolate the protest and prevent them to join other disgruntled.

At the same time announcing that a high-level delegation would travel from Muscat to meet with the protesters. For now, they do not question the Sultan Qaboos, who for 40 years running the country with absolute power. However, the efforts made to address their discomfort does not get results.

Nothing more known incidents Sunday in Sohar, the king ordered the creation of 50,000 jobs in the public service, a subsidy of 150 rials (300 euros) for those seeking employment, plans to give more power to the Advisory Council, which elected by universal suffrage, but no legislative capacity, and the release of those arrested in demonstrations.

The protest continues. "Black Sunday in Sohar," he dared to title the Daily Muscat, the Sultanate's only independent newspaper, owned by major publishing group Apex. The rest of the media repeated the information from the official news agency, that the protesters "attacked the police," who "were forced to defend themselves, causing injuries." The Muscat Daily quoted a police spokesman established in two dead and 35 wounded the outcome of Sunday's clashes, revalidating the figure put forward by international agencies.

yesterday collected the testimony of an unidentified doctor rose to six dead. In turn, the Omani Minister of Health said it had one dead and 20 injured. The newspaper, which runs the liberal Zaquani Saleh, illustrated the story on the cover with a picture of the rotunda of the Bola del Mundo, which are two columns of black smoke from burning buildings the day before and several signals vandalized traffic.

Its correspondent in Sohar estimated between 1,500 and 2,000 participants in the protests. Meanwhile, west of Oman is increasing pressure to resign Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen to the presidency. Tens of thousands of Yemenis returned to emerge across the country yesterday, shouting "No dialogue, no dialogue.

The only option is that you go." Attentive to the message of the street, the Joint Forum, which groups the opposition parties rejected the invitation Saleh to form a national unity government, which at the beginning of the protests would have satisfied. But as the mobilization for change has been expanding its social and geographical base, parties have to compromise.

During a meeting at the presidential palace, Saleh told a representation of ulama who would announce a national unity government within 24 hours, according to Al Jazeera. The Yemeni leader said that if the opposition did not accept to participate, invite independent figures and that the new government would lay the groundwork for constitutional reforms.

But their good intentions too late. Opponents have called for a Day of Anger today, and 13 Aden and Hadramaut deputies have resigned in opposition to the crackdown on protests in those provinces in the south and east. They also demand the release of political prisoners.

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