[oman-l] Survival of this list ...

[Abdulla Baabood]

Having seen the exchange created by the Hussani article which I had posted
fewdays ago I thought I should write to clarify some points.

I had seen the said article on the Saudi List, which I believe is a sister
list and managed by the same manager, and thought that it could be of
interest to (some) on the Oman List. I apologise if my posting of the
article has upset anylist member or has gone beyond the objectives of the
list. I thought that the article could create a reaction and some activity
of the list! I had realised before posting it that it was not going to be
appreciated by everyone, which is quite natural. It is also quite natural
for the list manager to restrict posting to items related to Oman and not
go beyond the list objectives.



Perhaps, it would be a good idea to remind us all of the list objectives
as the term "related to Oman" could be interpreted in a very wide sense. I
noticed that one of the subscribers (Edgar Cook) objected to the
discussion of politics on the list. Is it politics in general that is
objectionable or the non-Omani related issues (e.g.Palestinian-Israeli
problem)? 

I also observed that Tommy Back and Abdulrahman Alharthy have Infact
thought that it could be a good idea to discuss politics and indeed the
Arab-Israeli issue. They both thought that Oman is more than the natural
beauty that we wholove Oman have really enjoyed but it's also about people
and their feelings. 

Tommy is right,the Arab-Israeli conflict looms large in the political 
discourse in the region including Oman. The Omanies are Gulf Arabs who are
affected by the wider Arab issues. Palestinians are our Arab brothers and
we would like to see an end to thier plight and suffering. I am sure that
all of you would like to see an end to hostilities and violance in the
Middle East and have instead peace, tranquility and development.

Oman has been very courageous supporting peace in the Middle East
and is playing a role in nudging the peace process forward. Oman was the
only Arab country that supported the Camp David Accord and is supporting
the Madrid and Oslo Agreements. Infact, as Alharthy had mentioned Oman has
reciprocated with Israel the opening of trade missions and an Israeli
trade office is still in operational in Oman. Oman had withdrawn its trade
representative from Tel Aviv for some time and does not intend to send one
in the foreseeable future due to the present Israeli government
policies. Oman has also hosted many Israeli delegates including the late
Israeli prime minister Rabin and many Israeli companies have visited Oman
and participated in exhibitions and trade fairs. There is also the Middle
East Water desalination centre which Oman has hosted and which came as
part of the peace process and has Israeli investment and participation. 

I think that Oman has played its share in reconciling differences and
bringing peace to the Middle East but unfortunately the present Israeli
Lekud-led government, through its obstinate policies has thrown away all
the efforts to bring about a peaceful Middle East that we all long for.
Infact, the extremists policies of the Israeli government with regards to
renouncing its international obligations and agreement with the
continuation of the building illegal settlements in disputed Arab lands,
and the Arab-East Jerusalem as well as procrastination on redeployment in
the West  Bank, has embarrassed those Arab's who wanted peace and thought
that they could deal with Israel. It has also embarrassed many of Israel's
friends and allies including the US and Europe. The planned Arab Summit,
called for due to Israeli failure to accept its international agreements
and the stalemate in peace negotiations, will put much pressure on Arab
countries that have signed and/or supported peace with Israel
(such as the Palestinian Authority, Jordan, Egypt-which has a cold peace
with Israel-, Qatar and Oman) to call off any rapprochement with Israel. A
move that the Arabs felt they should do because Isreal is not serious
about peace (not under the present government anyway) that could only
drive the two sides apart and make peace more difficult to achieve. This
could only creat more tension and violance in the Middle East.

Isreal has to be reminded that it cannot have everything because its
powerful. It can not have peace while Arab lands are still occupied and
Palestinians are still without home. Israel has to be reminded that it has
done a lot of bad things to the Palestinians and need to live to correct
these bad deads (some of which came in the Hussaini article which I posted
earlier). The Arabs have chossen peace as thier strategic path for the
future and Israel has to take that chance with an open mind, otherwise the
Middle East is doomed with wars and tragidies.

I thought that such political developments in the region do concern Oman
beacuse of the feeling of the Omani people towards the misiries inflected
by the Isralis and the creation of the State of Isreal on the Palestinians 
and the because of the role the Omani's play in helping a peacful solution
to the Middle East conflict. I also thought that the Hussani article 
could perhaps add more interaction and exchange of views to what can
hardly be called an active list, despite the number of subscribers!. I
appreciate that discussing politics is not everyone's cup-of-tea, so as to
speak, but we do not all need to participate.There could be more than one  
topic posted that concern Oman (art, culture,history, tourism, sports,
economics, science, politics etc., etc.) for us to pick and choose.

Does this sound totally out of order?

Oman is a progressive, tolerant, peace-loving country... It's also
beautiful and the charm of its people make it very special. Could we make
this list the same? Could we also have other suggestions/postings to make
the list more active and medium to exchange views and ideas, instead of
just unsubscribing at the sight of the first article/posting that we
didi not like and/or agree with? or is it just futile to ask?

Thank you all for your patience. 


Abdulla