Sunday, March 6, 2011

The Sultan of Oman appoints three ministers after protest

The Sultan of Oman, Qaboos bin Said, ordered the dismissal of three ministers and the immediate appointment of their replacements in a remodeling that occurs after popular protests last week in the country. The Sultan issued three decrees to appoint new officers of the Royal Household, the Office and the Royal Court Affairs, according to state news agency ONA, which gave no details.

On day 28, the Omani Minister of Health, Ahmed al-Saidi, said the government was considering the requests of the protesters, but always "expressing them in a legitimate manner," referring to protests in the days before city of Sohar, the epicenter of popular revolts in Oman. This week, government representatives met with some protesters listen to their requests.

Some of these demands are political reforms, measures to combat inflation, rising wages and freedom of information. Last Saturday, the Sultan Qaboos changed six ministers in his government's first remodeling. Furthermore, in the middle of last month, the sultanate has increased the salaries of public servants by 43 percent.

In the Sultanate of Oman, a former British colonies situated on the southeastern tip of the Arabian peninsula, and about three million people, political parties are banned.

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