My Quotes on the National
A UAE newspaper called the National ran a story written by Saleh al Shaibany about media censorship in Oman (link), which to my surprise quotes me a couple of times in a manner that suggests that I was interviewed for this article. I did not know about my mention in this article, I clicked the link on Twitter and was surprised to see my name there.
I was not interviewed for this article and my quotes were taken out of context from a number of posts I have written in the past. Saleh al Shaibany never got in touch with me prior to the publication of this article. I do not agree with or support the opinions mentioned in this article.
In the post from which my second quote was taken I argued that that the government in Oman, unlike neighboring countries, does not in fact censor the internet on political grounds, as it relies instead of legal methods, such as the criminal law or breach of confidence, to prosecute the authors. Controversial websites that criticize government officials and those that leak confidential documents are still open the public. My post made it clear that the problem of censorship in Oman is due to random acts of Omantel and the inefficiency of the company. My other blog was blocked by mistake and not because of its content.
I am very upset about this whole experience. Any reasonable reader would think that I was interviewed for this article and that I am in support of the message behind it. I am very disappointed to see my quotes used out of context without any reference to where they were taken from.
I emailed the editor of The National and the head of the Foreign Desk at the paper. I’m still waiting for the response.
