VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHMS #0037/01 0200541
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 200541Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY MUSCAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1141
INFO GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L MUSCAT 000037 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/01/18 
TAGS: PREL KTIP PGOV YM IR MU
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES TIP, IRAN, AND YEMEN WITH TOP OMANI 
POLICE OFFICIAL 
 
REF: STATE 104654; MUSCAT 1035; MUSCAT 441 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Richard Schmierer, Ambassador, Department of State, 
Embassy Muscat; REASON: 1.4(B), (D) 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY: On December 22, Ambassador Schmierer met with the 
Inspector General of the Royal Oman Police (ROP), who also serves 
as head of the National Committee for Combating Human Trafficking, 
Lieutenant General Malik Al Ma'amari. The Deputy IG Muhammad bin 
Abdullah Al  Riyami and Public Relations Officer Abdullah Ali Al 
Harthy were also present. The meeting was primarily an introductory 
call, although the Ambassador inquired into several matters of 
substance, including trafficking in persons (TIP), Yemen, and Iran. 
Al Ma'amari recognized the need to address TIP and the Al Qaeda 
(AQ) threat in Yemen. (NOTE: The ROP has responsibility for customs 
and the Omani Coast Guard. END NOTE.) END SUMMARY. 
 
 
 
¶2. (C) TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS: Pursuant to ref A the Ambassador 
presented Al Ma'amari with the TIP Action Plan for Oman and 
inquired into current Omani efforts to combat TIP, including the 
issues of passport retention, a shelter/care center for TIP 
victims, and the ROP TIP website.  Al Ma'amari said that the TIP 
concept is still relatively new to Oman but that the government is 
working on addressing TIP related issues. In this context, he noted 
that judges need training on TIP as it is a foreign concept to 
traditional Omani jurisprudence. As to the issue of passport 
retention, which is still commonly practiced by Omani employers, Al 
Ma'amari recognized that this is a problem and suggested, as a 
solution, that the employees be allowed to retain their passports 
but be required to have a clearance document from their employer 
stating that the employee has permission to leave the country 
before they may board a plane at the airport. He emphasized the 
employers' concern that if they do not keep employees' passports, 
an employee would be free to steal/commit a crime and abscond, a 
common Omani fear. 
 
 
 
¶3. (C) TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS CONTINUED: The Ambassador then 
inquired about a shelter/care center for victims of TIP. Al 
Ma'amari stated that it remains incomplete as they are still 
constructing premises for families; he invited Embassy personnel to 
tour it when it is complete. The ROP is continuing to use a villa 
in Muscat to house TIP victims. (NOTE: This conflicts with ref B 
reporting on Omani plans for a shelter. This likely reflects the 
internal struggle the Omanis are having to develop the best shelter 
solution for their very limited number of trafficking victims. END 
NOTE.) The final TIP topic addressed was the relatively new ROP TIP 
website. Al Harthy said that there were numerous reports/complaints 
made using the ROP TIP reporting website, but that most of the 
reports are about labor disputes and not TIP related. Al Harthy 
noted that over a one hour period there is an average of 50 logons 
(NOTE: It was not clear if this is during peak hours. END NOTE). Al 
Ma'amari and Al Harthy said that most of these cases are resolved 
through mediation, which the ROP is tracking. Al Harthy also said 
that in April or May 2010 a report with TIP statistics, including 
number of TIP cases charged, prosecuted, convicted and sentenced, 
will be published by the ROP. 
 
 
 
4.(C) YEMEN: When the Ambassador asked about the ROP's concerns 
regarding the present situation in Yemen,  Al Ma'amari's response 
was "you know more than us." Expressing a personal view, he said 
that he doesn't know which Yemen is better: one that is fragmented, 
or unified. In particular, he mentioned the worsening condition in 
the South, for which he blames the Yemeni government, as it 
provides no services/aid. He said that it would be good to put 
pressure on the Yemeni President to give aid to the South. He also 
noted that two AQ operatives and 30 civilians were killed in a 
targeted attack earlier in the week and that it is hard to 
distinguish between "honest people" and AQ operatives. Al Ma'amari 
also complained that the ROP oftentimes has to feed and clothe 
Somalis, Djiboutis, Ethiopians, and Sudanese who pass through Oman 
from Yemen on their way to regional economic hubs. 
 
 
 
¶5. (C) IRAN: The Ambassador probed into the recent Iran-Oman 
security agreement (ref C) regarding smuggling, but Al Ma'amari 
either did not pick up on the exact nature of the question, or was 
unwilling to discuss specifics, as he talked about tangential 
issues. He said that it is difficult to for Oman and Iran to keep 
track of the Afghanis and Pakistanis crossing into Oman via Iran, 
as the smuggling (human, drugs, and arms) is controlled by gangs. 
He noted the difficulty for the ROP in distinguishing between 
 
 
fishermen and smugglers, as they use the same type of boat (thus 
requiring that each boat be physically searched by the ROP), but 
that the ROP is using Omani fishermen as informants as part of its 
interdiction efforts. Al Ma'amari was also hopeful that the Omani 
Coast Guard "will be strengthened." 
 
 
 
¶6. (C) COMMENT: Al Ma'amari was cooperative, but in several 
instances relied on Al Harthy for answers to the Ambassador's 
questions. Al Ma'amari's suggestion of a clearance document as a 
solution to the current practice of passport retention is 
indicative of his recognition that passport retention is a key TIP 
issue. Post will continue to follow-up with the Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs and the Ministry of Manpower on this issue. END COMMENT. 
Schmierer