The Hindu : International : Steps to release Indians from camp

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 12, 2006

International

International

Steps to release Indians from camp

Atul Aneja

Oman's crackdown on criminal gangs

DUBAI: The massive security crackdown by the Government of Oman, following a spurt in criminal activity in the southern parts of the country, has affected a section of the Indian population.

Diplomatic sources told The Hindu that there had been a sudden surge in criminal activity in areas of southern Oman, which are close to the border with Yemen. Many of those involved in such acts were nationals from Yemen and Somalia. This jolted the Omani authorities, as it is well known that parts of Yemen and Somalia have been affected by Al Qaeda activity. In fact, Islamic militants took control of the Somali capital Mogadishu on June 5, further inflaming the situation. There was, therefore, a perception in official circles that because of its strategic location, there was a risk of Oman emerging as a gateway for the spread of terrorism in the Gulf.

In the crackdown that was launched to identify illegal immigrants, Indians, including a significant number of Keralites, have been affected. Over a thousand Indians, along with the nationals from other countries have been lodged in the Iski desert camp in central Oman. Another similar camp near the Omani port of Salalah has also been opened.

Indian Embassy officials have opened their post inside the Iski camp and efforts are under way to send the inmates home, once their Indian identity is firmly established.

According to sources, there are three categories of Indians who have been affected. There are those who have been staying illegally, but had not availed themselves of an earlier offer by the Omani Government to leave the country without any payment of fines. Some of these individuals have now been rounded up.

Nevertheless, they would be allowed to leave the country without payment of any dues. There are some others who had availed of the Omani offer, and had registered their names for deportation with the Indian Embassy in Muscat. However, they were unable to leave because of heavy administrative workload.

There is a third category who have been "misidentified" as illegal because of their inability to produce the documentation validating their stay at the time of detention.

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