Oman Daily Observer - Controversy

Controversy

The managing editor for several years of the Oman Daily Observer was Maurice Gent, an Irish journalist with experience working on Fleet Street, at The Daily Telegraph and the Financial Times, and at the BBC. On 15 June 2004, Gent was dismissed as managing editor by the Observer's owners, the Oman Establishment for Press, News Publication and Advertising (OEPNPA). Market rumour was that Gent was a victim of Omanization, but an article in the Kerala Monitor exposed alleged disquiet in Oman at Gent's editorial interference although as editor, this was his job, in particular through a front page article he wrote allegedly defending the former chief executive officer of the National Bank of Oman, Aubyn Hill, who had recently been deported from Oman under the accusation for fraud.

it s likely that the article in the Kerala Monitor was instigated by colleagues with a personal, unfounded grudge.

On 23 August 2009, the Observer published "A co-ordinated transport plan for Oman", an article by Gent on TransOman, a transport, shipping and logistics show organised by Oman International Trade and Exhibitions. The introduction to the article stated that Gent had been with the Observer for 10 years, and that the article was the first in a weekly series, appearing on Sundays. The Observer subsequently published two more articles by Gent in the series, and various other articles in Gent's TransOman Notebook column throughout late 2009, including an article on Khimji Ramdas, the main enterprise of the Khimji family.