1970 Omani coup d'état

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1970 Omani coup d'état

The al-Husn palace where the coup took place
Date23 July 1970
Location
Salalah, Oman
17°01′11″N 54°05′23″E / 17.01972°N 54.08972°E / 17.01972; 54.08972
Result

Coup successful

Belligerents
Muscat and Oman Oman Coup officers
 United Kingdom
Commanders and leaders
Said bin Taimur Oman Qaboos bin Said
United Kingdom John Graham
United Kingdom Hugh Oldman
Casualties and losses
1 wounded 1 wounded
1970 Omani coup is located in Oman
1970 Omani coup
1970 Omani coup
class=notpageimage|
Location within Oman

The 1970 Omani coup d'état was the overthrow of

longest-serving ruler in the Middle East
.

Background

Beginning at the end of the 19th century, Oman gradually came under the influence of the British Empire through a series of treaties and diplomatic arrangements. Eventually, the Omani Sultan became increasingly reliant on Britain for support and advice. The Sultanate's primary sources of revenue, notably the slave trade and arms dealing, were prohibited by the British, resulting in confrontations between the Omani authorities and tribesmen in the country's interior. These confrontations led to Oman seeking military support from the British who agreed to defend Sultan Faisal bin Turki from attempts at overthrowing him.[1]

In 1913, Sultan Taimur bin Feisal took the reins of Oman and brought back the kingdom to a more stable financial footing and quelled tribal unrest in the country.[2] He ruled until his abdication in 1932 at which point his eldest son, Said bin Taimur, took over as Sultan.

Under Sultan Said bin Taimur's rule, Oman became increasingly

Qaboos bin Said al Said, who was under house arrest per his father's orders, by placing voice messages in musical cassette tapes and informed him of the plan the government was concocting to topple his father. Qaboos agreed and the operation proceeded.[7][8]

Coup

On 23 July 1970, British-led military units were being put into position to topple the Sultan. Graham convened the top Arab commanders of the Desert Regiment, the main Omani unit that would carry out the coup, and informed them of the letter sent to them by Qaboos which "commanded" the British officers to carry out the coup. The meeting secured their loyalty and cooperation.[9][10]

The troops arrived at the al-Husn palace in

Arab troops in order to mask the extent of the involvement of the British in the operation. During the coup, Said bin Taimur shot Sheikh Braik Al Ghafri, a coup plotter and son of a prominent Omani governor in the stomach before accidentally shooting himself in the foot as he cocked his pistol. Said bin Taimur managed to briefly escape with a few confidantes and bodyguards down a series of hidden passageways and tunnels but was recaptured quickly. The wounded sultan urged his adviser to send an urgent message to Oldman informing him of the events that had transpired, which Oldman being a coup planner ignored.[9][10] The coup ended when Said bin Taimur signed a document of abdication, handing over the reins of the country to his son, Qaboos. Bin Taimur was flown out of the country on an RAF Bristol Britannia, first to Bahrain for medical treatment and then on to London where he lived the remaining two years of his life in a suite in The Dorchester, a luxury hotel.[11][12]

Aftermath

An oil rig in Oman, photographed in 1971.

Sultan

subsistence farming and fishing, and building modern infrastructure. Schools were built, the country was electrified, numerous roads were paved, and Western media ceased labeling the country as "medieval". Slavery in Oman was abolished, and by 1980, Oman had 28 hospitals, 363 schools, and 12,000 kilometers of paved roads.[14] In addition, the Majlis Al-Shura was established with the power to review legislation and call government ministers to meet with them.[15][16]

The success of the Dhofar War which was proving to be a formidable challenge for Oman was reversed with the removal of Taimur. Qaboos launched a concerted £400 million effort to modernize the Omani military, even founding a navy to protect the country's oil exports. The communist rebels gradually lost their foreign support bases in the Soviet Union and China after a string of military defeats. This, coupled with mounting international opposition to the rebellion including the deployment of Iranian troops in 1973 led to a final defeat of the rebels in 1976.[5] Internal unrest in Oman successfully ended owing to an initiative by Qaboos to include all ethnic and tribal groups into the administration of the country and granting amnesty for former rebels.[15][16]

The involvement of the

prime minister Edward Heath.[17] Contingency planning of the event showed that Qaboos would have been kept under the protection of British troops then flown out of the country should the coup have failed.[18]

References

  1. ^ Owtram, Francis (2014-12-11). "A Close Relationship: Britain and Oman since 1750". Qatar Digital Library. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
  2. ^ "7. Oman (1912-present)". UCA. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
  3. ^ Pike, John (2018-01-17). "The Insurgency In Oman, 1962-1976". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
  4. ISBN 978-0-230-37692-2
    .
  5. ^ a b Pike, John (2018-01-21). "The Insurgency In Oman, 1962-1976". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 2018-01-21.
  6. ISBN 978-1-84885-634-9
    .
  7. ISBN 978-1-60598-761-3
    .
  8. ^ Jones, Ridout, Jeremy, Nicholas (2015). A History of Modern Oman. Cambridge University Press. p. 146.
  9. ^
    ISBN 978-1-84596-831-1
    . Retrieved 2018-01-21.
  10. ^ a b Schmidt, Dana Adams (1970-09-05). "Coup in Oman: Out of Arabian Nights Into 20th Century". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
  11. ISBN 978-0-19-251561-2
    .
  12. ^ "Brigadier Tim Landon". July 11, 2007 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  13. ISBN 978-0-8047-5626-6
    . Retrieved 2018-01-18.
  14. ISBN 978-0-8047-5626-6
    . Retrieved 2018-01-18.
  15. ^ a b Vaidya, Sunil K.; Chief, Bureau (2011-10-21). "Oman's Sultan Qaboos gives larger role to Shura". GulfNews.com. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
  16. ^ a b "A Test for Oman and Its Sultan". The New Yorker. 2014-12-08. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
  17. ^ Cobain, Ian (2016-09-08). "Britain's secret wars". The Guardian. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
  18. ^ "Britain's coup in Oman, 1970". Mark Curtis. 2016-02-06. Retrieved 2018-01-21.
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