see url:
https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-04-20-colonialism-never-ended-the-elite-british-cabal-propping-up-a-gulf-dictatorship/
see full report...
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The elite UK group has included heads of MI6 and the military, a foreign
minister, an oil executive, the ex-governor of the Bank of England and
one of Queen Elizabeth’s closest aides.
Several of the UK advisers appear to have broken ministerial,
parliamentary or civil service transparency rules by not declaring their
services for a foreign head of state.
Revelations anger Omani pro-democracy activists who say it is
‘proof that British colonialism never ended’.
The repressive ruler of a close UK ally in the Gulf secretly received
decades of advice on security, foreign and economic policy from a group
of privy councillors who were drawn almost exclusively from the British
establishment, it has emerged.
Oman’s dictator, Sultan Qaboos, who ruled the country for 50 years from
1970 to 2020, was advised by a secret privy council right up until his
death last year.
The scheme appears to have been inspired by Britain’s privy council, the
oldest functioning legislative assembly in the UK, whose members advise
the Queen and have access to classified intelligence material.
Unlike the Queen who is a ceremonial monarch, Sultan Qaboos wielded
absolute power, banning political parties and independent media.
He spent billions of pounds on British weaponry and surveillance
equipment to fortify his regime, which is located on a key oil supply
route between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Now it has emerged that his top advisers included seven current and
former heads of MI6 and the UK military, a foreign office minister, a
British oil executive, the ex-governor of the Bank of England, a special
adviser to Princes William and Harry and one of Queen Elizabeth’s
closest aides.
Six of the group are members of the House of Lords. None of them appear
to have publicly registered their role on Oman’s privy council. The
House of Lords code of conduct requires members to register “all
relevant interests”, financial and non-financial. Failure to do so can
result in referral of the matter to the Commissioner for Standards.
Aside from Qaboos himself, only one other Omani would usually attend the
privy council meetings, whose existence was concealed from the Sultan’s
subjects.
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