Several political parties are outraged that Queen Beatrix and Crown Prince Willem-Alexander’s visit to Oman will go ahead, despite an earlier announcement that it had been postponed after concerns were voiced in parliament.

The opposition Labour party denounced the decision as “unwise”, saying the distinction between a state visit and a private visit was artificial and unconvincing. The Queen may now unwittingly get embroiled in Oman’s internal affairs, the Labour party warned.

On Friday, Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal informed parliament that the Royal Family had accepted a private invitation by Omani Sultan Qaboos bin Said al-Said for a dinner on Tuesday. Last Tuesday, however, the government information service had announced that a state visit had been postponed due to the political unrest in Oman.

Shared concerns
PVV leader Geert Wilders, who backs the government in parliament, described the decision as “very stupid”. The opposition Green Party spoke of a “messy and questionable” move, which could be seen as support for the sultan. The Green Party has requested an emergency debate with Foreign Minister Rosenthal and Prime Minister Mark Rutte this week.

The past week has seen several demonstrations against the authoritarian rule of sultan Qaboos. As a result, a number of parties had urged Prime Minister Rutte to postpone the state visit. Mr Rutte responded by saying that postponing the visit could be interpreted as taking sides in Oman’s internal affairs. Accepting the sultan’s invitation, he argued, would go some way to avoid such a view.

Unwise or "very wise"?
After extensively discussing the issue with the Queen, Mr Rutte said he had concluded it would be “very wise” to accept the personal invitation by the sultan. Whatever parliament thinks, he stressed, it can do nothing to change the decision, as it is a matter between him and the Queen.

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