The Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman (in , PFLO) was a

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

and

Arab nationalist Arab nationalism () is a political ideology asserting that Arabs constitute a single nation. As a traditional nationalist ideology, it promotes Arab culture and civilization, celebrates Arab history, the Arabic language and Arabic literatur ...

revolutionary organisation in the Sultanate of

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

. It fought against the

Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

in the Dhofar Rebellion from the PFLO's foundation until the suppression of the insurgency in 1976.

Background

The main forerunner of the PFLO was the Dhofar Liberation Front (جبهة تحرير ظفار - ''Jabhat Tahrir Dhofar'', DLF) which was based in Dhofar, the southern province of Oman. It was founded in 1962 by the Dhofar Benevolent Society (DBS), the Dhofar Soldiers’ Organisation (DSO) and the local branch of the

Arab Nationalist Movement The Arab Nationalist Movement (, ''Harakat al-Qawmiyyin al-Arab''), also known as the Movement of Arab Nationalists and the Harakiyyin, was a pan-Arab nationalist organization influential in much of the Arab world, particularly within the Pales ...

(ANM) and began armed struggle in June 1965.

Formation of the Popular Front

In September 1968 the DLF was renamed the

Popular Front for the Liberation of the Occupied Arabian Gulf The Popular Front for the Liberation of the Occupied Arabian Gulf (, abbreviated PFLOAG), later renamed the Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman and the Arabian Gulf (), was a Marxist and Arab nationalist revolutionary organisation active in ...

(''al-Jabha ash-Sha'abiya li-Tahrir al-Khalij al-'Arabi al-Muhtal'', PFLOAG). Its members were inclined towards the leftist, Marxist-Leninist tendency in the ANM, and were also influenced by the revolutionary experience of neighbouring

South Yemen South Yemen, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, abbreviated to Democratic Yemen, was a country in South Arabia that existed in what is now southeast Yemen from 1967 until Yemeni unification, its unification with the Yemen A ...

. In June 1970 the

National Democratic Front for the Liberation of Oman and the Arabian Gulf The National Democratic Front for the Liberation of Oman and the Arabian Gulf (, abbreviated NDFLOAG) was a guerrilla movement in the Arabian Peninsula. NDFLOAG was formed in Iraq in 1969 by Omani students (primarily studying in Kuwait) and othe ...

(''al-Jabha al-Wataniya ad-Dimuqratiya li-Tahrir 'Uman wa-l-Khalij al-'Arabi'', NDFLOAG) was founded in the north of Oman. It merged with the PFLOAG in December 1971. The new organisation was called Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman and the Arabian Gulf (''al-Jabhah ash-Sha'abiyah li-Tahrir 'Uman wa-al-Khalij al-'Arabi'', PFLOAG). By 1973 reports surged that PFLOAG had formed clandestine cells within the

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...

armed forces.''The Gulf: Revolutionary Activity Spreads; U.S. and Clients Worried''. MERIP Reports, No. 19. (Aug., 1973), p. 17. The group took its later name, PFLO, in 1974 when the

Popular Front for the Liberation of Bahrain The Popular Front for the Liberation of Bahrain () was an underground political party in Bahrain with origins in the Arab Nationalist Movement. Its members were inclined towards the leftist Marxist trend within the ANM. It was created after the ...

(PFLB) was established as a separate organisation. The PFLO appears to have maintained some underground activity afterwards. The youth wing of PFLO was the Oman Youth Organization, and it published the Uman ath-Thawrah''

The Dhofar Rebellion

Upon its establishment, the PFLOAG became involved in the ongoing

Dhofar The Dhofar Governorate () is the largest of the 11 governorates in the Sultanate of Oman in terms of area. It lies in southern Oman, on the eastern border with Yemen's Al Mahrah Governorate and the southern border with Saudi Arabia's Easter ...

rebellion against Sultan Sa'id. It suffered a split in 1970 when some of its more right-wing members decided to accept the offer of an

amnesty Amnesty () is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power officially forgiving certain classes of people who are subject to trial but have not yet be ...

from the newly enthroned

Sultan Qaboos Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

. The new ruler was successful in pacifying most of Dhofar, with the help of considerable military and financial aid from the Western bloc, and by 1976 the rebellion was at an end.

The PFLO After 1976

In 1992, the party was renamed to Omani People's Democratic Front (''al-Jabhah ash-Sha'abiyah ad-Dimuqratiyah al-'Umaniyah'', PDFO) which struggles peacefully for

democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

. Its secretary general in 1992 was

Abdul Aziz al-Qadi Abdul (also transliterated as Abdal, Abdel, Abdil, Abdol, Abdool, or Abdoul; , ) is the most frequent transliteration of the combination of the Arabic word '' Abd'' (, meaning "Servant") and the definite prefix '' al / el'' (, meaning "the"). It ...

Sources

Omania.net discussion board (in Arabic)Nadyelfikr.net discussion board (in Arabic)
OnWar.com, December 16, 2000

References

{{Authority control 1974 establishments in Oman 1992 disestablishments in Oman Arab nationalism in Oman Arab nationalist militant groups Arab socialist organizations Communist parties in Oman Dhofar War Defunct organizations based in Oman National liberation movements Offshoots of the Arab Nationalist Movement Political parties disestablished in 1992 Political parties established in 1974 Popular fronts Paramilitary organizations based in Oman