Thu, Oct 31, 2019
Iraqi protestors unite behind demands, not sectarian identities
MENASource
by
Rana Abdulhadi
A general view of Tahrir Square as demonstrators take part in an anti-government protest in Baghdad, Iraq October 30, 2019. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani
Protests in Iraq are not new. At several
times during the past few years, the Iraqi people have taken to the streets
against corruption, unemployment, and poor public services. Every time, the
government promises reforms, and as soon as the protests end, these promises are
forgotten. On October 1, thousands of Iraqi people began protesting and demanding
better living conditions. They filled the streets of Baghdad and many other
cities—especially Shia ones—including Najaf, Nasiriya, and Diwaniya.
What’s different this time
Unlike before, these spontaneous protests
took the government by surprise and, more importantly, they were not led by political
or religious leaders like past protests. However, these differences may have led
the security forces to believe they could act with impunity to put down the
protests with force since the demonstrators lacked a central organization or
the protection of a strong leader. When security forces used water cannons,
tear gas, and live ammunition against the protesters and unidentified snipers targeted
them as well, hundreds were killed and several thousand injured. Meanwhile, Iraqi
Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi in a televised speech promised
to put an end to corruption in two weeks and respond to the protesters’ “rightful
demands and…to every legitimate request.”
Unfortunately, the Abdul-Mahdi government failed
to take responsibility and bring justice to those who died in the demonstrations.
The report
investigating the deaths issued by a government-formed committee did not address
the most serious abuses committed during the protests, including identifying
the snipers who were responsible for the majority of the bloodshed. The
unresponsiveness of the government caused more frustration and led people
to take to the streets again.
The protests erupted anew on October 25. People
of all ages and from all walks of life have joined in; Iraqis are leaving ethno-sectarian
backgrounds behind and uniting as one nation. In the last two days, students have
left classes en masse and joined the
demonstrations in Baghdad and elsewhere.
The scale of their demands increased to
include regime change, not just superficial reforms. They also turned their
rage toward Iraq’s political parties and Iranian-backed militias who have
powerful positions in the government and parliament. Iraqis are now calling for
a new, representative system that does away with the sectarian or ethnic quota
(muhassassa) system. Their voices can be heard chanting, “the people
want the downfall of the regime,” the same slogan used in the Arab Spring more
than eight years ago. Iraq, which did not experience the Arab Spring, might be
witnessing its own spring along with Lebanon, which is experiencing its largest
protests in decades.
The demonstrations in Iraq have reached the
point where it will be very hard for the government to dampen the calls for
change. Despite the violent
repression by the security forces, the demonstrators have continued protesting and
their number has gotten
larger every day. The government is now paralyzed because any action it takes
against the protesters could lead the country into further chaos and could even
result in a civil war.
MENASource, a project of the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, follows movements across the region and provides a platform for Middle Eastern perspectives and analysis, among others, on major issues—economic, political, security, cultural—that are at stake in the post-Arab Spring era.
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Muqtada al-Sadr, the influential and powerful
cleric who has the largest number of seats in the parliament has called on
Abdul-Mahdi to resign and wants early elections to take place soon under the
supervision of the United Nations. Abdul-Mahdi refused to agree to this, and so
al-Sadr has stated
that he will work with his political rival al-Fatah head Hadi Al-Amiri to
withdraw confidence from the government. Al-Sadr also suspended his bloc’s
participation in the parliament until it makes fundamental reform such as changing
the Electoral Commission and election laws and amending the constitution.
One striking feature about the situation in
Iraq is that for the first time since 2003, Iraqis are rejecting Iranian-backed
Islamist parties. On October 29, al-Sadr joined the anti-government protesters in
Najaf. The protestors greeted
him with the chant: “Muqtada, keep your hands off Iraq, the people do not
want you.” This reaction compelled him to leave as soon as he could. In Karbala,
the protesters headed to the Iranian Consulate where they
took the Iranian flag down and raised the Iraqi flag instead and also tore
down a poster of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Protesters in
other cities burned down Iranian-backed political parties’ offices.
Looking to the future
Iraqis, who have been struggling with a
mounting economic and political crisis for years, believe these protests are
their only chance to bring about real change, and they will not retreat,
especially after the deadly response they were met with and the causalities
since the start of the protests.
The resignation of Abdul-Mahdi, who has
been in office for one year, will not necessarily be the solution because it is
possible for his government to recreate the same corrupt system in a new
cabinet. To stop perpetuating the cycle that has led to this tipping point,
there must be total change: the government, the parliament, the constitution, and
the electoral law all need to be modified.
However, how is such systemic change
possible with different political parties negotiating with each other and
jockeying for influence? Considering the parties’ internal interests and
external connections, they will support the survival of Abdul-Mahdi and resist
any real reforms. Any changes to the electoral process could weaken existing
political parties, especially Iranian-backed ones.
Abdul-Mahdi announced his resignation and Iraqi President Barham Salih confirmed this in his speech on October 31. President Salih did hold out a piece of good news: a new election law has already been written by his office. If Iraq can seize this opportunity to implement real reforms, the protestors may one day enjoy the political system they envision and deserve.
Rana Abdulhadi is a former intern with the Atlantic Council and the office of Mark Warner and is a freelance interpreter and translator.
Further reading
Thu, Oct 31, 2019
Atlantic Council experts react to the announcement of the Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi resigning. Abbas Kadhim is the Director of the Iraq Initiative at the Atlantic Council. “In his address to the Iraqi people on October 31, President Barham Salih referred to Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi’s offer to resign if the two major parliamentary blocs […]
MENASource
by
Middle East programs
Thu, Oct 31, 2019
The defining feature of the protests in Baghdad which started on October 1 and spread to other cities in southern Iraq is that they were neither led nor called for by a religious authority (also known as the marja’iya) or another leader. When the first wave of protests began in multiple cities, the protesters’ message […]
MENASource
by
Dara Salam
Fri, Oct 25, 2019
Protests intensified in Iraq on Friday, as Iraqi security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets into the crowd to disperse thousands of demonstrators.
MENASource
by
MENASource
Protests in Iraq are not new. At several times during the past few years, the Iraqi people have taken to the streets against corruption, unemployment, and poor public services.
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