Guest views are now limited to 12 pages. If you get an "Error" message, just sign in! If you need to create an account, click here.

Jump to content
  • CRYPTO REWARDS!

    Full endorsement on this opportunity - but it's limited, so get in while you can!

Iraq loses its membership in the Human Rights Council for repressing protesters and October 25th ultimatum


yota691
 Share

Recommended Posts

Protest investigation, job and housing reform tabled in emergency govt meeting: Iraq PM

2 hours ago  |  109 Views
471536Image1.jpg?mode=crop&quality=70&ra
Iraqi security forces close streets to prevent anti-government protesters from reaching Tahrir Square in central Baghdad, Iraq on October 2, 2019. File photo: AP
Tags: Iraq protest reform

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi announced Wednesday a series of reform “decisions” after nationwide protests demanded an end to corruption and the improvement of basic services in the country.

Abdul-Mahdi's announcement came after a Tuesday meeting of the Council of Ministers – Iraqi government’s executive branch - centering on the demands of protesters.

“The Council of Ministers agreed on 17 decisions on Saturday in an emergency meeting,” he said in his speech.

“The main ones are to provide more than 500,000 job opportunities, and building 100,000 houses for poor families,” he detailed.

Protests demanding action to tackle high youth unemployment, poverty, poor services, and corruption first broke out on October 1 in Baghdad, quickly spreading to other parts of the country. Security forces used live ammunition, water cannons and tear gas to quell protests, as well as the imposition of curfews and road closures.

According to the Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights (IHCHR), at least 100 people were killed and more than 6000 people injured since protests began.

After months of sustained protest outside Baghdad ministry buildings by master’s degree and PhD holders demanding greater employment opportunities, Abdul-Mahdi announced the government would assist with the recruitment of postgraduates at universities.

While the council of minister decisions focused mainly on reform, it also concerned those killed and injured during the protests, with three days of national mourning for those killed proposed by the Council of Ministers.

Abdul-Mahdi announced the Iraqi government would provide financial assistance to the bereaved and cover treatment costs of injured protesters and security force members.

The Prime Minister, who is also commander-in-chief of the military forces, said he ordered the halt of live ammunition use by security forces at protests, promising to hold those responsible for its use accountable.

“We ordered live ammunition use must be avoided by all the security forces,” Abdul-Mahdi said.

“The Iraqi government started an investigation to punish the officers who did not abide with the law and the orders of the chief in command,” he added.

All detained protesters would be released,“except for the ones who killed or attacked governmental buildings.”

A committee to supervise the implementation of the decisions is to be established next week, according to the Iraqi premier.

Protests have recently slowed down with the start of the holy Shiite ceremony of Arbaeen, with protesters heading to Karbala. However, many protesters on social media are vowing to restart protests once Arbaeen ends.

Iraq’s military admitted using excessive force on protesters and vowed to hold security force members accountable, while Iraq’s highest judicial authority, the Supreme Judicial Council, has said that it will launch investigations into those responsible for killing protesters.

Use of excessive force on protesters has garnered international condemnation. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday condemned lethal violence during protests in Iraq in a phone call with Abdul-Mahdi, calling on Baghdad to "exercise maximum restraint” and address protester grievances.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Widespread protests point to Iraq’s cycle of social crisis

23 minutes ago  |  26 Views
Iraqi demonstrators run amidst smoke during a demonstration in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, October 5, 2019. Photo: Ahmad al-Rubaye / AFP

Street protests have engulfed Baghdad and southern cities such as Nasiriya and Diwaniya since October 1, causing a staggering death toll of at least 110 victims in seven days. This deadliest outburst of violence from popular protests since the 2003 US invasion has shaken the foundations of the already fragile government led by Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi.

This article first appeared on the website of the International Crisis Group (ICG) and is reproduced here with its permission. 

The prime minister is on thin ice. In the aftermath of the May 2018 elections, a drawn-out tug of war over government formation produced broadly acceptable but politically weak office holders. Neither the prime minister nor any of his cabinet members belong to the main parliamentary blocs (al-Fatih, a Shiite Islamist coalition with links to paramilitary groups and Iran, and Sayirun, an alliance between followers of populist Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and the Communist Party). None enjoys significant support within his or her own party. Furthermore, Washington’s “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran and Tehran’s response are putting a severe strain on this government, a partner to both. Already squeezed by Iran and the US, the prime minister now also faces pressure from parliament and the street for not delivering the reforms that a significant part of the population has been demanding for some time.

In order to break out of this dangerous dynamic, Iraq’s government and protesters need a framework for negotiating reforms and a common vision for the country’s future.

Viral anger fuels a protest wave

Street protests have erupted on a regular basis since 2015, in most cases motivated by manifest failures of governance, lack of services and miserable living conditions. This time around, what helped the protests gain strength was Prime Minister Abdul-Mahdi’s decision at the end of September to demote a popular senior commander of the war with ISIS, General Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi of the Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS), who had become a national icon for his heroism and integrity. Anger greeted the decision on social media, with many interpreting it as yet another expression of the prime minister’s feebleness in standing up to corruption in the security forces. The CTS is in competition with Hashd al-Shaabi, an array of paramilitary groups, the most powerful of which are linked to Iran. Those critical of Iran’s role in Iraq additionally saw the prime minister as giving in to the Hashd by demoting the general.

The affair quickly blossomed into something broader. As anger over the prime minister’s decision went viral online, social media influencers, largely Facebook users, encouraged people to join protests. On October 1, protesters gathered in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square and in cities across the south, and security forces opened fire to disperse them. The next day, security agencies banned access to social media. The heavy-handed response caused the first casualties, adding to popular fury. On October 3, early in the morning, the authorities imposed a curfew in Baghdad and southern cities, blocked access to major street intersections and government buildings, and shut down the internet. Fear of repression acted as a disincentive in some areas, including in Basra, which had been a protest hub during previous rounds.

Tensions increased further over the weekend of October 4-5. Protesters torched the offices of leading Shiite Islamist parties in Nasiriya (including Daawa, Hikma and Asaeb Ahl al-Haq) and paramilitary groups, and masked men in civilian clothing attacked media outlets in Baghdad. The number of victims grew quickly, mostly on the protesters’ side but also among the security forces.

Protests, politics and participation

For a growing part of the population, resorting to street action has become the only meaningful form of participation in politics. Recurrent failure of governance and blatant incompetence and corruption, manifested most glaringly in the army’s humiliating collapse in the face of the ISIS onslaught in 2014, have left most Iraqis deeply disillusioned about politicians of all stripes, and disdainful of the notion that voting in elections can deliver change. By contrast, many see street protests as a more effective way to force politicians’ collective hand, as evidenced by government efforts to improve the water supply in the south after riots in the summer of 2018 over the lack of clean water.

This trend is amplified by a generational factor. The large majority of protesters are millennials under 30, an age group that makes up 67 per cent of the population. They came of age seeing the same faces taking turns and failing at governance. They did not experience the Saddam Hussein regime’s repression. Nor are they inclined to give much credit to current leaders for the roles they claim to have played in resisting that regime, regardless of how accurate those claims may be.

But though many come from the same age bracket, the protesters otherwise represent a cross-section of society that spans both sectarian and class differences. They include lower middle-class youths with no access to quality education or state employment as well as well-educated, English-speaking, upper middle-class individuals involved in private-sector initiatives and civic organisations. They share the experience of growing up in a political system dominated by a narrow elite that has failed to create prospects for a livable future, despite the country’s enormous resources; they distrust formal politics and its democratic mechanisms such as elections, which they see as directly manipulated by those in power. Street protests are their effort at advancing a political agenda by other means.

Whether they can succeed is another question. Thus far, protests are proving to be an effective means of challenging the political system and leadership, but it is less clear how they can advance the radical change for which protesters are calling. They present the government with a mission impossible: delivering immediate solutions to problems that require long-term strategies, whether for improving governance, bettering service provision or reforming the entire political system.

Against this backdrop, Baghdad has tended to focus on ad hoc, short-term fixes. On October 6, for example, the prime minister gathered his cabinet for an emergency meeting and adopted a seventeen-point plan that included housing programs for low-income families and monthly stipends for the unemployed. The government does not, however, appear to have a strategy for coming together with the protest movement around a shared vision for the country’s future.

Protesters, for their part, lack an intermediary who can bring concrete proposals to the government. Their interest in maintaining their autonomy from a political system they oppose has kept their movement leaderless. As the government fails to address the protesters’ real concerns and the security forces move to suppress the protests, killing scores, protesters’ rejection of any sort of engagement with the government only hardens, and the movement begins to respond to violence with violence.

For the time being, the country is caught up in a destructive blame game. Protesters blame the leadership for the repression. Security officials blame the protesters for resorting to violence. Political and religious leaders blame each other for the crisis without themselves taking responsibility. On October 4, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the Shiites’ paramount religious leader, denounced the largest political blocs and the government for failing to deliver long-promised reforms. On the same day, Muqtada al-Sadr, the Shiite cleric who leads the biggest parliamentary bloc, Sayirun, called on the prime minister to resign and for new elections to be held under international supervision; he also instructed his party’s lawmakers to boycott the next parliamentary session.

Maneuvering between Tehran and Washington

If the prime minister manages to survive politically, he will be even weaker and more vulnerable to pressure from the largest political blocs. The fallout from the protests will further complicate his efforts to pursue a foreign policy aimed at insulating the country from the unfolding US-Iran competition, as well as his attempts to carry out political reforms. If he loses his post and the government collapses, instability will almost certainly grow. The challenge would then be to form a new government with a prime minister sufficiently neutral to be acceptable to both pro-US and pro-Iranian political forces.

Neither the US nor Iran would like to see the situation spin out of control. Iran may prefer a weak and dependable government in Baghdad, but it has no interest in Iraq descending into chaos. Iraq’s stability is key for Tehran to continue trading with its neighbour, a lifeline in the face of US economic sanctions. Tehran has invested in forging relations with all Iraqi political forces represented in parliament, and strategically resorts to these allies (al-Fatih in particular) to exert pressure on the US in order to remove or reduce the influence of US troops in Iraq. Street protests introduce an element of uncertainty that worries Tehran. This may explain why its affiliated paramilitaries have taken repressive steps to contain this risk and reportedly participated in the crackdown. The fact that some protesters may be motivated by anti-Iranian animus – several have chanted anti-Iranian slogans – is of further concern to Tehran, whose influence in Iraq could be at stake. Many Iraqi Shiites look at the paramilitaries, the Shiite political parties and Iran as complicit in the country’s governance failure and corruption.

That said, the protests could also turn in Iran’s favour. If the Sadrists carry out their threat to boycott parliament or stage a no-confidence vote, the prime minister will be increasingly dependent on Iran’s ally al-Fatih, which has stood by his side during the crisis.

As for the US, it has every reason to want Iraq to remain stable. Its military presence helps prevent the resurgence of ISIS, whose fighters for now are lying low. It also counts on political forces in the country to stand as a counterweight to Iranian influence. But herein lies risk as well. Some in the Trump administration see protesters’ anti-Iran slogans, together with popular expressions of support for General al-Saadi, as an expression of mounting anti-Iranian sentiments. US officials who deem Abdul-Mahdi indecisive and powerless may push to replace him with someone more dedicated to reforms and, just as importantly, to signing contracts with US companies that would decrease Iraq’s energy dependency on Iran. Yet pushing for a change in government could be like opening a Pandora’s box, given a stagnating political system, mounting popular frustrations and the perennial difficulty of forming a government.

Ultimately, any attempt by either Iran or the US to manipulate the protest movement could further destabilize an extremely fragile situation and make Iraq’s teetering leadership less able to sustain the delicate balancing act between the country’s two powerful backers.

The way forward

Past attempts to change Iraqi governance from within have foundered on the resistance of a political class that has high stakes in its continuation. As things stand, it is unlikely that the prime minister will be able to deliver reforms, especially now that his already limited parliamentary support may crumble under the protests’ weight. Likewise, calls for change from outside the realm of formal politics, such as through street protests, have failed to compel the government to commit to concrete remedial action beyond applying band-aids. More dangerously, they are now leading to violent clashes with the security forces. The government and countries that have supported Iraq in the fight against ISIS (the US, EU member states and Iran) and care about its stability have reason for concern that this situation will lead to recurrent flare-ups and crises.

To address the current crisis, the government should order the security forces to exercise maximum restraint in confronting the protests, ban paramilitary groups from policing the protests and launch an investigation into the excessive use of force, focusing in particular on snipers who reportedly targeted both protesters and members of the security forces. The larger parliamentary blocs also should shoulder their responsibility in defusing the crisis. Instead of calling on the prime minister to resign, Sayirun and Fatih should jointly press the government to prepare reform bills aimed at making the bureaucracy more agile in Baghdad and the provinces, bolstering accountability mechanisms to combat corruption, and encouraging government cooperation with the private sector and civic organisations.

Finding a long-term fix will be more difficult. The present crisis once again has illustrated that Iraq’s leadership cannot continue to buy social peace with a mix of oil-generated income distribution and repression. To break the crisis cycle, the government and the protest movement need to develop channels for dialogue and cooperation. Civic organisations, some of which are organised under the umbrella of the Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative, as well as private-sector figures, should better organise the protest movement and operate as intermediaries to formulate a set of coherent proposals as a basis for discussions with the government. The government should take such an initiative seriously as a way to reach out to the protesters and prevent another (possibly violent) cycle of mass mobilisation. And Iraq’s international donors should help facilitate a dialogue to arrive at a common vision for the country’s future and then provide the necessary capacity and funding to carry it out.

  • Thanks 1
  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

IRAQ APPOINTS TWO NEW MINISTERS AFTER PM PROMISES SWEEPING REFORM

10102019192821Capture1553.JPG
Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi gives a televised speech in Baghdad, Iraq October 9, 2019. Iraqi Prime Minister Media Office/Handout via REUTERS

4 Hours ago 

http://www.nrttv.com/En/News.aspx?id=15752&MapID=2

SULAIMANI — Iraq appointed new education and health ministers on Thursday, a day after Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi promised to reshuffle his government and enact reforms to try to stem unrest.

Suha Khalil is one of few women to have become a minister in Iraq. Her appointment was approved by parliament, which also voted for the appointment of the new health minister, Jaafar Allawi, after his predecessor quit before the wave of unrest, according to Reuters.

The changes are unlikely to satisfy Iraqis after more than 110 people were killed in a government crackdown on protests that began last week over jobs, services and corruption.

The protesters blame a corrupt and divided political class for failing to improve their lives even in peacetime, some two years after Islamic State was declared defeated in Iraq. The unrest is the biggest security challenge for the country since then.

Abdul Mahdi on Wednesday declared three days of national mourning, said he had not ordered use of live ammunition and announced measures aimed at placating protesters including a cabinet reshuffle, punishment of corrupt officials, job opportunities for the unemployed and stipends for the poor.

In a sign that parliament remains divided, dozens of lawmakers boycotted the rest of Thursday’s session after approving the two ministerial appointments.

“We voted for two ministries that were vacant so they could actually start doing their work, but the prime minister should have also presented changes to ministries riven with corruption,” said lawmaker Husham al-Suhail who walked out of the session, without giving further details.

Some lawmakers who oppose the power of Iran-backed factions with ties to militia groups that back Abdul Mahdi had suspended their participation in parliament during the unrest.

Many Iraqis live in poverty, have limited access to clean water, electricity, basic healthcare or decent education as the country tries to recover from years of conflict.

During unrest that began in Baghdad and spread to southern cities, security forces used live rounds and tear gas against demonstrators, blocked the internet entirely for days and arrested activists and reporters covering protests.

If reform is not introduced quickly more unrest is likely to break out. Authorities have still mostly kept the internet shut down 10 days after the violence began, though not serious violence has been reported since Sunday.

(NRT Digital Media/Reuters)

 

  • Upvote 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

October 10, 2019 3:09 PM CDT By Combined Sources

 

 

 
Massive protests sweep Iraq; Communist Party calls for emergency government
Protesters rush to an injured demonstrator during a rally in Baghdad, Iraq on Oct. 5. Protests have plunged the country into a new cycle of instability, one that could potentially overthrow the current government. Over 100 people have been killed in less than a week. Iraqi security forces have been shooting at young Iraqis demanding jobs, electricity, clean water, and an end to corruption. | Hadi Mizban / AP
 
 
 
  • Thanks 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

IRAQ: Limited ministerial reshuffle to absorb popular anger ... and woman to education portfolio
Half a million citizens come to the Ministry of Labor for the government grant
October 11, 2019

1570729152105564800_0.jpg?itok=YPx2kN0W
Iraqi policeman during a patrol in Baghdad the day before yesterday (AFP)


Baghdad: Fadel al-Nashmi


Iraq appointed two new ministers of education and health yesterday, a day after Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi pledged a cabinet reshuffle and reforms to try to curb unrest.
Soha Khalil became one of the few women to be ministers in Iraq. Parliament confirmed her appointment and also approved the appointment of Jaafar Allawi as health minister after his predecessor resigned before the latest wave of unrest.
Abdul Mahdi, the day before yesterday, mourning three days for the dead of the protests, starting yesterday. He said he did not order the use of live ammunition, and announced measures aimed at calming demonstrators, including a reshuffle, punishing corrupt officials, providing job opportunities for the unemployed, and paying salaries to poor families.
In a sign that parliament is still divided, dozens of members boycotted the rest of the session yesterday, after the approval of the ministerial appointments.
House member Hisham al-Suhail, who withdrew from the session, said the deputies voted for two vacant ministries so that they could resume their work, explaining that the prime minister should have made changes in corrupt ministries, without giving details. Some members of the House of Representatives, who oppose the influence of Iranian-backed factions, which have links to armed groups supporting Abdul Mahdi, had suspended their participation in parliament during the unrest.
Many Iraqis suffer from poverty, with little access to clean water, electricity, basic health care or adequate education, as the country tries to recover from years of war. During the unrest, which began in Baghdad and then spread to southern cities, security forces used live bullets and tear gas against protesters, cut off Internet access for several days, and arrested activists and journalists covering the protests.
Further unrest is likely if reform is not implemented quickly. Authorities still severely shut down the Internet 10 days after the violence began, although no serious violence has been reported since Sunday.
In the context, the Supreme Judicial Council, yesterday, the approval of the Court of Inquiry in Hilla in the province of Babylon, the confessions of a security element admitted to cause the killing of a demonstrator in the province.
Mass demonstrations began in early October in Baghdad and the central and southern governorates. To kill times the stated number.
The Judicial Council said in a statement that «the court investigating Hilla ratified the statements of three detainees; including an affiliate in the riot force admitted to cause a martyr demonstrator in the center of the province through gunfire». He added that «the court recorded his statements based on the provisions of Article (406) of the Iraqi Penal Code, and conducted a disclosure indication in preparation for referral to the competent court».
Also, the head of the Supreme Judicial Council, Judge Fayeq Zidan, yesterday, to resolve the cases of detainees in the demonstrations and to immediately investigate who caused the deaths of protesters. The Supreme Judicial Council, in another statement, asked the injured and the families of the martyrs to refer to the competent investigating court according to their residence to register complaints about it.
The issue of excessive violence faced by protesters by various security forces continues to resent the indignation of large segments of the Iraqi population, expressed in constant criticism of the government of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi and the armed factions nearby. A wide range of activists and bloggers yesterday expressed outrage that the prime minister did not condemn the unidentified "sniper groups" that killed the demonstrators in his address to the citizens Wednesday night.
While the Secretary-General of «Asaib Ahl al-Haq» Qais Khazali, yesterday, security guard companies, including «Blackwater» American involvement in the targeting of demonstrators, denied the group «Saraya al-Khorasani» accusations against them for involvement in the killing of protesters, said the leader of the group Hadi Algerian in press statements: «We will not participate in the suppression of popular protests, but we are supporters, and not louder than the voice of the authority or the Iraqi people, especially since the demonstrations were peaceful and aimed at social justice».
Speculation has varied over who ordered the killings of protesters, including those who accuse senior officers close to the prime minister's circle and another pointing fingers at some PMU factions. There is a trend that excludes the Prime Minister from issuing orders or even knowing about them.
For its part, criticized the Commission on Human Rights, yesterday, what it called «the absence of government cooperation with the Commission to reveal the bodies behind the killing of demonstrators, and the full numbers of victims over a week of bloody protests in Baghdad and the southern provinces».
"The demonstrations organized by thousands of Iraqi youths are legitimate demonstrations and carried demands from the very heart of Iraqi reality," said committee chairman Arshad al-Salihi during a press conference at the parliament building.
He called on the Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces to "cooperate with the Commission and identify the party that killed peaceful protesters and release detainees who have not been proven to be involved in riots or burning state institutions."
He called for «protection of all media, and the launch of the Internet service, and that the constitutional institutions take their active role in promoting stability in the country».
In the context of the protests and the steps taken by the government to absorb the popular resentment, thousands of young Iraqis have been flocking for four days to the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs to benefit from the financial grant approved by the government for the poor and the unemployed.
The Iraqi Council of Ministers decided earlier this week, to give 150 thousand unemployed people who do not have the ability to work an estimated amount of $ 145, and for three months, a total of 78.5 billion Iraqi dinars.
The Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Bassem Abdul Zaman, during a press conference held at the ministry building in Baghdad, yesterday, «the arrival of about 550 thousand citizens to the ministry in order to benefit from the government financial grant during the past four days, including about 70 percent of married people».
He called on citizens to «not to come to the building of the ministry because it receives applications through its electronic window».
The minister said that «the receipt of applications will start from today (Thursday) and continue until the 24th of this month, to begin the procedures of investigation and disclosure of beneficiaries through special data and supervision of the Office of Financial Supervision». He said that «the government grant includes women and males over the age of 18 years and under 35 years».

  • Like 2
  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well it sounds good now a little organization is needed. I think

that the grants for over a half million plus people will take longer than 

two weeks. Then again this is Iraq and stranger things have happened.

Time will tell. :praying: For the people.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • yota691 changed the title to Iraq: List of «senior corrupt» .. Coming soon
1000_02e6248220.JPG
Abdul Mahdi vowed to work to meet the demands of the demonstrators (Reuters)
Baghdad - Jabbar Janani, agencies

Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi announced that the government will ensure the treatment of the wounded of the recent demonstrations, as well as the release of all those arrested in connection with the demonstrations.

`` We will honor the family of every martyr and wounded and we will release all those arrested, '' Abdul Mahdi said in a televised speech.``We started early and intensified all efforts to see what the government can achieve from the demands of the demonstrators. ''

He added, "The Ministry of Education is obliging universities and colleges to accommodate the appropriate numbers of graduates with a degree of absorptive capacity," noting that "it is time for the Iraqi wound to heal the hard work and sincere giving to serve the people."

Abdul Mahdi said, "conduct transparent investigations to hold accountable those who did not abide by the orders and rules of engagement," stressing "We will announce the committee called for by the religious authority within a week."

He said "immediate action to arrange the material and moral rights of the families of the martyrs in accordance with the laws in force," indicating "the promotion of the wounded of the military and honor civilians financially and morally and ensure treatment at the expense of the state." And Abdul-Mahdi, "We will issue a list of names of the corrupt in the coming hours," pointing out that "we will honor the family of each martyr and every wounded with the highest allocation within the authority of the Prime Minister."

On Thursday, Iraq entered the first day of national mourning after more than 100 people were killed, most of them demonstrators who were shot dead while demanding the overthrow of the government, which proposed a cabinet reshuffle to tackle the political crisis. Iraqis are still unable to access social media sites, except for a few hours of VNP users, and photos and videos are widely circulated every day, showing demonstrators shot in the chest or head, or running to take cover from the shooting. Thick.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs on Thursday asked applicants for financial assistance to apply online.

The official toll from the violence in Baghdad and southern Shiite-dominated Iraq was also more than 100 dead and more than 6,000 wounded.

The identity of those who carried out the violence remains unclear, as the authorities spoke of "unknown snipers".

The Iraqi government declared three days of national mourning after the violence.

 

 

  • Thanks 1
  • Haha 1
  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fingers Crossed this is a REAL honest to goodness Funky Western Civilization  type of " Coming Soon " rather than the Iraqi type of " Coming Soon " we've been accustomed to. 

The Sand in the 15 day " hour " glass is filling the bottom portion at a steady clip. Can't fight the feeling the 15 day deadline will come & go owing to the fact that deadlines as in the preceding governments, were also not in their nature, will be ignored.

We'll see if this leopard can change it's spots.

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • yota691 changed the title to Iraqis are deprived of the Internet .. Warnings of Iraq's return to item VII
11,503 views
Iraqis are still denied access to the Internet "in the evening" and access to social media, despite the return to calm on the streets of the country, which witnessed a week of protests punctuated by violence that killed dozens of demonstrators and security forces.
After the wave of protests began last week, authorities blocked access to Facebook and WhatsApp, before cutting off the Internet the next day.
 
Internet with working hours ..
 
 
Five days later, the authorities decided to grant the Internet at 7 am to noon, with the official working hours of state departments and institutions, to be interrupted in the evening.

When Facebook started blocking, Iraqis secretly moved to download VPN applications (a virtual network that allows access to servers outside the country).
 

Others have used satellite communications, which are very expensive, to communicate with the outside world.
 
"Nearly complete cuts imposed by the state in most areas severely limit media coverage and transparency about the ongoing crisis," the Netsblox cyber security organization said.
 
Violation of human rights .. and daily losses of millions of dollars
Since Tuesday, the Internet has returned at certain times and is very slow in Baghdad and the south of the country, and during those periods, many have been able to access the sites through the applications of "VPN".

The Organization for Measuring the Quality of Communications accused the Iraqi government of violating human rights because of its interruption of the Internet, while noting that the use of programs to break the embargo vpn will harm the service and reduce the quality.

He also issued a platform for information and communications technology, a statement that counted the economic repercussions of the disconnection of the Internet service in Iraq, noting that Iraq lost millions of dollars a day due to the disconnection of the service, and urged the government to refrain from disconnecting it and find new technical solutions.
 
Violation of 26 international conventions .. And warning of the entry of the seventh article again 
 
While specialists pointed to the existence of 26 international conventions prohibiting the disconnection of the Internet service, as a "clear and flagrant violation of human rights," pointing out that Iraq is one of the signatories of the 195 countries of the world on those agreements.

Observers point out that Iraq is still under test with regard to Article VII of the United Nations, warning that this "violation of human rights" will not help Iraq out of Chapter VII of the United Nations.

Iraqi authorities have yet to comment on the cutting, which has affected nearly three-quarters of the country, according to "Nit Bloks."

The organization pointed out that the north of the country, especially the autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq, is linked to the network through a different system, and therefore was not affected by the blackout.

The Iraqi authorities last year cut off the Internet and international communications during the protests in southern Iraq.

On December 9, 2017, the UN Security Council voted unanimously to remove Iraq from Chapter VII after fulfilling its obligations.

The country was under Chapter 7 under UN sanctions imposed after the 1990 invasion of Kuwait.
  • Thanks 1
  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

image.php?token=a55723923e90e3fb96e6d7f3de75d4cf&size=

 


 

11-10-2019 02:58 PM
Number of Views: 15

 

Orbit Agency -
Baghdad

Human Rights Watch issued a report on Friday on the use of excessive force against demonstrators who came out to demand anti-corruption and job creation in Iraq.
Below the text of the report:
that the protests in Baghdad and southern cities began on October 1 / October with protesters demanding better services and more measures to curb corruption. Some members of the security forces appeared to interfere in media coverage of the protests, and the authorities blocked the Internet, following the resignation of the governor of Baghdad on 6 October in response to complaints of excessive use of force by the security forces in the capital. Excessive, he ordered some army units out of specific neighborhoods in Baghdad, and stated that investigations with some officers had begun.
“For more than a decade, Iraqi governments have said they will investigate abuses by security forces but have not done so,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. Publicly, and accountable for violations. ”
The number of martyrs due to shooting or other means remains uncertain. On October 10, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Iraq, an independent and non-governmental organization, told Human Rights Watch that its field offices across the country reported at least 105 demonstrators killed and some 4,050 injured. On October 6, the Ministry of Interior estimated the number of martyrs at 96, and 6,100 injured. Eight security forces were martyred and more than 1,200 were injured.
Human Rights Watch interviewed 14 witnesses to the protests in Baghdad and Dhi Qar province. Five protesters who participated in three days of demonstrations in Dhi Qar in southern Iraq said they saw various security forces open fire on the crowds without warning as they dispersed. All the witnesses saw the demonstrators throwing stones at the security forces, lighting tires, cars and political party offices. They said that some members of the injured security forces were taken in ambulances.
Five witnesses at demonstrations in Baghdad on October 2, 3 and 6 said they saw security forces firing at the crowds. They also said that security forces used cannons that fired hot water, and in some cases burned demonstrators severely.
One protester said that, during the demonstration on October 3, he heard security forces screaming and threatened to shoot if crowds did not disperse.
At an October 3 demonstration in Baghdad, a Reuters reporter said he saw a demonstrator fall to the ground after being shot in the head. A Reuters cameraman saw a seriously injured man shot in the neck after snipers on rooftops opened fire on the crowd.
Medical staff treating the wounded were not spared from arrest and attack. A paramedic in Baghdad said security forces arrested her in an October 3 demonstration in an ambulance where she was providing medical treatment to protesters.
A witness to a demonstration in Baghdad on October 5 said she saw security forces firing tear gas directly into an ambulance convoy, hitting the last of them.
Human Rights Watch reviewed seven videos that appeared to show live ammunition in the vicinity of demonstrators fleeing the area. A video posted on October 8 shows a solo demonstrator waving his flag and then apparently being shot.
Human Rights Watch also reviewed three videos that appeared to show violent demonstrators. A video on October 1 showed demonstrators in front of a known Baghdad building destroying a police car, with security forces absent from the video. In a video released on October 6 and said to have been filmed in Qadisiyah governorate, demonstrators throw stones at live bullets.
Most of the martyrs at a Baghdad demonstration on October 4 were shot in the head and heart, Interior Ministry spokesman Saad Maan said. He added that the ministry was investigating the deaths, but gave no details. On October 6, he said that security forces did not confront the demonstrators, but that “malicious hands” were behind both the demonstrators and the security forces. He reported that demonstrators burned 51 public buildings and eight political party headquarters. International standards state that law enforcement is not used intentionally with lethal use of firearms, except in cases of extreme necessity to protect lives.
All witnesses interviewed said they saw security forces detaining people at demonstrations, including as they fled the area.
On October 10, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Iraq reported that the authorities detained at least 923 demonstrators, but has since released at least 666 people.
A lawyer with a team of volunteers providing legal aid to some 400 protesters detained in Baghdad said on October 9 that many protesters were charged with gathering with the intent to commit a crime under article 222 of the penal code. Others were charged with publicly insulting a government body under article 226. The lawyer said that most of the detainees he interviewed told him that security forces had beaten them when they arrested them.
Since the protests began, authorities appear to have intervened in the media and communications, violating the right to freedom of expression, Human Rights Watch said. A statement issued by the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate on October 7 condemned the raid by the offices of news channels such as Al-Arabiya, Tigris, NRT, Al-Hadath and TRT by masked gunmen Some of them are in military uniforms, and the raids appear to be aimed at preventing coverage of the demonstrations.
From October 2 to 8, Iraqi authorities blocked most attempts to access the Internet for long periods, impeding access to social media and messaging applications that protesters and others relied on to communicate and document government abuses.

International human rights law protects the right to freedom of expression, including the right to freely seek, receive and provide information through the Internet and other media. While national security is a legitimate basis for restrictions on freedom of expression, these restrictions should be necessary and proportionate to address a specific security problem.
On October 3, the government imposed a day and night curfew in the governorates of Baghdad, Babil, Diwaniya, Wasit, Muthanna and Dhi Qar, but lifted it on October 5.
On October 6, Adel Abdel Mahdi also announced a list of executive decisions focusing on building some 100,000 low-income housing units, improving unemployment benefits and vocational training to meet some of the protesters' demands. It also issued a decree to consider those killed in demonstrations, whether demonstrators or security agents, as “martyrs” eligible for state benefits.

Iraqi national and local authorities should investigate impartially the use of force by security forces in demonstrations. It should also investigate all allegations of interference by the security forces in the provision of medical services, and ensure that all wounded receive immediate and unhindered care. Members of the security forces, including commanders, should be responsible for the use of unnecessary or excessive lethal force for discipline or prosecution, as appropriate.
Victims of the unlawful use of force by security forces should receive prompt and adequate compensation. The authorities should take specific measures to protect media workers from attack and investigate any actions that violate media coverage of the demonstrations. Detainees who have not been charged with a known crime should be released immediately.

“The authorities should impartially investigate the decisions to shoot and spray the demonstrators with scorching water,” Whitson said. The Iraqis deserve the answers, and the government should never again be able to announce the formation of a committee that will not produce any results. ”
Attacks on the media An
employee at the Tigris TV station said that while he was in the Baghdad office of the channel on 5 October, unidentified assailants threw two sound bombs on the building, setting the generator on fire. The following morning, the Tigris received a letter from the Media and Communications Commission ordering the station to close for a month for violating the content guidelines by covering the demonstrations. A few hours later, masked gunmen in black robes attacked the office.

“They beat our employees and confiscated their money and phones,” he said. They smashed everything in the office: computers, offices and broadcasting equipment, and set fire to the newsroom. ”
A senior NRT executive said staff had received calls from government officials to stop direct coverage after the channel began broadcasting its coverage of the protests. After broadcasting an interview with a demonstrator in which he claimed that a certain group of PMF units formally under the command of the Prime Minister had killed demonstrators, I received a call from a blocked number asking us to delete that particular interview. She said that on October 5, masked gunmen attacked the channel's offices, smashing most of the equipment and confiscating employees' phones.

Demonstrations in Dhi Qar A
protester who participated in the first day of demonstrations in the city of Nasiriyah on October 1 said that he saw demonstrators throwing stones at riot police. Police responded with tear gas and rubber bullets, fired water cannons, beat demonstrators with plastic pipes, and opened fire while chasing protesters away from the area. He said: I saw one of the demonstrators shot in the leg while he was running away. We put him in a taxi to take him to the hospital, because he could not bring an ambulance to take him, as the latter was near the security forces. I saw another demonstrator with a gunshot wound to the heart, while he was running away and turned behind to see if he was chasing. I saw riot police and Swat opening fire on two other boys, apparently with rubber bullets, one in the arm and the other in the leg.

He said that as protesters tried to burn down the Badr headquarters - a group of the Popular Mobilization Forces - riot police and security guards opened fire. He said he saw a sniper on the third floor of the building shoot at demonstrators as they approached the building. “Two demonstrators from our group were shot that day in front of the Badr headquarters, but I don't know if the sniper hit them or anyone else,” he said.
Later that day, he said, he and other protesters gathered in front of the town's intelligence headquarters, which is run by the Interior Ministry, and burned an officer's car. About 30 members of the intelligence service opened fire on the crowd, he said. As people dispersed, he saw a fleeing protester wounded by live bullets and killed. He said he also saw three policemen beaten with metal and plastic pipes, a demonstrator who had stopped him while trying to escape.

Another protester said that, on October 2, he was demonstrating with 500 other people in front of the headquarters of the Asaib Ahl al-Haq group of the Popular Mobilization Forces in al-Shatrah, north of Nasiriyah. After about 200 protesters began throwing stones at the building and setting tires on the road in front of the headquarters, two unidentified men on the rooftop fired at the crowd, but no one was known to have been injured.
A third protester said he saw dozens of members of the security forces arriving in about 30 cars with the slogan “Police Tactical support Unit,” which opened fire on protesters, wounding at least eight people as they tried to flee.

He said he had arrived at his home in the area and saw three other protesters shot in the window as they fled. He was so scared he was afraid to go out to see their condition.
A fourth protester said that at a demonstration in which about 2,000 people took part on October 3, he saw Swat forces, riot police and tactical support shooting people as they crossed a bridge. He said that his friend insulted the police and shot him with three bullets in the legs and abdomen. He said: “I rushed to help him, but a SWAT member threatened to shoot me if I didn't leave him. Fortunately, my friend survived after being taken to hospital. ”

He said a policeman and men in black uniforms caught him and other protesters as the others were fleeing. They took his phone and asked him for the password, and then found a letter he sent to a journalist in Baghdad informing him of the number of deaths in previous demonstrations. They interrogated him to find out who shared the information, then threw him from the car to the street, and went with the other two protesters, he said.
A fifth protester said that some protesters threw stones at riot police in Nasiriyah on October 2. About ten policemen grabbed him and beat him with plastic pipes and helmets, although he denied throwing stones. They detained him in a government building. He said that ten policemen and two plainclothes men beat him and two other protesters.

He said: They took us to another office where they held us until midnight, and then they took us to Blida prison run by the local police. We stayed there until I finally appeared before a judge on 6 October and informed me of my accusation under Article 226 of the Penal Code, then released me on bail, and returned to my home.
He said that, while in prison, he saw two demonstrators brought in six hours before he was released, one with a bullet in the leg and the other with a broken hand. He said they begged the guards for medical care but ignored them.
Baghdad demonstrations

One protester in Baghdad said that he participated in a midnight demonstration on October 2 and remained peaceful. When protesters placed garbage containers in the street to repel security forces, they fired at the protesters. He said he felt something to do with him. “I don't know if it was a bullet or a metal fragment, but I got a serious injury to my waist. I didn't go to the hospital because I heard that security forces were arresting people from there. ”

One medic said she also heard of the arrests from hospitals. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Iraq told Human Rights Watch that on October 8, it documented at least 35 cases of hospital detention by security forces.
A Baghdad protester said that he and others escaped from the October 2 demonstration when police opened fire on them and chased them to a nearby gas station to arrest them, but managed to escape.

The paramedic said that on October 2, she was working at an ambulance parked in the main square where the demonstrations took place from noon to 4pm to provide treatment for the protesters. She said that most of those who sought her help were affected by tear gas, and suffered burns of the first, second and, in some cases, third degree burns from burning water from water cannons. She said she had seen some of the tear gas canisters that had been released, and that they had expired since 2013.

She said: After four in the afternoon, security forces in black uniform opened fire on the demonstrators and on them, and we have received several cases of people with shrapnel bullets, we provided first aid to at least 200 demonstrators. Initially, the security forces did not allow us to take the injured to hospital, preventing us from approaching them even to take them to ambulances. They took them in their cars, and at about 6 pm, the authorities cut off electricity to the area, prompting protesters to set fire to light. I was busy giving first aid to an elderly demonstrator who was suffocating from gas and was injured in the face by a crowd of protesters when three security men approached me in uniform and ordered me to stop treating him. I refused and said he would die if I didn't help him, so they arrested me.

They drove her to a nearby police station, she said, and released her an hour later without charge.

Clashes between security forces killed at least 15 protesters in Sadr City, a Baghdad neighborhood, on October 6, medics said. One protester said about 1,000 protesters gathered in a main square at 4 pm and tried to march to another square, but were confronted by Iraqi security forces. He said: I spoke to a colonel of the security forces who told me: "We will shoot anyone trying to go to the canal square." Security forces opened fire on some demonstrators who went in that direction. Most of us fled, but some of the protesters continued to walk towards them, and I saw some were shot. Later, when we tried to walk to the canal square, I saw a 17-year-old boy hiding behind a concrete barrier and looking over his head to see if the road ahead was safe.
The protester said that security forces later opened fire again on protesters when they tried to advance. He saw five protesters being shot during their escape, in search of a hideout. He said the demonstrators had to carry the dead and wounded more than a kilometer away, because ambulances had stopped away due to live bullets. A man at a nearby hospital said that evening he saw four protesters being taken to hospital with gunshot wounds to the head and chest, and at least 40 other wounded.

International Protection Measures  The Iraqi government is obliged under international human rights law to protect the right to peaceful expression and assembly. Participation in a demonstration, even if unauthorized, or peaceful criticism of the government, are not sufficient grounds for arresting demonstrators under international law. The authorities should release all demonstrators who have not been charged with specific crimes.

Iraqi law enforcement forces must strictly adhere to the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials. The Basic Principles provide that law enforcement officials should resort to non-violent means before the use of force. If they are unable to avoid the use of force, they must act commensurate with the threat of life or serious injury. Firearms should never be used to break up assemblies. If avoiding the use of force to break up violent gatherings is not possible, for example to protect law enforcement or third parties from violence, security forces should use the minimum force necessary to contain the situation. The use of lethal force for firearms is permissible under international law only in the absence of any alternative to protect lives.
International human rights law - including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights - protects the right of individuals to freely seek, receive and impart information and ideas through various media, including the Internet. Security restrictions should be based on law and on a necessary and proportionate response to specific security concerns. In July 2016, the UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution condemning measures taken by states to block and block access to the Internet and information, stressing that access to the Internet is necessary to protect freedom of expression under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

  • Upvote 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Khatib Juma Tehran: The Zionist entity, America and Britain are behind the demonstrations in Iraq

Political | 03:42 - 11/10/2019

 
image
 
 

 

BAGHDAD -
The Khatami Juma Ahmad Ahmad Khatami, said Friday, that the Zionist entity and America and Britain are behind the demonstrations in Iraq, while noting that they failed to implement their plans.
Khatami said in his Friday sermon: "Undoubtedly, the enemies of the Iraqi people have mounted this wave of demonstrations, and must say why these protests occur at this time, and they could postpone to another time, they want to achieve four goals behind it, the first distraction from forty visit to scare people from participating in this ceremony, and of course thanks to God 's failed plan.
he added: "today, we see it from all over the world Atjrn to Karbala, and doubled the number of Iranian visitors to commemorate Arbaeen in Karbala to four times, pointing out that more Of the 3 million Iranian citizens who have registered in the system of allowance for He fled to Karbala, where half have gone so far and the other half are preparing to go to Karbala. "
He stressed before the Friday of Tehran, that can never sow the divide between the Iranian and Iraqi people, and said: "The other goal of these protests, to keep the peoples of the two countries Iran and Iraq from each other. Ahl al-Bayt (AS), this association is growing day by day, and no one will be able to separate the two peoples and the plots of the enemies will not succeed. "
"The third objective of the enemy is the relationship of the Iraqi people to the axis of resistance and retaliation against some Iraqi officials who stand firm against the Zionist occupation entity and the illegal American demands, where they tried to retaliate through these unrest," Khatami said.
Khatib said Friday, saying that these unrest has three ribs consisting of America, Britain and the Zionist entity, the Zionist entity describes the protesters as the rebels of Iraq, these are the ones behind the incitement to these unrest.

  • Thanks 1
  • Haha 2
  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, yota691 said:
11,503 views
Iraqis are still denied access to the Internet "in the evening" and access to social media, despite the return to calm on the streets of the country, which witnessed a week of protests punctuated by violence that killed dozens of demonstrators and security forces.
After the wave of protests began last week, authorities blocked access to Facebook and WhatsApp, before cutting off the Internet the next day.
 
Internet with working hours ..
 
 
Five days later, the authorities decided to grant the Internet at 7 am to noon, with the official working hours of state departments and institutions, to be interrupted in the evening.

When Facebook started blocking, Iraqis secretly moved to download VPN applications (a virtual network that allows access to servers outside the country).
 

Others have used satellite communications, which are very expensive, to communicate with the outside world.
 
"Nearly complete cuts imposed by the state in most areas severely limit media coverage and transparency about the ongoing crisis," the Netsblox cyber security organization said.
 
Violation of human rights .. and daily losses of millions of dollars
Since Tuesday, the Internet has returned at certain times and is very slow in Baghdad and the south of the country, and during those periods, many have been able to access the sites through the applications of "VPN".

The Organization for Measuring the Quality of Communications accused the Iraqi government of violating human rights because of its interruption of the Internet, while noting that the use of programs to break the embargo vpn will harm the service and reduce the quality.

He also issued a platform for information and communications technology, a statement that counted the economic repercussions of the disconnection of the Internet service in Iraq, noting that Iraq lost millions of dollars a day due to the disconnection of the service, and urged the government to refrain from disconnecting it and find new technical solutions.
 
Violation of 26 international conventions .. And warning of the entry of the seventh article again 
 
While specialists pointed to the existence of 26 international conventions prohibiting the disconnection of the Internet service, as a "clear and flagrant violation of human rights," pointing out that Iraq is one of the signatories of the 195 countries of the world on those agreements.

Observers point out that Iraq is still under test with regard to Article VII of the United Nations, warning that this "violation of human rights" will not help Iraq out of Chapter VII of the United Nations.

Iraqi authorities have yet to comment on the cutting, which has affected nearly three-quarters of the country, according to "Nit Bloks."

The organization pointed out that the north of the country, especially the autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq, is linked to the network through a different system, and therefore was not affected by the blackout.

The Iraqi authorities last year cut off the Internet and international communications during the protests in southern Iraq.

On December 9, 2017, the UN Security Council voted unanimously to remove Iraq from Chapter VII after fulfilling its obligations.

The country was under Chapter 7 under UN sanctions imposed after the 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

 

Can't Happen without complete Security Council approval. How many think China and Russia would not employ their Veto in such a vote?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Whats going on here... Are we really going to go backwards here Iraq, or is this some other rouse... Like hey remember a few days ago the country was in civil unrest... But they came through with our currency reforms now look... We're all sitting back drinking smoking watching our new shiet get built up... LoL bottles clinking

Edited by Officiallytook
Oh what a dream
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Iraqi Telecom gets approvals for full Internet restoration

Iraqi Telecom gets approvals for full Internet restoration
Emoticon
 11 October 2019 09:41 PM

Mubasher: The Iraqi Ministry of Communications has received official approvals to completely restore the Internet service .

The Ministry of Communications announced on Friday that it had received official approvals on the restoration of Internet service as of today "around the clock," according to the Iraqi news agency "conscious ".

According to local reports, earlier, that the Internet service in Iraq has been interrupted in the past days in light of demonstrations in several cities and provinces on the economic situation .

  • Upvote 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • October 12 2019 14:03:00

Iraqi prime minister orders probe into deadly protests

BAGHDAD-Anadolu Agency
Iraqi prime minister orders probe into deadly protests

Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi has ordered the formation of an investigation panel into deadly protests that left dozens dead and injured thousands this month. 

In a statement on Oct. 12, Abdul-Mahdi said the committee will seek to bring those responsible for the death of protesters to justice.

Protests rocked the capital of Baghdad and southern provinces this month against deteriorating living conditions and perceived government corruption.

At least 165 people were killed and thousands injured since the protests began on Oct. 1, according to the Iraqi Health Ministry.

On Oct. 11, prominent Shia cleric Ali al-Sistani blamed the Iraqi government and security forces for the bloodshed and called on the authorities to launch an investigation to determine who gave the orders to shoot the protesters.

Discontent has been growing in Iraq in recent years due to rising unemployment and rampant corruption. Many in the country have limited access to basic services such as electricity and clean water, and unemployment is around 10%.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • yota691 changed the title to Iraqi prime minister orders probe into deadly protests

Sons of Sadr City mobilize the masses to continue protests against the government

 Saturday, October 12, 2019
 
 
%D8%B4%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%A8-%D9%85%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B5%D8%AF%D8%B1.jpg
 

logo-Lamsat.png

 

Baghdad - Writings

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Sadr City in eastern Baghdad will not calm down until the goals of protests that have erupted in Iraq since October 1, 2019 are met, especially after a large number of martyrs and wounded people fell in the city.

The newspaper said in a report on Saturday, October 12, 2019, the youth of Sadr City, one of the most densely populated cities in Iraq, determined to continue peaceful demonstrations against the government of Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi, after the death of dozens of dead and wounded young men and girls of this popular area East of Baghdad by security forces.

The Saudi newspaper quoted activists in the revolutionary movement affirming their return to the old methods of communication and crowd to demonstrate after the Ministry of Communications cut off the Internet from their areas, by printing thousands of paper leaflets and distributed in the city to start a new wave of demonstrations in the coming days.

According to the activists, intensive meetings are currently underway to incite and urge people not to remain silent and press the government to hold the perpetrators to account for the killings and injuries of many of the city's youth, under the slogans “Nazel I am Hakki” and “We want a decent country” distributed in the leaflets.

Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported that the families and some of the tribal elders of Sadr City strongly support the city's youth in their demands, especially after they saw for themselves the oppression and excessive use of force with live bullets that killed more than 60 people and injured hundreds of the city.

https://kitabat.com/news/أبناء-مدينة-الصدر-يحشدون-الجماهير-لمو/

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Iraq: Claims to prevent travel of officials involved in corruption and suppression of protests
 
 
 
Facing  the Iraqi government pressure by political forces and parliamentary blocs to issue decisions prohibiting the travel  involved corruption officials and attacks on demonstrators, while politicians believe that the commissions of inquiry set up by the formal government, in the absence of measures to prevent the travel of officials involved corruption and abuses against Iraqis .
Iraqi parliamentary sources said that some forces have moved clearly towards the government to push it towards seriousness in the investigation of the killing of demonstrators, and prevent officials involved in violations from traveling abroad, assuring the "new Arab" that the government is facing criticism for not disclosing the names of some corrupt, who said On Friday it referred their files to the judiciary, and only hinted at their presence.
 
Ali al-Rafii, a member of the opposition al-Hikma movement, said that the Iraqi government is weak and unable to hold corrupt officials, military personnel, militias and uncontrolled weapons, stressing in an interview with Al-Arabi al-Jadeed that there should be decisions to prevent officials involved in corruption and violations from traveling.
He pointed out that the religious authority in Najaf was clear in its emphasis on cases of corruption and assault on demonstrators, noting that the government faces a number of thorny and outstanding issues.
 
He added that "the data indicates that the government team does not have clear mechanisms and procedures to reassure the public that accountability will indeed happen," adding that many of the previous incidents have seen the formation of investigative committees, but without results.

He predicted that the Iraqi government will undertake formal procedures for treatment, pointing out that it issued from time to time more promises are not applicable.

 
He pointed out that the federal budget of the Iraqi state for 2019 and the budget of 2020 in a fiscal deficit and not enough funds to achieve government promises, wondering: Where were these measures? And why did not take before the demonstrators exit? Why are there still no government indicators to meet the demands of the demonstrators?
It is noteworthy that the Iraqi government issued a package of decisions and a reshuffle last Thursday in order to calm the protests, which began on the first of this month and was violently described as "excessive" by the Iraqi forces, killing more than 100 Iraqis and wounding 6,000 others.
 
However, these measures were insufficient for the demonstrators who confirmed the continuation of their protests, and were also criticized by politicians and parliamentarians.
MP Karbouli called earlier for the government to make real reforms in response to the demands of the protesters, noting that the talk of Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi about a partial reshuffle in his government can not solve the crisis.
 
The Facebook page of Saleh Mohammed al-Iraqi, known for its proximity to Sadr's leader Muqtada al-Sadr, demanded an investigation into the executioners who killed the protesters. "They interrogated the executioner. The executioner is not an investigator," she said.
  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Current footage reveals the involvement of generalists in the suppression and arrest of demonstrators in Iraq

 Friday 11 October 2019
 
%D8%B1%D8%AC%D9%84-%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%86-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%8A%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%AF-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%AA%D8%B8%D8%A7%D9%87%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%861.jpg
 

logo-Lamsat.png

 

Baghdad - Writings

DUBAI (Reuters) - Clerics and preachers have been involved in crackdowns and arrests of protesters during the uprising of the Dignity Revolution that erupted in many provinces and regions in Iraq, most notably the capital Baghdad since October 1, according to footage posted on social media.

On October 11, 2019, activist Omar Habib published photos he said were the official of the religious committee in the Diwaniya provincial council, known as “Sheikh Hussein Al-Budairi”, with members of a civilian uniform in a pick-up vehicle with a car. SUV without numbers.

It is noteworthy that the footage shows the religious official participating in the beatings and arrests of demonstrators in the district of Shamiya during the Iraqi uprising, during which more than 300 people were killed and 9 thousand wounded, according to the coordination of the demonstrations;

%D8%B1%D8%AC%D9%84-%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%86-2-

%D8%B1%D8%AC%D9%84-%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%86-3-

%D8%B1%D8%AC%D9%84-%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%86-4-

 

 

https://kitabat.com/news/لقطات-متداولة-تكشف-تورط-مُعممين-في-قمع/

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Demonstrations in Baghdad demanding revenge for the martyrs and a video of the torture of demonstrators raises an uproar

 Friday 11 October 2019
 
%D8%B1%D8%B5%D8%A7%D8%B5-%D9%82%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B5%D8%A9-1.jpg
 

logo-Lamsat.png

 

Baghdad - Writings

Iraqi satellite stations broadcast video clips of demonstrations that came out on Friday, October 11, 2019, within the activities of the “Dignity Revolution” which began with the first days of the month of October and claimed the lives of more than 300 people dead and 9 thousand injured as a result of the excessive use of force and live bullets in the face of protesters According to the coordination of demonstrations.

According to documented by the satellite "Rafidain" has come out youth torch in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, a mass demonstration within the activities of the fulfillment of the martyrs.

 

#أنت_ترى | شباب منطقة الشعلة بـ #بغداد ينظمون تظاهرة حاشدة عصر اليوم وفاء للشهداء
ـــــــــــــــــــ
يمكنكم إرسال ما توثقونه على تليغرام وواتساب
00905374543873
00905496905096 #نريد_وطن#العراق_ينتفض#Save_The_Iraqi_People

 

Embedded video

 
 
 
 

 

In another context, the Iraqi MP Ahmed al-Jubouri on his private page on the social networking site "Twitter" video clip of the security elements assaulted and beaten the physical torture of a peaceful demonstrator carrying the Iraqi flag with run over under the feet to force him to leave the march, which was called to confront corruption and restore the right of martyrs and retribution for them .

Jubouri called on the Minister of Interior to hold the elements responsible for the incident;

 

معالي وزير الداخلية
اليكم هذا المقطع المؤلم الذي يذكرنا بجلاوزة النظام السابق.

 

Embedded video

 
 
 
 

https://kitabat.com/news/خروج-تظاهرات-في-بغداد-تطالب-بالثأر-للش/

 

 

 

 

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 2
  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Political observers: the reform package of the government of Abdul Mahdi closest to implementation

By ahad5 12/10/2019 09:08 AM | Read

Political observers: the reform package of the government of Abdul Mahdi closest to implementation

Ahd News - Baghdad

Observers for political affairs said on Saturday that the recent events in the Iraqi street have produced a lot of political and governmental movement calling for fighting the scourge of corruption.

Observers said that the reform package launched by the government of Mahdi is the largest package and closest to the application on the ground.

They said the National Security Council had issued decisions to set up a high-level commission to investigate the events that accompanied the protests and set a timeframe for announcing the results.

Finished / 8

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

How to solve Iraq’s problems

PM Adel Abdul Mahdi can’t meet demands of Iraqi protesters without fixing the economy



 
 

OP-IRAQ-problems-Web-use-only-1570798081475 Image Credit: Gulf News

Iraqis have had enough. After years of poor governance, the Iraqi people have run out of patience with the failures of their governing elites to deliver basic services or to reduce unemployment and corruption. Tens of thousands have come out in protests in Baghdad and parts of southern Iraq. More than 100 protesters have been killed and thousands have been injured by security forces. Broadcasting stations have been attacked and social media platforms and the internet have been blocked.

 
lg.php?bannerid=0&campaignid=0&zoneid=33
 

The scale and magnitude of the protests is unprecedented, as is the violent reaction from the Iraqi government. Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi has failed to prevent Iraq’s worst crisis since the Daesh [the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant] seized Mosul in 2014. He must take responsibility and ensure that the officials responsible for the large scale killings of protesters are prosecuted.

 

The crisis places Abdul Mahdi in a precarious position. Protesters want jobs and services, accountability and, in some cases, a complete overhaul of the Iraqi political class. The prime minister has failed to offer concessions — an increase in salaries, a basic wage for poorer families and interest-free housing credit programmes — that could placate them. In a televised address, Abdul Mahdi expressed willingness to respond to the “rightful demands” of the protesters but warned that there was no “magic solution” to Iraq’s problems.

Abdul Mahdi, an independent politician who has been the finance minister and vice-president, deserves a chance to pull Iraq out of this crisis and move forward. He is a veteran Shiite politician known for his conciliatory tone and personality, who shuns the dogmatism and authoritarianism of his predecessors.

The way forward is not a new government and a new prime minister, and the dangerous political uncertainty that brings. Instead it is a concerted effort to improve governance and to work for the economic regeneration of Iraq.

- Dr Ranj Alaaldin, expert in Middle East issues
 

He came to office in October 2018 as a compromise candidate after Iraq’s leading rival political parties came together in a coalition government and nominated him. For the first time in 13 years, Iraq has a prime minister who does not have a legacy of alienating members of his own coalition government and marginalising large sections of the population, particularly Iraq’s Sunni community, whose marginalisation and grievances enabled the Daesh.

That should be made to count. Parliament Speaker Mohammed Al Halbousi, one of the most prominent officials from the Sunni community, told me in Baghdad recently that he no longer envisages sectarian issues as being the paramount challenge for the country. “Iraq’s main challenges will be external and economic from now on,” he explained.

Abdul Mahdi’s premiership has secured the inclusion of Sunnis in the government and fostered a sense that their long-ignored demands for greater political participation are being met.

He has also improved Baghdad’s relationship with the Kurds, who took part in the elections and helped secure Abdul Mahdi’s prime ministerial job. They are fully vested members of the Baghdad government and hold multiple ministerial posts.

Next implosion

Kurdish leaders were barely on speaking terms with Iraq’s previous two prime ministers; they held a referendum for independence in 2017. But the Kurdish leaders had fought against Saddam Hussain alongside Abdul Mahdi, who at the time was a senior member of the Iraqi opposition. “He understands us and our people,” an adviser to Masrour Barzani, the prime minister of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq, told me.

But despite winning some social peace, a youth bulge, sagging growth rates and economic pressure could result in the country’s next implosion, as the protests have indicated. Iraq has a population of more than 30 million, which is expected to reach 50 million in a decade. More than 60 per cent of Iraqis are under 24, and 700,000 require jobs every year. Iraq lacks the infrastructure, sustainable governance and private sector to meet the needs of its population.

Abdul Mahdi, who has a reputation for being more about substance, has already signed agreements with Germany to upgrade Iraq’s electricity infrastructure and has developed Iraq’s economic ties with its neighbours.

But the challenges he faces are daunting. Iraq’s water resources have reduced by 30 per cent since the 1980s and the water supply faces a reduction of up to 60 per cent by 2025, which has dire implications for food production and electricity.

Iraq’s economy is largely dependent on oil which provides around 85 per cent of government revenue. But 70 per cent of its budget goes toward paying civil servants. The World Bank has estimated that productivity per Iraqi civil servant is an embarrassing 17 minutes per day, while Iraqi officials suggest it is around 15 minutes.

 

Tottering education system

Iraq once boasted of an excellent educational system, but it remains neglected and poorly funded. The education, reconstruction and health sectors receive around 8 per cent of the budget. Millions of Iraqi children do not attend school or are destined to perpetual unemployment. Sayyid Ammar Al Hakim, a revered religious and political figure, has rebuilt his movement around the young by allowing them greater opportunities for political participation. “There is no point discussing Iraq’s future and the state unless we begin with the youth,” Al Hakim told me in Baghdad.

Iraq needs help. Western governments remain too focused on a potential conflagration that could result from a war between Washington and Tehran on Iraqi soil, without a strategy for reinforcing Iraq’s sovereignty. The harsh truth for the United States is that Baghdad is too dependent on Tehran and cannot manage without Iranian natural gas and other products that meet its day-to-day needs. Iraq’s annual trade with Iran is $12 billion while American exports to Iraq are a mere $1.3 billion.

 

Washington can help reduce this dependence and reinforce Iraqi sovereignty by enabling Baghdad to build stronger relations with countries that can provide alternatives. This can take the form of a road map to energy independence involving facilitating strategic dialogues on shared energy grids and new pipeline connections with the Gulf states and Jordan.

The United States needs to increase its financial and technical investments in Iraq and leverage its global reach to mobilise international investors, which would prop up the economy and fund reconstruction projects. American technology giants and industry leaders should embrace Iraq’s burgeoning start-up movement and a new generation of leaders who are not yet absorbed into patronage networks.

Co-working spaces like The Station have helped establish a tech ecosystem that with the right investment can become an industrial powerhouse. An entrepreneurial, mercantile ethos runs deep in Iraqi society — but it is suppressed by the public sector, dependency on oil, red tape and patronage networks.

While protesters have called for the downfall of the ruling class — and even for Prime Minister Abdul Mahdi to resign — the way forward is not a new government and a new prime minister, and the dangerous political uncertainty that brings. Instead it is a concerted effort to improve governance and to work for the economic regeneration of Iraq.

  • Upvote 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Date: 2019/10/12 10:54 • 738 times read
The deputy speaker hints at his resignation
(BAGHDAD: Al-Furat News) Second Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Bashir al-Haddad, hinted to resign from the post against the backdrop of the repercussions of popular demonstrations in the country.
He said Haddad in a press statement that " the demonstrations in the country 's recent warning bell officials and state institutions and political parties, to stop defending corrupt, and provides an opportunity for the House of Representatives for questioning.
He promised that" the parliamentarians necessary reforms and to take sides to the people, if closed in front of them the doors to achieve what they promised. "
he added that he" personally would not be prepared to continue to work when it reaches a point where it is restricted and can not do what he wants reforms ".anthy feel
  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

12-10-2019 03:03 PM
image.php?token=853211f41239c0cbfa85c9ce2667d618&c=4485606&size=
 


 

Baghdad / News

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The Iraqi Bar Association plans to sue security forces over the targeting and killing of demonstrators, an informed source said on Saturday.

The source told "news", that "after the security forces targeting the demonstrators during the demonstrations this October, the Iraqi Bar Association intends to sue the security forces for the targeting and killing of demonstrators."

He explained that "the veil took this step in order to compensate the victims of the demonstrations who fell and martyred in order to claim their legitimate rights."

  • Upvote 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • yota691 changed the title to Iraq loses its membership in the Human Rights Council for repressing protesters and October 25th ultimatum
  • yota691 locked this topic
Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.