Everything To Know About The Youth-Led Anti-Government Protests In Iraq

whenever a little sort of activists assembled in Baghdad on October 1 to protest governmental corruption, Iraqi security forces met them with tear gas, water cannon, and bullets, according to Foreign Policy, and forced the sort to disperse.


So those activists put a phone call out on social media, asking fellow like-minded Iraqis to join them.


Later that same day, thousands of young adults showed up to protest in droves. And so they continued to show up in the coming days, sort in attempt to prepare their voices heard about the inequalities they faced in their everyday lives. Inside of the week, Iraqi forces and snipers had begun shooting protesters point-blank, and the government cut access to the world wide web, a tactic frequently used to slow protests. Since then, more than 100 people have been killed, and thousands have been injured since protests began, Iraqi security officials announced, according to NPR.


“We’ve had enough — enough!” One protester in Baghdad shouted, according to the Washington Post. “They stole our futures, and right now they’re killing us.”


The mass demonstrations in Baghdad and parts of southern Iraq were led by primarily 20-something Iraqis tired of the lack of possibility in their nation and the corruption of the government. The public uprising shocked government officials, Al Jazeera reporter Imran Khan told NPR.


“The government were fully surprised by this, and so they sent in the Iraqi army and the police with very heavy-handed tactics,” Khan mentioned. “They used live fire. They used tear gas. They used rubber-coated steel bullets. Right now, there were a few deaths that day, then the protests spread to other parts of the country.”


These calls are coming from young people who “barely remember the U.S.-Led occupation of Iraq,” according to Khan. “What they do remember is the last 10 years and the possibilities that have not been given to them,” he told NPR.


The anti-government rallies started almost each year immediately after Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi took office. He promised reform right after being elected to replace Haider al-Abadi, yet protestors mentioned that months later, they still lacked generic services like water and electricity and blamed government corruption for the scarcity. They want Iran to stop meddling in Iraqi politics and they’re calling for government officials to step down.


On Saturday (October 5), Abdul-Mahdi mentioned he wanted to meet with the protesters — without armed forces. “I am willing to go wherever our brotherly protesters are and meet them or send them envoys to other locations without any armed forces,” Abdul-Mahdi told his Cabinet in televised remarks, according to PBS Newshour. “I will go and meet them without weapons and sit with them for hours to listen to their demands.”


That same day, Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi met with protesters and told them that their “voice was being heard,” according to the Washington Post. He mentioned the government would roll out a series of measures to curb corruption and help the economy, like allocating low-income housing, unemployment advantages, and vocational training, Al Jazeera reported. He mentioned he plans to pay out unemployment assistance and offer government-backed housing for low-income residents, according to NPR.


Nevertheless protesters weren’t satisfied, and so they took to the streets the following day (October 6). They were met, once again, with Iraqi security forces who used tear gas and live ammunition, according to the Post.


On October 8, Iraqi President Barham Salih condemned the attacks on protesters and called for parliament to enact reforms that are in line with protester necessitates, according to Al Jazeera. “The right to protest and freedom of expression are certified by the constitution,” he said.


Iraqi authorities also reopened Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone — an area in the center of the Iraqi capital that serves because the headquarters for several of Iraq’s regimes — right after “successful negotiations” between the prime minister’s office and protesters, according to Anadolu Agency, a state-run news company in Ankara, Turkey. The Iraqi News Firm also reported that Internet service was partially returned, and Al Jazeera announced that the nation’s parliament contained its first session since the protests started.


As of publication, protests are still raging on, according to Steven Nabil, a correspondent for Alhurra News. Global rights categorize Amnesty International mentioned they “continue to closely monitor the scenario in Iraq.”


“Our message to Iraqis: We are watching, we can hear you,” the corporation said.