Protesters Converge on Iraq Capital

Correspondents* – IPS/AJ

HAVANA TIMES, March 4 (IPS) — Hundreds of people have converged on Baghdad’s Tahrir, or Liberation, Square for an anti-government demonstration despite a vehicle ban that forced many to walk for hours to the heart of the Iraqi capital.

The Baghdad demonstration was one of many taking place across the country on Friday, including in the port of Basra and the holy city of Najaf.

In the southern city of Basra, about 1,000 people gathered at the Basra provincial council building. Last week the protests in the city led to the resignation of the governor. This week, protesters demanded that the provincial council step down and essential services such as water and electricity be improved.

Demonstrations have been taking place in Iraq for the past month, with protesters decrying a lack of improvement in their daily lives, eight years after the US-led invasion that ousted the late Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein.

Government has failed

The biggest of the rallies took place last Friday, when Iraqis took to the streets of at least 17 cities and towns. A total of 16 people were killed and more than 130 wounded as a result of clashes on that day.

The demonstrations, inspired by revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia, have concentrated on demands for improved government services, better pay and an end to corruption in Iraq.

“Our country is lost and for the last eight years the government has failed to offer services for people. Thousands of youths are without jobs,” Bahjat Talib, who joined the protest in Baghdad, said.

He said he walked from the vast slum in eastern Baghdad called Sadr City through eight checkpoints to get to the square.

Talib said he had to tell security forces that he was going to work or they would refuse to let him pass.

He was one of about 500 demonstrators in Liberation Square, surrounded by what appeared to be even more security forces.

“People will continue demonstrating until there is reform because the government has been built on a sectarian basis,” said Faisal Hamid, a pensioner who walked to Tahrir Square from the nearby neighbourhood of Karrada.

Strict security measures

The Iraqi government, worried the demonstrations may spiral out of control, have taken strict measures that appear designed to limit the number of demonstrators who come out.

Late Thursday, they imposed a vehicle ban in the capital so many of the protesters were forced to walk for miles. Similar vehicle bans were in place in the northern cities of Mosul and Kirkuk, and the southern city of Basra.

Side streets leading up to the square were blocked with security vehicles and helicopters buzzed overhead in Baghdad.

Before those protests, Iraqi officials tried to discredit the demonstrations by saying they were being backed by supporters of Saddam and al-Qaeda. The warnings seemed designed to keep people away and paint those who did take part in a bad light.

Ammar Ziad, a finance ministry employee who was protesting at Tahrir Square, on Friday, rejected the claims.

“We are not Baathists, we are just Iraqis asking for simple rights like services,” he said.

Demonstrators this Friday took measures to protect themselves, showing the distrust many feel toward the security forces.

Kamil al-Assadi, a resident of Sadr City, formed a committee checking demonstrators entering the square because they were worried the security forces might plant people in the crowd to create problems.

“We do not trust the Iraqi security forces and formed a committee to check the demonstrators to make sure that no one is carrying a knife or any kind of weapon who aims at creating any problems during the demo,” he said.
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* Published by IPS under an agreement with Al-Jazeera.