MIDEAST-CRISIS-IRAQ-PROTESTS Tens of thousands protest in Iraq to demand end to political corruption

Record ID: 142190

  • Title: MIDEAST-CRISIS-IRAQ-PROTESTS Tens of thousands protest in Iraq to demand end to political corruption
  • Date: 29th August 2015
  • Summary: BAGHDAD, IRAQ (AUGUST 28, 2015) (REUTERS) PROTESTERS WAVING IRAQI FLAGS AT TAHRIR SQUARE IN BAGHDAD MURAL OF TAHRIR AT SQUARE/ PROTESTERS FILLING SQUARE PROTESTERS WAVING IRAQI FLAGS PROTESTERS CARRYING HUGE IRAQI FLAG PROTESTERS CARRYING PLACARD READING (Arabic): "WE CALL FOR A TIMETABLE FOR EVERY MEASURE OF REFORMS" VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS WAVING IRAQI FLAGS MAN AND HIS TEENAGE BOY DRESSING IN TRADITIONAL ARAB DRESS PAINTED WITH IMAGES REPRESENTING IRAQ CLOTHES PAINTED WITH IMAGES AND WORDS READING (Arabic): "THE POOR ARE THE PEOPLE OF IRAQ WHO ARE MOANING UNDER HEAVY LOAD" BAGHDAD, IRAQ (AUGUST 28, 2015) (REUTERS) (NIGHT SHOTS) VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS AT TAHRIR SQUARE PROTESTERS WAVING IRAQI FLAGS (SOUNDBITE) (English) MAZEN AL-USHAIQER, A CIVIL SOCIETY LEADER AT THE BAGHDAD RALLY, SAYING: "What Abadi has done so far are just casual reforms. It's not the real reforms that most of the Iraqis are looking for. People need real action today and not in six months from now." BASRA, IRAQ (AUGUST 28, 2015) (REUTERS) PROTESTERS CARRYING LARGE FLAG WOODEN STRUCTURE WITH BANNERS ATTACHED ON IT / WHITE BANNER READING (Arabic): "SCRAP PENSIONS OF PARLIAMENTARIANS. WE ARE BANKRUPT. FIRST QUESTION TO PARLIAMENTARIANS -- WHO WILL GIVE US OUR SALARIES?" GREEN BANNER READING (Arabic): "GREEN ZONE AND THE ROUND TABLE ARE DOING INJUSTICE TO THE IRAQI PEOPLE." TWO PROTESTERS CARRYING PLACARDS / BANNER ON LEFT READING (Arabic) "POLITICIANS ARE LIKE BABIES' DIAPERS, THEREFORE THEY HAVE TO BE CHANGED PERIODICALLY FOR THE SAME REASONS." ONE ON THE RIGHT READING (Arabic) "HUNGRY PEOPLE, YOU HAVE TO REVOLT, BECAUSE YOU CANNOT GET BREAD BY KNEELING DOWN." PROTESTERS PLACARD READING (Arabic) "BASRA DEMANDS AN INDEPENDENT GOVERNOR." PROTESTERS BANNER ATTACHED TO TRUNK OF TREE READING (Arabic): "DAESH AND CORRUPTION ARE TWO FACES OF ONE COIN." PROTESTER CARRYING TWO PLACARDS / ONE CARRIED BY LEFT HAND READING (Arabic) "NO TO PARTIES" / PLACARD CARRIED BY RIGHT HAND OF PROTESTER READING (Arabic): "ABADI'S REFORM JUST LIKE INTRAVENOUS THERAPY." (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SABEEH ZUHAIR, ENGINEER , SAYING: "People aren't just protesting over services like water and electricity. It is true that they are an important thing, but there are things that are more important than them. People have come out today in their millions as requested by (Prime Minister Haider) Abadi to authorise him to change or amend the constitution." KERBALA, IRAQ (AUGUST 28, 2015) (REUTERS) PROTESTERS CARRYING FLAGS AND BANNER READING (Arabic): "WE CALL FOR RESIGNATION OF GOVERNOR AQEEL AL-TURAIHI" AND "WE CALL FOR BRINGING CORRUPT PEOPLE TO ACCOUNT" VARIOUS OF PROTESTER CHANTING AND WAVING FLAGS PROTESTERS CARRYING LARGE FLAG CHANTING VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS
  • Embargoed: 13th September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Iraq
  • Country: Iraq
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVABNP5EFBW024I7NQBOK89KNZKR
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Tens of thousands of demonstrators protested in Baghdad and southern provinces of Iraq on Friday (August 28), calling for real reforms and an end to political corruption.
    Thousands more rallied in Najaf, Basra and other cities across the Shi'ite southern heartland following a call from powerful Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, in what a senior security official called the biggest protest of the summer.
    The capital and many southern cities have witnessed demonstrations in recent weeks calling for provision of basic services, the trial of corrupt politicians, and the shake-up of a system riddled with graft and incompetence.
    Protesters' demands, which initially aimed at improving power supply amid a sweltering heatwave, have focused more on encouraging Abadi to accelerate reforms, put corrupt officials on trial and loosen the grip of powerful parties over the state.
    "What Abadi has done so far is just casual reform. It's not the real reforms that most of the Iraqis are looking for," said Mazen al-Ushaiqer, a civil society leader at the Baghdad rally.
    Partly in response to protests earlier this month, Abadi began pushing reforms to a system he says has deprived Iraqis of basic services and undermined the fight against Islamic State militants.
    He announced several measures to combat corruption and mismanagement including scrapping layers of senior government posts, cutting security details and other perks for officials, and encouraging corruption investigations.
    Likewise, huge protesters filled main streets of the Shi'ite provinces of the south, demanding for real actions to put reforms into effect.
    "People aren't just protesting over services like water and electricity. It is true that they are an important thing, but there are things that are more important than them. People have come out today in their millions as requested by (Prime Minister Haider) Abadi to authorise him to change or amend the constitution," said Sabeeh Zuhair, an engineer from the southern oil hub city of Basra.
    On Friday, Abadi directed military commanders to ease civilian access to the Green Zone, the central Baghdad district which is home to many government buildings and several Western embassies.
    The 10-square-kilometre area on the bank of the Tigris River once housed the headquarters of the U.S. occupation and before that one of Saddam Hussein's republican palaces.
    Checkpoints and concrete barriers have blocked bridges and highways leading to the neighbourhood for years, symbolising the isolation of Iraq's leadership from its people and wreaking havoc on traffic in the city of 7 million people.
    Abadi also ordered the elimination of no-go zones set up by militias and political parties in Baghdad and other cities in response to more than a decade of car bombings.
    Security at Friday's protests was tight and helicopters circled overhead. At the Baghdad protest at least four people were wounded in clashes and security forces detained a handful of youths carrying weapons.
    Abadi ordered on Friday the formation of a legal committee to review the ownership of state properties and return illegally gained assets to the state. Critics say some officials have abused their authority to appropriate state-owned properties for personal use.
    Top Shi'ite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who wields authority few Iraqi politicians would openly challenge, has called on Abadi to "strike with an iron fist" against corruption. On Friday, he cautioned protesters against letting personal goals distract from their demands while urging politicians to provide tangible results of reform measures.
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