Qadisiyah / October

On the occasion of the second anniversary of the October 2019 protests, a hash tag was launched on social media sites #Two years - we want a homeland, which is considered as an invitation and a reminder of this occasion that erupted in the central and southern governorates of Iraq in protest against the deteriorating economic conditions of the country, and the spread of administrative corruption and unemployment. The demands of the demonstrators reached the overthrow of the ruling regime, the resignation of the government of "Adel Abd al- Mahdi", the formation of an interim government and holding early elections.

On Friday evening, October 1, 2021,  hundreds of demonstrators in the city of Diwaniyah, in solidarity with the demonstrators of Baghdad and the central and southern governorates, marched to commemorate the October revolution, which started from near the Mustafa Mosque to the Martyrs’ Square in the city center, with music and the national anthem. The demonstrators raised the Iraqi flags, as well as banners and some pictures of the victims of this revolution in remembrance of them and to remind them of their positions in support of these peaceful protests, which claimed the lives of more than 600 people and more than 30,000 were injured.

 Among the most prominent of these pictures of the martyrs (Safaa Al-Saray, Dr. Reham, Muhammad Al-Baqer nicknamed Anu, the martyr Thaer Karim Al-Tayeb) and other October martyrs. In addition, the demonstrators in Diwaniyah will renew, after the early Iraqi elections, these demonstrations to demand the disclosure of the killers of the demonstrators, as well as an end to quotas and constitutional amendments. In addition, there were chants against the ruling authority and demanding accountability for the corrupt.

This march lasted for two hours. As for the role of the media, it had a great impact in monitoring and documenting this demonstration through social networking sites, as well as news sites and agencies. News channels have the largest role in transmitting this local and international march. Zagros Arabic channel, as well as Shafak News Agency, are cases in point.

Figure1

A march to commemorate the October Revolution, which started from near the Mustafa Mosque to Martyrs' Square in Qadisiyah

Nasiriyah / October

Dozens of October demonstrators took part in a large-scale peaceful demonstration in commemoration of the last October revolution in Al-Haboubi Street Square in Nasiriyah, the center of Dhi Qar Governorate, on October 1, 2021 , carrying banners with phrases emphasizing the continuation of the demonstrations until the demands are met to raise the level of services and improve the economic level in the country and achieving social justice, appointments and phrases are like (You will not silence the voice of Octover), as well as raising the pictures of the martyrs, including (Safa Al-Saray and Omar Saadoun) the icon of the October demonstrations. The demonstrators proceeded from Al-Haboubi Square to Al-Tabbiah Street, then to the Nasiriyah Hall Square until Al-Zaytoun Bridge, under media coverage by some local journalists. No local official participated in the demonstrations, but rather it was purely popular.).

Young people were chanting (we will sacrifice our blood and soul for you, Iraq) with the presence of many families of the martyrs, while the security forces cut off some roads from vehicles in the places of demonstrations to protect the demonstrators, such as Al-Zaytoun Road, Al-Nasiriya Hall and Al-Haboubi Street Road. And on the bridges of Zaytoun, Al-Nasr and Al-Hadara without interfering or approaching the demonstrators. However, they refused to photograph or report to the media for any party, and no official showed up, and they ended the demonstration at six o'clock in the evening without any cases of violence or harassment.

Figure2

A large peaceful demonstration commemorating the last October revolution in Al-Haboubi Street Square in Nasiriyah

The reasons behind the demonstrations / the demands of the demonstrators

• The launch of several demonstrations in the central and southern cities of Iraq in commemoration of the second anniversary of the October 2019 uprising.
• Demanding to reveal those involved in the killing of the demonstrators and hold them accountable.
• Demanding to reveal those involved in the killing of protesters, (600 protesters have been killed during the past two years since the "October protests" began in 2019.)

The behavior of the security authorities with the gatherings

• There was no use of any manifestation of violence by the security forces, as the local police were present. It was limited to providing protection and facilitating the conduct of the assembly.
• The demonstrations were organized amid strict security measures by the security forces, which surrounded Al-Haboubi Square in Dhi Qar.
• The gathering was peaceful because it was commemorating the October Revolution, and the security forces cut off roads to provide protection without interfering or approaching the gatherings, and the officials did not make any statement.
• Through the monitoring of our work team in Nasiriyah, it was noted that restrictions were placed on demonstrators and journalists by preventing the filming the security forces.

Government responses to the public demands

Despite the elections taking place this October, a sense of frustration and despair prevails among the activists and the failure to meet their demands by the politicians who did not fulfill their promise regarding the restoration projects and building infrastructure and services. Meanwhile, Iraq is still mired in many crises, such as power cuts, lack of services, deteriorating economic situation and high unemployment rates among young people as a result of years of wars and chronic corruption. On the other hand, these elections were scheduled to take place in 2022, but the date was presented as one of the pledges of Mustafa Al-Kazemi’s government to confront the public protests that erupted in October 2019, denouncing the rampant corruption and mismanagement of public institutions. In addition, tension and fears in the Iraqi street about chaos reflect the political reality in Iraq after the announcement of the preliminary results of the early legislative elections, which were issued by the Sadrist movement, despite al-Sadr's hesitation between withdrawing and participating in the voting process, before making his decision to participate. Meanwhile, pro-Iranian forces announced that they are seeking to challenge the election results after incurring heavy losses. On the other hand, the Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's bloc achieved a great electoral victory by obtaining 73 of the 329 parliament seats. The strength of the current is due to several factors, including the personality of Muqtada al-Sadr, who comes from a religious family popular among Shiites in Iraq.

The second anniversary of the protests and demonstrations in Iraq denouncing the government’s failure to respond to the demands of the October uprising, and others in the Kurdistan Region calling for the provision of basic services

In view of the difficult circumstances the country is going through, and the apparent inability of the concerned authorities to deal with the October events, and the coincidence of the elections with the second anniversary of the October uprising on the one hand, and the results of the elections on the
others, is a matter of great complexity and difficulty and subject to many bargains for some political forces and blocs And some of these forces have powerful militias and military formations with which they protect their influence. The Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's bloc achieved a great electoral victory by obtaining 73 of the 329 parliament seats. This seems to reflect the extent of the widespread and deep
frustration among Iraqis, especially the protesting youth. In the Kurdistan Region, and after the announcement of the results of the parliamentary elections, there have been demonstrations, including: by teachers appointed by contracts, demanding the payment of
their wages, and professions related to the provision of basic services, including electricity, as well as middle school students after the announcement of the results of their admission to universities by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.

Basra / October

On 1st of October 2021, dozens of demonstrators went out in a vigil on the occasion of the first anniversary of the October revolution in Basra, the Bahriya Square near the Basra Governorate Office building, which preceded the legislative elections for the Iraqi parliament.
2 Civil activist Ali Al-Asadi says that commemorating the October Revolution is nothing but a continuation  of what the October heroes started last year at the beginning of the revolution and the affirmation of demands since the beginning of the revolution to lift the injustice on the Iraqi people and build a homeland where justice prevails, not personal interests. Ali added, "The demands that have been
achieved are not worth anything in exchange for the blood of the demonstrators in the October Revolution and the sacrifices made by these heroes. Therefore, the October Revolution continues until all demands are met. Ahmed Al-Tamimi, one of the demonstrators, stated that they will continue in the demonstrations until the right of every demonstrator who lost his\her life in the demonstrations, and we will not give up on these demonstrations to expose the corrupt and achieve the most important demand, which is a state free of militias.

Figure1
A protest on the occasion of the first anniversary of the October Revolution in Basra

On Thursday evening 14/10/2021, a number of the workers of Hamdan Ali Saree Abi Al-Khasib grocery market demonstrated in Basra demanding their rights and the state to activate the monitoring role and put an end to the greed of the owners of the grocery market and the exploitation of workers and
pushing them to work for 20 hours. Our demands must be met. Citizen Hussein Al-Shahmani says, "We want simple services such as cleaning, and the municipality's role in cleaning the market is a good indicator, and we need security, in addition to renewing contracts for municipal workers." The owners of the offices in Hamdan grocery market demanded an investment project that we brought from the Netherlands. The project was divided into four parts in order to implement the project without a delay. The cost of the project reached 55 billion Iraqi dinars, and 90 offices of the owners of the shops in the area were involved in this investment project. The Director of Basra Municipality stated, “We heard the 3 suffering of a large number of citizens in Hamdan grocery market, which is a real one, as we saw on the ground, related to many matters, including municipal services, water, electricity, sewage and security points. We reached solutions through three stages. The first stage is immediate and urgent in improving
the municipal service within the allowances through increasing daily cleaning work and cleaning machineries. The second is about the investment project of 2019, which is an integrated project that was prepared by the municipality and submitted to the governorate, but the Ministry of Planning
delayed and we will reconfirm it to be activated quickly. As for the third, which is a topic raised by the people, we will study this proposal and the extent to which it can be implemented if it provides a service to the people, and we are ready to cooperate with them).

Figure2
Alwan grocery market demonstration

On Sunday morning, 7th of October, dozens of demonstrators came out in Saad Square, Al-Kuzaiza area, Al-Zubayr district, Al-Tayaran Square, and the Italian bridge that leads to Al-Tanuma area, in protest against the results of the parliamentary elections, after the resistance factions declared that those who forged, tampered with the results and stole votes must be held accountable. The peaceful demonstrators blocked the entire road to Saad Square, burned tires, and carried banners that wrote the elections, which were run by UAE-American hands.

Figure3
Demonstration against the results of the parliamentary elections

On Tuesday morning 19th October, a number of protesters of Al-Qurna residents, west of Basra governorate, demanded a review of contracting with solid companies to implement the lagging infrastructure project, which was referred to the Turkish company Teverum, which in turn contracted
with untrustworthy companies that transformed the streets of the district and its infrastructure into rubble, and the most prominent of these demands was the suspension of work for all subcontractors working with the Turkish company, which operates in all districts due to its failure to complete the
project. The organizer of the demonstration, Mehmet Bagci, demanded the implementation of the project by the exclusively Turkish company Teverum and to end the issue of the central processing unit. Thus, the protesters gave the province and the Turkish company ten days to implement these demands, otherwise they will take further steps that might result in the closure of Teverum company by the residents of the district.

Figure4
A number of protesters from Qurna, west of Basra Governorate

On Tuesday morning 9th October, dozens of employees of the South Electricity Production Company came gathered in front of the Basra Governorate Office building demanding the approval of a lottery for the distribution of land plots, as the security forces deployed in the area, and there was no collision between the demonstrators and the security forces. On the contrary there was great cooperation between Demonstrators and security forces. The demonstrators appealed to Prime Minister Mustafa AlKazemi and Basra Governor Asaad Al-Eidani to expedite the distribution of land plots over the 5 employees of the South Electricity Production Company. One of the employees of the production company (Al-Najibiyah Power Station), Maitham Abdul-Amir, mentioned that they, the demonstrators, have made this vigil, representing the employees of electrical energy production in Basra to demand an acceleration of the lottery regarding the plots of land. And asked the governor to act as a parent regarding this matter.

Figure5
Dozens of employees of the South Electricity Production Company in front of the Basra Governorate
Office building

Babylon/October

A march commemorating the start of the October protests on 1/October/2019 under the revolution bridge in Hilla, where dozens of Babylon demonstrators gathered, as well as from the people of Hilla, a pause and a march in remembrance of what they had experienced of killing, suppressing and persecuting demonstrators on 1/October/2019 on this day as well the spark of the revolution of change, and with the presence of some of the families of the martyrs of the Babylon demonstrators, the march began at five o’clock towards Arbaeen Street, then back to the the revolution bridge.

Figure6
The march denouncing the start of the October protest, monitored by the protesting activist Ali Abdel Latif

Figure7
Demonstrators and the people of Babylon gathered under the bridge / monitored by the observer Ali Abdul Latif

Qadisiyah / October

Dozens of service contract employees of decision number (315) from various state departments in AlDiwaniyah governorate staged a peaceful demonstration to demand their rights on Tuesday morning (19/10/2021). They expressed their discontent due to the delay by the Ministry of Finance in releasing their financial dues after the Federal Court’s decision came in implementing the appeal in Article (50/a) of the General Budget Law in favor of service contract employees of Resolution “315”

Figure8
Dozens of contract holders protested in front of the Diwaniyah Governorate building to demand their rights

On Monday, 11/October /2021, protesters and demonstrators in Diwaniyah gathered to receive the body of the youngest peaceful protester, Haider Muhammad Al-Zamili, AKA "Safa Al-Saray" who was 7 killed by armed militias after he was kidnapped for three days because of a Facebook post from the “Safa Al Saray” account, a satirical caricature in which he criticized one of the political blocs.. His body was found by the river police on the Euphrates River in Diwaniyah, south of the country. It is worth mentioning that this event was covered by many media channels, including both "Al-Arabiya and Al-Rafidain". As for the role of the authorities, investigations are still underway.

Figure9
Haider Al-Zamili’s body and demonstrations condemning his assassination

Najaf / October

After the Independent High Electoral Commission announced the results of the early elections and the loss of Shiite alliances, after objections and appeals, these events led to a reaction from the losing parties (Al-Fateh, State of Law and Hezbollah Brigades... and others) to issue a statement holding the Independent High Electoral Commission fully responsible for the failure of the electoral process, in a state of chaos witnessed by the Najaf governorate after the final announcement of the results of the early Iraqi elections. A section of the Najafi public belonging to the losing blocs protested and this is what came from the election results and announced by the Commission. This sparked the indignation of the public who are followers of these blocs, accusing them of falsifying these results. These events have 8 a great impact on the protesters and supporters of these alliances, as a group of supporters of these blocs protested in Baghdad and a number of Iraqi cities. In Najaf, dozens of protesters, went out on
Tuesday, 18/October/2021 in protest against the election results and accusing the High Commission of fraud, demanding a re-counting and manual counting in all of Iraq and the non-interference of foreign countries, and the demonstrators stressed the need to hold accountable all those who were proven to be involved in fraud. On the other hand, Iraqi President Barham Salih confirmed in response to these protests. Objecting to the election results is a guaranteed constitutional and legal right, but he warned against jeopardizing public security and the safety of the country, in a statement.

Figure10
Losing blocs protest against the election results in Najaf

Nasiriyah / October

After they agreed among themselves to gather through social media platforms, raising banners stating their suffering from not being included in public employment like the rest of the other college graduates. Dozens of young graduates from technical institutes and law colleges, from many districts
and sub districts, gathered on Tuesday morning, October 19, 2021 in front of the Dhi Qar governorate in Nasiriyah, On the other hand, Abbas Salah, a graduate of the Technical Institute in Nasiriyah, confirmed that the number of his fellow graduates who participated with him in the gathering is more than 400 students, because the graduates have reached their ages from 30 to 35 without finding any job opportunity,
especially since they have families At the same time, Abbas made it clear that their gathering is peaceful at the moment because they have
not blocked the streets and have not clashed with the security forces, threatening that if the government did not implement their demands, they would act in another way. Although the demonstration lasted for three hours, no reactions were observed from the government side towards 9
the demonstration, only a number of journalists from local channels attended to cover it, and army forces surrounded them and the building about 30 meters away, which made them return to their cities at 12:00 noon.

Figure11
Dozens of young graduates from technical institutes and law colleges gathered in front of the Dhi Qar Governorate building

On the other hand, dozens of demonstrators set up a tent in the square of Al-Haboubi Street in Nasiriyah, the center of Dhi Qar Governorate. The tent bears the name (Tent of Umm Sajjad), the mother of the activist Sajjad Al-Iraqi, who was kidnapped on Sunday evening 20 /September /2020 and did not even return, which was a step agreed upon by the demonstrators after commemorating the anniversary of the October Revolution on October 1, 2021, through which they demanded the disclosure of the fate of the kidnapped activist. The reason for choosing this square was because it was the center of the previous October demonstrations, but soon a number of Iraqi army forces intervened to prevent them from setting up the
tent, and in the meantime, one of the unknown youths threw stones at the army forces, which caused a rage and convulsion between the two sides. Consequently, the army forces opened fire indiscriminately towards the crowds to disperse them. Later, the army forces were able to identify the young man who had thrown stones and arrested him in the same square, but a group of young demonstrators intervened amicably to negotiate with the colonel
to release the young assailant in order to prevent bloodshed after he confirmed that it was a self-driven act and no one else made him to do so. 10
The demonstrators asked the colonel to deliver a statement on the case of Sajjad al-Iraqi, and he allowed them to do so by asking his forces to surround al-Haboubi Square to protect the demonstrators while they were delivering the statement. In a private and exclusive contact with the Governor of Dhi
Qar, Dr. Ahmed Al-Khafaji, confirmed to our monitoring team that on Monday morning, October 4, 2021, he and the assistant for follow-up affairs and the family of Sajjad Al-Iraqi, including his mother, and a group of activists in the state of Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi met to talk about the fate of activist Sajjad and in turn Al-Kazemi promised to follow up on the issue after the elections and to form a special committee to follow up on the fate of the kidnapped activist, and that there would be another meeting soon after the elections. The governor did not explain the reasons why the meeting to be secret and closed, and he did not announce it in the media, and he was reticent to talk more about the matter.

Figure12
Protesters set up a tent in the square of Al-Haboubi Street in Nasiriyah

Karbala/ October

On 1/October/2021, nearly 300 people gathered in a solidarity march to commemorate the second anniversary of the popular protests took place in the country that demanded better services at the end of October/ 2019. The remembrance of the revolution for this year came with a protest march in which
dozens of activists and observers in the field of human rights and families of victims of the excessive use of live ammunition during those protests took part. Several religious rituals where the march received attention and follow-up local and international media who attended to cover. The ceremony, as well as the organizers of that march, delivered a statement by the protesters at the end of their march, calling to end impunity and the accountability of negligent people and those involved in accidents, the assassination of a number of activists and opinion leaders, as well as crimes of silencing and suppression11 of personal freedoms. They called on the Iraqi government to guarantee freedom of expression and provide protection for protests in accordance with the legal contexts guaranteed by law and charters of the International Covenant.

Figure13
Dozens of human rights activists and observers and families of victims in Karbala

On the anniversary of the start of the second October revolution, the family of activist Ihab al-Wazni demands the disclosure of his killers and calling for the Iraqi government to hold the perpetrators accountable. This was confirmed by the brother of the deceased, who took part in a protest in front of the Al-Ahrar Square monument to demand the disclosure of the results of the investigation regarding the assassination of his brother less than a year ago. About 50 people participated in it on the second of October, in the presence of a number of local media and security forces who came to secure the
gathering. The activist's mother, stated in a press interview that she repeatedly demanded to disclose the results of the investigations conducted by the Iraqi authorities months ago and to provide the evidence obtained. The judicial authorities of his family have a way that helps to reach the parties involved in his assassination.

Figure14
Demonstration commemorating the start of the second October revolution, the family of activist Ihab Al-Wazni in Karbala

Maysan/October

On 1/10/2021, in commemoration of the October Revolution and martyrs, a number of young men and women gathered in the demonstration square opposite the governorate building.

The assembly was organized by young people who participated in demonstrations under a statement issued on 29/September/2021, on 1/10 the assembly began and there were security forces concerned with protecting the assembly.
The good treatment of the demonstrators in Abha was civilized, in addition to providing them with assistance with the provision of drinking water and the demonstration proceeded peacefully with positive cooperation between the two parties. The local community distributed roses to the
demonstrators and some young people lit candles for the October anniversary.

Figure15
A demonstration in commemoration of the October Revolution and

Wasit / October

On 10/18/2021 in Al-Amel Square in the center of Kut, near Al-Rafidain Bank / Cordoba Branch, about 30 citizens gathered, demanding the abolition of the e-learning system and the private schools for their lack of serenity and returning to public education in public schools.
They also called for work to rehabilitate public schools, like private schools, and to abolish the latter, as it causes an additional burden on the citizen, as the Iraqi constitution / Article 21 guarantees: free education is a right for all Iraqis in its various stages, and the teachers have paid more attention to their work in private schools than public schools, and there is no explicit law that prevents teachers from working in the public and private sectors at the same time.

Figure16
A number of citizens gathered, demanding the abolition of the e-learning system

On 10/22/2021 at 12:00 noon and for a period of 4 hours, a number of citizens (at least 50 people) gathered peacefully in front of the Roads and Bridges Directorate building in Wasit Governorate, which is affiliated to the Ministry of Construction and Housing / General Authority for Roads and Bridges, located in Square 14 July, near the governorate’s office, against the background of the accident that happened to the poet (Samir Sobeih Al-Quraishi), an Iraqi poet known locally and internationally who lived in Wasit Governorate / Numaniyah District, which led to his death immediately in the early hours of Friday morning 10/22/2021. The cause of death was a traffic accident when he returned home as a result of his car falling into one of the deep pits of the maintenance and expansion works on the Baghdad-Kut road, which have been underway for more than a year, causing damage to the main street and a great danger to drivers and cars. The citizens demanded the directorate to pressure the Hammurabi National Company (one of the formations of the Ministry of Construction and Housing), the main outlet for maintenance and expansion works on this road, and a length of 100 km from the Taj alDin district, passing through Aziziyah district, al-Zubaidi district, al-Dabouni district, Numaniyah district, and Al-Ahrar district until the entrance to Kut district, where excavations were made. The edges of the main street, 1.5-2 meters deep

Figure17
A peaceful gathering in front of the Roads and Bridges Directorate building in Wasit

On October 20, 2021, a number of Wasit peasants and farmers (150 peasants and farms) organized a protest in front of the Directorate of Agriculture of Wasit, located in Al-Naseej Street in the center of Kut, to demand a reduction in the prices of chemical fertilizers and seeds provided by the Ministry of Agriculture through The Agricultural Equipment Company (a public company) is the official supplier of seeds and fertilizers used in the cultivation of wheat and barley after the price of chemical fertilizers increased to more than one million dinars per ton.

The reasons behind the demonstrations / the demands

• Demonstrations in several governorates in central and southern Iraq in solidarity with the secondanniversary of the public protests that took place in       the country demanding better services at the end ofOctober 2019.
• Demanding the reveal of those involved in the killing of the demonstrators and hold them accountable.
• A number of Wasit peasants demonstrated demanding reduction in the prices of chemical fertilizers and seeds supplied by the Ministry of Agriculture.
• A number of workers in Al-Qadisiyah governorate demonstrated their discontent due to the delay by the Ministry of Finance in releasing their         financial dues.
• A number of Hamdan Ali Saree Abi Al-Khasib grocery market workers demonstrated in Basra to demand their rights and that the state activate its     supervisory role and put an end to the greed of the owners of the market.
• A number of protesters demonstrated in Wasit, calling for the abolition of the e-learning system and the private schools for their lack of sobriety and the return to in-class education in the governmentschools.

The security authorities deal with gatherings

During the Basra demonstrations, as the civil activist Ahmed Al-Hajjaj, nicknamed Ahmed Al-Harbi, says that our protest was peaceful, and we were surprised by the attack on us by the army forces. A number of us were arrested unlawfully, even though our demands are very simple.

• In most of the governorates, the gathering was peaceful because it was in commemoration of the October Revolution, and the security forces blocked roads to provide protection without interfering or approaching the gatherings, and officials did not make any statement.
• No acts of violence against peaceful demonstrators were documented or witnessed, and the security forces that were close were satisfied with monitoring the event and protecting the peaceful assembly until its end / no force or repression was used against the demonstrators.

As for the demonstrations in the Kurdistan Region, the reasons were divided into:
- Failure to provide basic services
- High fuel prices
- Non-payment of wages/contract teachers
- And the discrepancy about the recent results of Zankoline regarding the admission of middle school
graduates in the Kurdistan Region

Government responses to popular demands

Despite the elections this October, a sense of frustration and despair prevails among the activists and
the failure to meet their demands by the politicians who did not fulfill their promise regarding the
restoration projects and building infrastructure and services, which remained ink on paper. Meanwhile,
Iraq is still mired in many crises, such as power cuts, lack of services, deteriorating economic situation,
and high unemployment rates among young people as a result of years of wars and chronic corruption.
On the other hand, these elections were scheduled to take place in 2022, but the date was presented as

one of the pledges of Mustafa Al-Kazemi’s government to confront the popular protests that erupted in
October 2019, denouncing the rampant corruption and mismanagement of public institutions.