Report Dec En 23

شبكة رصد

للحق في التجمع السلمي

Reports

تقرير منظمة كردستان لمراقبة حقوق الانسان حول وضع اللتظاهرات في العراق

Iraq is between internal and external crises and demands calling for reform

Iraq is about to bid farewell to another year full of crises. Iraq concluded this year with the launch of several demonstrations in several Iraqi provinces calling for reform and attention to the living conditions of citizens. The crises that Iraq went through during the year 2023 were not different from the rest of the years that passed. However, Iraqis still have hope that the new year will be the beginning of a stable country in which citizens live in peace after the crises that the country has experienced for more than a decade. In this report, the events of the demonstrations that were monitored by the monitoring team during December 2023 in many Iraqi governorates will be reviewed.

Sulaymaniyah Governorate demonstration 12-28-2023

Dozens of citizens went out to the (Tablo City) residential complex, which includes 900 housing units, in the Kalar district of Sulaymaniyah Governorate, in a demonstration due to poor services and their lack in the residential complex in which they live. On Wednesday, citizens in the Kalar district of the

administration of the autonomous region of Garmian in the Kurdistan Region expressed dissatisfaction and anger over the lack of services in a residential investment complex, demanding government treatment and interventions to guarantee their service rights.

Local media and websites reported on the nightly demonstration to protest the deterioration of electricity. The demonstrators closed the main road leading to Kalar district before it was reopened with the intervention of the security forces.

The issue of services is one of the basic rights of citizens that the government must provide to citizens. Any shortcomings in providing services could negatively impact the lives of citizens.

Photo (1)

citizens sit-in in Kalar district due to poor services

For his part, the Director General of Garmian Electricity, Mr. Hazem Karim Hamid, explained that “the residents of the (Tablo City) residential complex, which includes 900 housing units, suffer from a shortage in the complex’s services, not in the electricity sector, but in service matters that the investor (contractor) bears, due to problems.” The Investment Department, and residents’ reluctance to pay monthly installments for housing units, negatively affected the services provided to residents in the area.

Security forces were observed gathering during the demonstration without clashing with the demonstrators. Their work was limited to monitoring the demonstration, in addition to removing the barriers that citizens had placed to block the road for cars passing through the area. As for the media, there were a few media channels in addition to social media.

Demonstrations in the capital, Baghdad, 12-26-2023

On Wednesday, 12/26, in front of a mosque in the capital, Baghdad, hundreds of Shiite citizens went out in demonstrations to protest an American raid on an armed faction of the Popular Mobilization Forces, which led to deaths among the Popular Mobilization Forces members. Mourners gathered in the Iraqi capital carrying the coffin of a fighter from an Iraqi faction in the Popular Mobilization Forces, who was killed in an American strike that targeted militia sites in Iraq on Tuesday. One

The tense relationship between the United States of America and Iraq could have serious repercussions not only on Iraq but on the region as a whole. Therefore, both parties must deal more diplomatically and avoid military interaction at all levels.

of the demonstrators pointed out that what the American forces did in terms of bombing the Popular Mobilization Forces’ positions is a clear violation of Iraq’s sovereignty, and it is a crime that is added to the criminal record that the American forces have always carried out in Iraq since the occupation. During the demonstration, the demonstrators raised the flags of the Popular Mobilization Forces, and pictures of Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis and Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, who were killed in an American strike at Baghdad airport in 2020.

According to what was reported by the monitoring team, the American raid came in the form of retaliatory air strikes against Iranian-backed militias after three American service members were injured in a drone attack in northern Iraq. The United States bombed three sites in Iraq, used by factions loyal to Iran, following a drone attack targeting international coalition forces near Erbil Airport in northern Iraq, which led to three American soldiers being injured.

Governmentally, the Iraqi government issued a statement condemning the American air strike that targeted Iraqi military sites and considered it a clear and unconstructive hostile act. The statement stated that the air strike, which led to the death of a member of the security forces and the wounding of 18 others, including civilians, harms bilateral relations between the two countries and represents

Photo (2)

Demonstrations by armed factions to denounce the air strike carried out by US forces against the Popular Mobilization Forces factions

a clear violation of Iraqi sovereignty. Security forces monitored the presence of security forces at the demonstration site, and their role was limited to organizing the demonstration and ensuring its peacefulness. As for the media, there were many media channels to cover the demonstration, in addition to social media.

Diwaniyah demonstrations 10-12-2023

Thousands of department employees demonstrated in Diwaniyah Governorate on Sunday, December 10, 2023, to demand an adjustment of the salary scale. The demonstrators called on the government to reconsider their salaries and increase their allocations, like other independent bodies and special grades. The protesting employees, specifically teachers and those affiliated with service ministries, including

The failure of government institutions to fulfill their obligations towards citizens could push citizens to find alternative channels to demand their rights.

Construction, Municipalities, Planning, and Water Resources, are seeking to adjust their salary scales, similar to employees of sovereign and security agencies and ministries, such as Interior, Defense, Oil and Electricity, and agencies and directorates such as “Counter-Terrorism and National Security.”

One of the demonstrators pointed out that living conditions have become difficult, as basic materials are at a constant cost, in addition to the fact that the value of the Iraqi currency has lost its value against the US dollar, negatively affecting the purchasing power of the Iraqi dinar. Therefore, the salaries that the employee receives are not even enough to secure his basic needs.

Governmentally, there was no governmental reaction to the employees’ demands. As for security, it monitored the presence of security forces at the demonstration, where their work was limited to organizing the demonstration and maintaining its peacefulness without clashing with the demonstrators. As for the media, the presence of any media channel was not monitored during the demonstration, and media coverage was limited to social media, including Facebook.

Photo (3)

Diwaniyah governorate employees protest to demand salary increase

Reasons for the demonstration/demands of the demonstrators

By reviewing the demonstration that took place in Sulaymaniyah Governorate, it becomes clear that the most prominent reasons that led to their launch are the following:

1- Poor services

2- The American raid on the Popular Mobilization Forces’ positions.

3- Modifying the salary scale for employees

Notes on how security agencies deal with gatherings:

During the monitoring of the demonstrations that took place in Iraq during this period, and through the observations of the monitoring team, it can be said that the security authorities’ dealings with the demonstrators were characterized by professionalism. This is a good indicator of the progress of their performance, as the peaceful dealing with the demonstrators and their proper organization guarantee the individual’s right to demonstrate and freedom of expression in Iraq.

Kurdistan Organization for Human Right Watch

www.KOHRW.org

Email: Reports@kohrw.org

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