Calls to change the local government and the rise in fuel prices provoke a new wave of demonstrations.

• Demonstrations in Al-Diwaniyah Governorate
  

Iraq Without Corruption  # Demonstrations erupted after a call made by media professionals, activists, and Tishreen revolutionaries on social media. At the invitation of the head of the Journalists Syndicate - Bassem Al-Saeedi - to the dignitaries and sheikhs of Iraq and to journalists, media professionals, and activists to go out in a demonstration to dismiss the governor (Al-Shaalan), his deputies and directors of state departments.

things in the province and to choose active, working, patriotic personalities and personalities who bear responsibility for the next stage, this is what we hope and the governor will benefit.  On the other hand, he described the protest as a state of Health status and democracy. And he also pointed out that the largest countries in the world and democratic countries are witnessing similar protests as France and other countries where they are witnessing burning tires, the process of burning tires and cutting streets and practicing this protest role is a protest message to government agencies, perhaps this message will arrive. We hope that there will be swift solutions and that there will be a response from Parliament and members of Parliament in forming a new local government.  And that the Journalists Syndicate in the city stands with legitimate demands for the protesters).

•  It is noteworthy that these demonstrations lasted for several days, and a large number of journalists and media professionals participated in them. However, the demonstrations were not covered by media channels, as the role of the media was limited to social networking sites and Diwaniya channels. As for security, the reactions of the security forces varied. In the first demonstration, the demonstrations were peaceful, no use of violence by the security forces was observed, and no significant clashes occurred. The security forces' role was confined to providing protection for the gathering and assisting with its mobility. The matter differed from the second demonstration, where the demonstrators burned tires to convey their peaceful protest messages to government agencies.

  Furthermore, after the burning, the security forces called fire brigades to extinguish the tire fires, and the security forces dispersed the demonstrators, where some violence occurred during the demonstration. The security forces stampeded and beat the protesters to disperse the demonstrations, including the fall of one of the demonstrators, a demonstrator-Mohammed Qasim - after being severely beaten and taken to the hospital for treatment. However, the demonstration soon ended without loss of life. The demonstration remained peaceful during the subsequent demonstrations.

   

  • Demonstrations in the provinces of the Kurdistan region

  The continuous rise in gasoline and fuel prices has become a worrying concern for citizens in Iraqi Kurdistan, especially taxi drivers, public transport, and people with limited incomes, which has negatively reflected on the prices of various materials. Despite the protests of citizens and their grumbling and objection to this insane rise in prices, the pace of price increases is still escalating. To express their indignation, many taxi drivers came out in demonstrations demanding the government deal with the constant rise in gasoline prices, as it negatively affects them, and it came to the point of cutting public roads in more than one area in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. One of the protesters from the drivers expressed that the rise in prices has dramatically affected his work, as he has to wait in a long queue for several hours. Taxi drivers have demanded that the price of gasoline be set at (500) dinars per liter, like the rest of the provinces," noting that "taxi owners are one of the most affected groups by this increase, which negatively reflected on their daily resources."

• The reasons for the demonstrations / the demands of the demonstrators

By reviewing the demonstrations and events in several Iraqi governorates, the most prominent reasons that led to the start of the demonstrations can be reviewed as follows:

• Demanding the dismissal of the governor of Diwaniyah, Zuhair Al-Shaalan, as he was accused of corruption
• The high prices of fuels in the governorates of the Kurdistan Region.

Notes on the security authorities’ handling of gatherings:

The demonstrations, in general, were peaceful, with an economic and administrative focus. We can interpret these demonstrations and protests as a description of the alarming reality of the situation and the country's administrative weakness. The security authorities treat them differently, as they usually do, as they feel peaceful, but they use violence against the demonstrators in other situations. This behaviour by the security forces can be taken as a negative security indicator in carrying out its duties in protecting the demonstrators. In the region, there is an apparent disregard for the demonstrations. So no presence of the security forces is observed during the demonstrations.