18 Feb 2011 09:16
Source: reuters // Reuters
Residents protest to demand for better basic services in Baghdad February 11, 2011. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani
* PM Maliki cuts own salary in half
* Iraq delays fighter jets contract to divert money to food
* Nationwide rallies echo Mideast uprisings
By Serena Chaudhry
BAGHDAD, Feb 18 (Reuters) -Unnerved by anti-government protests across the Middle East, Iraqi politicians are buying sugar, diverting money from fighter jets to food, doling out free power and cutting their pay to appease frustrated citizens.
The sudden moves by an elected government installed just two months ago seem designed to head off the kind of popular uprising that unseated long-time rulers in Egypt and Tunisia, although Iraq's nascent democracy is markedly different from entrenched autocracies in the Middle East, analysts said.
Iraqis have long protested against poor government services. But demonstrations against food, power and water shortages have mounted in recent weeks and some protesters are now voicing direct anger at Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's new government.
"Certainly from the steps they (politicians) are taking it would seem that they are nervous," said Gala Riani, Middle East analyst with consultant IHS Global Insight.
"Iraq has experienced relatively big protests in the past related to the poor state of public services without taking such a big move as increasing electricity subsidies."
For the most part, Iraqis have not called for the federal government, formed after nine agonising months of political wrangling between Shi'ite, Kurdish and Sunni factions, to step down. Instead they demand the resignation of local officials, better food rations and more electricity.
Iraq's national grid supplies just a few hours of power a day and is a constant source of annoyance, especially in summer when temperatures rise above 50 degrees Celsius.
Last week the Electricity Ministry said Iraqis would receive their first 1,000 kilowatt-hours of power for free each month. [ID:nRAS224475]
Dissatisfaction has been rising as progress remains slow eight years after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein.
The national food programme, which offers monthly rations of sugar, rice and other staples to millions, has come under fire due to shortages of some items.
The government has delayed the purchase of F-16 fighter jets to put $900 million of allocated funds into rations and bought 200,000 tonnes of white sugar this month to support the plan.
DIVERSE LEADERSHIP
"Maliki's almost panicked response to this new unrest demonstrates the extent to which he feels insecure: a man who is well aware that he obtained his second term as prime minister primarily through guile, stubbornness, and help from Tehran," said Wayne White, a scholar with the Middle East Institute.
Maliki, a Shi'ite, secured a second term as premier in December under a deal that gave shares in the government to minority Sunnis and Kurds.
While democratically elected leaders have pledged to reform Iraq, improvement has been slow. Jobs are scarce and battered infrastructure has hampered development and corruption is rife.
Protesters frequently cite rampant corruption as they call for local officials and provincial governors to step aside. Iraq is considered among the most corrupt countries in the world.
To placate frustrated Iraqis, Maliki said this month he would give up half of his $30,000 monthly salary and called for a two-term limit to be put on his office.
A bill to cut lawmakers and ministers' salaries -- and the pensions of former lawmakers and ministers -- by 50 percent has also been sent to cabinet for approval.
Iraq's protests have so far been scattered and analysts say it is unlikely that Iraqis will seek to change the government.
"The Tunisian/Egyptian uprisings revolved around a desire for regime change and free and fair elections," said Ranj Alaaldin, senior analyst at the Next Century Foundation.
"Iraq has a democratically elected coalition government that's representative of the Iraqi society, as opposed to having one ruling individual or family and ruling elite. It is very difficult to coordinate and execute an uprising against a government that is so diverse and heterogeneous."
(Additional reporting by Suadad al-Salhy; Editing by Jim Loney and Samia Nakhoul)
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Braving Baghdad
February 22, 2011
Ali Rashid
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Baghdad is a choked city. I had been told this a number of times but didn’t realise how pervasive the security measures were that it came as a shock to me when I saw it last week, for the first time in 7 years. The terrorist campaign to murder Iraqis still hadn’t started then, and Baghdad was actually quite a nice city. It is now extremely depressing, dull, dusty and dishevelled, despite a beautification campaign intended to spruce it up before the Arab League summit is held there next month. It took me over 3 hours to go from Adhamiya to the Reuters office in Abu Nawas and back because the road blocks every couple of metres choke traffic up so badly. The city is scarred; it looks like it has seen some terrible times, but the increased presence of security forces have had some very tangible results. I did not hear a single gun-shot or bombing during my stay there: they were far more frequent in 2003-04, when it would be ordinary to hear these things in the background. People go out more often too, I was slightly shocked when my cousin announced that we would be going to Karrada for dinner at 10pm.
There are a lot of grievances, legitimate ones, that form the backbone of discontent against the government. Electricity and poor services being at the forefront. Many of the people I spoke to understood why people would go out to protest- to put pressure on the government to improve services, but none told me that they wanted the overthrow of the system itself, noting that starting from scratch, like they did in 2003, is not the solution.
I didn’t stay long enough to get a feeling of the issue of sectarianism there. This said, what I did see is that the only thing more ubiquitous than the road blocks were the banners commemorating the Arbaeen, and posters depicting Imam Ali and Imam Hussein (AS). If the horrors of 2006-07 were indeed a civil war, and the Shia were the victors, what we see now looks an awful lot like a flaunting of that victory.
It wasn’t easy being back, but I am so glad I took the trip. A lot of neighbours were killed since I was last there, and it was difficult to hear the details of how some of them were murdered. But on the other hand, Baghdad still feels special, and I look forward to going back there soon.
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19 Feb 2011 17:53
Source: reuters // Reuters
Iraqi Kurds protest to demand the ouster of the local government and better basic services in Sulaimaniya, 260 km (160 miles) northeast of Baghdad, February 19, 2011. REUTERS/Stringer
BAGHDAD, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Hundreds of people rallied for political reforms in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region on Saturday while demonstrators in Baghdad protested demanding better rights for widows and orphans.
Protests have become routine as Iraqis inspired by demonstrations across the Arab world press their demands for an end to corruption, or to ease electricity and food shortages.
In the northern city of Sulaimaniya, hundreds of people gathered downtown to demand an apology from the government for the deaths of two people at a demonstration two days ago.
A medical source said 12 people, including a policeman, were wounded in clashes between protesters and security forces.
"Their injuries vary. Some were hurt by stones and some were injured by sticks," the source said.
A witness at the scene said two protesters were wounded.
Two people were killed and dozens wounded on Thursday when protesters looking to oust the local government and seeking better services rallied at the headquarters of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, which is headed by Kurdish president Masoud Barzani.
Security forces swarmed the streets of Sulaimaniya after Thursday's incident. Barzani called on the government to open an investigation into the incident.
In a separate protest at Sulaimaniya University on Saturday, hundreds of students condemned the KDP and called for political reforms and justice.
Unlike anti-government uprisings across the region, protests in Iraq have been scattered and demonstrators have usually not demanded the overthrow of their elected government established two months ago, although some have voiced direct anger at Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
In Iraq's capital Baghdad, more than 1,000 women and children took to the streets and called for the government to provide better care for the war-torn state's orphans and widows.
"Raise your voice and call for your rights," many chanted.
"I ask Maliki's government to pay more attention to those poor orphans who lost their fathers and mothers for the sake of this country," said Raghad Mahmoud, who demonstrated alongside her nephew, who lost his father in a car bomb in 2008.
"We live in a rich country that turns a blind eye towards its orphans. Orphans in Iraq have the right to a decent life, but this does not exist," she said.
The demonstration, watched over by soldiers and police, was peaceful and lasted an hour in Baghdad's Mansour district. (Reporting by Shamal Aqrawi in Arbil and Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad; Writing by Serena Chaudhry; Editing by Maria Golovnina)
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