Dubai’s Al-Akhbar al-An reports that further large demonstrations broke out in Iraq on Saturday, leaving 91 wounded and one dead.
Friday saw some of the largest demonstrations in modern Iraqi history. Protesters are demanding an end to corruption and sectarianism and want a government that can deliver basic services. They are also objecting to U.S. troops being in the country, as well as Iranian influence.
Since the beginning of October when mass protests began, 260 have been killed. Iraqi security forces have used military-grade teargas, which can wreak havoc on civilians, and have used live fire on demonstrators.
Iraq’s only Gulf port is Umm Qasr, a key economic artery. Crowds have gathered to blockade roads coming out of it north. This development has deeply alarmed the Iraqi government, which has called on the public to demonstrate in designated zones and avoid damaging the economy.
Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi has offered to resign in the face of the huge and continuing protests.
One of the demands of the crowd is a new election law to address the ongoing gridlock typically produced by Iraqi parliamentary elections and their dominance by a handful of parties.
Some of those parties are Iran-backed, and Iranian intelligence officials have attempted to intervene against the protests. This step angered the street crowds. On Friday, Shiite Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani gave a ruling that foreign nations should not interfere in Iraqi politics, which has widely been seen as aimed at Iran. Sistani is of Iranian extraction.
The current Iraqi constitution and procedures are legacies of the 8.5-year American military occupation of Iraq, and many of its articles were originally written by Bush administration officials. Since 2005 Iraqi politics have been dominated by a handful of major parties, many of them with a fundamentalist Shiite or other religious and ethnic coloration. The Occupation set a tone of sectarian representation, which the crowds are also protesting, demanding an upright technocratic cabinet instead.
Al Jazeera reports that labor unions have played a central role in the rallies.
Bush’s viceroy in Iraq attempted to dissolve the country’s guilds and labor unions, in accordance with the plutocratic and austerity-driven policies of the 21st century United States. Many unions with membership in the Arab League insisted that the Americans had no right to take this step.
Parliament has offered to table a new electoral law, but it is having difficulty obtaining a quorum. This is typical of the gridlock about which the crowds are complaining.
Help us Prepare for Trump’s Day One
Trump is busy getting ready for Day One of his presidency – but so is Truthout.
Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office. With over 25 executive orders and directives queued up for January 20, he’s promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, and implement a “drill, drill, drill” approach to ramp up oil and gas extraction.
Organizations like Truthout are also being threatened by legislation like HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer bill” that would allow the Treasury Secretary to declare any nonprofit a “terrorist-supporting organization” and strip its tax-exempt status without due process. Progressive media like Truthout that has courageously focused on reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza are in the bill’s crosshairs.
As journalists, we have a responsibility to look at hard realities and communicate them to you. We hope that you, like us, can use this information to prepare for what’s to come.
And if you feel uncertain about what to do in the face of a second Trump administration, we invite you to be an indispensable part of Truthout’s preparations.
In addition to covering the widespread onslaught of draconian policy, we’re shoring up our resources for what might come next for progressive media: bad-faith lawsuits from far-right ghouls, legislation that seeks to strip us of our ability to receive tax-deductible donations, and further throttling of our reach on social media platforms owned by Trump’s sycophants.
We’re preparing right now for Trump’s Day One: building a brave coalition of movement media; reaching out to the activists, academics, and thinkers we trust to shine a light on the inner workings of authoritarianism; and planning to use journalism as a tool to equip movements to protect the people, lands, and principles most vulnerable to Trump’s destruction.
We urgently need your help to prepare. As you know, our December fundraiser is our most important of the year and will determine the scale of work we’ll be able to do in 2025. We’ve set two goals: to raise $120,000 in one-time donations and to add 1383 new monthly donors by midnight on December 31.
Today, we’re asking all of our readers to start a monthly donation or make a one-time donation – as a commitment to stand with us on day one of Trump’s presidency, and every day after that, as we produce journalism that combats authoritarianism, censorship, injustice, and misinformation. You’re an essential part of our future – please join the movement by making a tax-deductible donation today.
If you have the means to make a substantial gift, please dig deep during this critical time!
With gratitude and resolve,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy