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Thousands of Iraqis protest against government corruption. Is this what Iraq has become already?
Thousands of Iraqis braved the scorching summer heat to stage a huge protest in central Baghdad on Friday, calling on the prime minister to dissolve the parliament and sack corrupt government officials.
Security forces and riot police sealed off Iraq's iconic Tahrir Square and searched anyone who entered the area, but tens of thousands of men, women and children thronged the sprawling square, waving Iraqi flags.
"In the name of religion, the thieves robbed us," they chanted long into the evening.
Men with the government-backed Popular Mobilization Forces, the umbrella group made up predominantly of Shiite militias, pulled up in trucks and handed out ice water bottles to the protesters.
Their gesture was welcomed by roaring shouts in support of the paramilitary force now fighting the Islamic State group. The PMU was hastily assembled last year, with pre-existing militias and new volunteers, to reinforce the Iraqi military after it crumbled in the face of the Sunni militant blitz that seized a third of the country.
"The government is robbing the Mobilization Forces too!" the protesters cried, with many PMU fighters claiming they weren't receiving salaries promised to them.
This is the second Friday of protests in Baghdad and across Iraq, with people initially calling on authorities to address the country's chronic electricity problems as temperatures in the capital soared above 50 degrees Celsius (123 Fahrenheit). But with little action from the Shiite-dominated government following last week's demonstrations, the call for a government shake-up intensified.
As Haider al-Abadi nears his one-year anniversary since assuming the role of Iraq's prime minister, he faces his biggest challenge yet as an economic crisis and crippling war with the Islamic State group put a choke on domestic services. Discontent is rising, even among the country's Shiite majority, with protests springing up in cities from Baghdad to Basra.
"Change, that's what we need," said schoolteacher Najlaa Malek, one of the protesters in the square Friday. "The problems in this country have become too many to list. And our leaders talk a great deal but then they do nothing to fix them."
Read more at ...
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/thousands-of-iraqis-protest-against-government-corruption/ar-BBluWYW#image=2
Thousands of Iraqis braved the scorching summer heat to stage a huge protest in central Baghdad on Friday, calling on the prime minister to dissolve the parliament and sack corrupt government officials.
Security forces and riot police sealed off Iraq's iconic Tahrir Square and searched anyone who entered the area, but tens of thousands of men, women and children thronged the sprawling square, waving Iraqi flags.
"In the name of religion, the thieves robbed us," they chanted long into the evening.
Men with the government-backed Popular Mobilization Forces, the umbrella group made up predominantly of Shiite militias, pulled up in trucks and handed out ice water bottles to the protesters.
Their gesture was welcomed by roaring shouts in support of the paramilitary force now fighting the Islamic State group. The PMU was hastily assembled last year, with pre-existing militias and new volunteers, to reinforce the Iraqi military after it crumbled in the face of the Sunni militant blitz that seized a third of the country.
"The government is robbing the Mobilization Forces too!" the protesters cried, with many PMU fighters claiming they weren't receiving salaries promised to them.
This is the second Friday of protests in Baghdad and across Iraq, with people initially calling on authorities to address the country's chronic electricity problems as temperatures in the capital soared above 50 degrees Celsius (123 Fahrenheit). But with little action from the Shiite-dominated government following last week's demonstrations, the call for a government shake-up intensified.
As Haider al-Abadi nears his one-year anniversary since assuming the role of Iraq's prime minister, he faces his biggest challenge yet as an economic crisis and crippling war with the Islamic State group put a choke on domestic services. Discontent is rising, even among the country's Shiite majority, with protests springing up in cities from Baghdad to Basra.
"Change, that's what we need," said schoolteacher Najlaa Malek, one of the protesters in the square Friday. "The problems in this country have become too many to list. And our leaders talk a great deal but then they do nothing to fix them."
Read more at ...
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/thousands-of-iraqis-protest-against-government-corruption/ar-BBluWYW#image=2
Posted in these groups: 
Iraq
Iraq
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 24
6
6
0
It was that way before we left... We were actually encouraging corruption through a lot of our actions.
(6)
(0)
5
5
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They need to finally speak out about corruption in their country and start caring about the future of their own country.
(5)
(0)
5
5
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It's time for Iraqis to take a stand for freedom and liberty.
(5)
(0)
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