MPs protest escalating violence in the Kurdistan Region
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Fourteen members of the Kurdistan Region’s parliament on Wednesday said they are protesting parliamentary meetings and sessions “to draw the government's attention to the well-being of the people."
The MPs, made up of representatives from the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), Kurdistan Islamic Group (Komal) and Gorran (Change) Movement gathered in front of parliament urging both parties and protesters to refrain from violence.
“We call on all parties, in the cities and towns that are experiencing tensions, to vacate their offices and refrain from confronting the protesters, not to let the protests escalate,” said the MPs in a joint statement read by Gorran MP Ashna Abdulla Qadir.
“We call on the protesters to take a peaceful approach to their rights … and we urge them to refrain from violence and burning public places, which are public property,” they added.
The MPs said they would not attend any parliamentary business, except for a meeting to discuss select issues, including corruption, oil reform, border crossing smuggling and violence against protesters, saying “the Kurdistan Region has been plagued by major financial and economic disasters.”
Speaker of Parliament Rewaz Fayaq later expressed her support for the MPs at a press conference, saying “we have no plans to hold a meeting, if it doesn’t change people’s lives.”
Encouraging all parties to reach a foundational understanding is “more important than parliament meetings,” she added.
Protests broke out last Wednesday in the city of Sulaimani, with teachers and other civil servants demanding their salaries after going unpaid for most of this year amid budget disputes between Erbil and Baghdad. Protests have taken place across numerous towns across the province, as well as in Halabja province and the Garmiyan administration, with at least seven protestors and one Peshmerga reportedly killed during clashes on Monday and Tuesday.
Despite a 24-hour traffic ban issued by the Sulaimani province high crisis cell for Wednesday, protests resumed in a number of towns in the Kurdistan Region.
Another Peshmerga, Hamza Mohammed, died of a stroke while dispersing protestors blocking the Dukan-Sulaimani road near Sulaimani province's Qamchwgha village on Wednesay, Dukan mayor Sirwan Sarhad told Rudaw.
Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights (IHCHR) on Tuesday demanded the KRG and federal government “resolve their differences in a way that ensures the fulfillment of the legitimate demands of the demonstrators.”
“The Commission calls on the security authorities in the Sulaimani governorate to respect human rights and not restrict the exercise of freedom of opinion and expression,” they added.
Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Monday recognized the demonstrations as the citizen’s “legitimate right,” however, urged protesters to refrain from chaos and destruction of the towns and properties.
In a speech on Wednesday, the PM stated that, “the protest that started in Sulaimani and Halabja were peaceful. However, they were taken advantage of.”
Several international and local human rights groups on Wednesday urged the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to end the arbitrary detention of activists, civil society members, and peaceful protestors in a joint-statement.
The KRG interior ministry's High Security Committee says it will not allow "unlicensed" protests in the Kurdistan Region, adding that security forces are "open-handed [...] within the framework of the law" to prevent unsanctioned protests and violence, according to a statement released Wednesday evening.
Legal procedures will be taken against those who damage government property, the statement added.
The MPs, made up of representatives from the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), Kurdistan Islamic Group (Komal) and Gorran (Change) Movement gathered in front of parliament urging both parties and protesters to refrain from violence.
“We call on all parties, in the cities and towns that are experiencing tensions, to vacate their offices and refrain from confronting the protesters, not to let the protests escalate,” said the MPs in a joint statement read by Gorran MP Ashna Abdulla Qadir.
“We call on the protesters to take a peaceful approach to their rights … and we urge them to refrain from violence and burning public places, which are public property,” they added.
The MPs said they would not attend any parliamentary business, except for a meeting to discuss select issues, including corruption, oil reform, border crossing smuggling and violence against protesters, saying “the Kurdistan Region has been plagued by major financial and economic disasters.”
Speaker of Parliament Rewaz Fayaq later expressed her support for the MPs at a press conference, saying “we have no plans to hold a meeting, if it doesn’t change people’s lives.”
Encouraging all parties to reach a foundational understanding is “more important than parliament meetings,” she added.
Protests broke out last Wednesday in the city of Sulaimani, with teachers and other civil servants demanding their salaries after going unpaid for most of this year amid budget disputes between Erbil and Baghdad. Protests have taken place across numerous towns across the province, as well as in Halabja province and the Garmiyan administration, with at least seven protestors and one Peshmerga reportedly killed during clashes on Monday and Tuesday.
Despite a 24-hour traffic ban issued by the Sulaimani province high crisis cell for Wednesday, protests resumed in a number of towns in the Kurdistan Region.
Another Peshmerga, Hamza Mohammed, died of a stroke while dispersing protestors blocking the Dukan-Sulaimani road near Sulaimani province's Qamchwgha village on Wednesay, Dukan mayor Sirwan Sarhad told Rudaw.
Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights (IHCHR) on Tuesday demanded the KRG and federal government “resolve their differences in a way that ensures the fulfillment of the legitimate demands of the demonstrators.”
“The Commission calls on the security authorities in the Sulaimani governorate to respect human rights and not restrict the exercise of freedom of opinion and expression,” they added.
Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Monday recognized the demonstrations as the citizen’s “legitimate right,” however, urged protesters to refrain from chaos and destruction of the towns and properties.
In a speech on Wednesday, the PM stated that, “the protest that started in Sulaimani and Halabja were peaceful. However, they were taken advantage of.”
Several international and local human rights groups on Wednesday urged the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to end the arbitrary detention of activists, civil society members, and peaceful protestors in a joint-statement.
The KRG interior ministry's High Security Committee says it will not allow "unlicensed" protests in the Kurdistan Region, adding that security forces are "open-handed [...] within the framework of the law" to prevent unsanctioned protests and violence, according to a statement released Wednesday evening.
Legal procedures will be taken against those who damage government property, the statement added.