‘It is time for life to go back to normal’: Iraqi PM on protests

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraqis must resume their pre-protest lives and allow reform to be implemented, Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi said Sunday in response to continuing protests nationwide.  

“A month, in which interests, schools, universities, and a main part of public life came to a halt, has passed. It is time for life to go back to normal, for markets, interests, schools, and universities to open their doors,” Iraq’s Prime Minister said in a statement.

Iraqis have protested a lack of services, corruption, cronyism, nepotism and unemployment for years. Baghdad’s Tahrir Square, a focal point of Iraqi discontent, even saw demonstrations during the country’s war against the Islamic State (ISIS).

However, burgeoning protests led by the country’s youth were met with deadly force from Iraqi security forces, killing over 100 people in a week of protest beginning October 1. Protests then entered a brief hiatus period, due to the Arbaeen pilgrimage undertaken by Iraq’s Shiite Muslims. 

A second round of protests began on October 25. Iraqi demands grew to include a full overthrow of the government, constitutional amendments, and a new electoral law, among other demands for deep-rooted, systematic change.

More than 250 Iraqis have lost their lives in the two rounds of protest.

Security forces are known to have shot protesters with live ammunition rounds and military-grade tear gas canisters, to international condemnation.

Iraq’s prime minister has since said he is willing to step aside once his replacement is lined up.

Protester tactics have included the blockade of all roads leading to key ports including Umm Qasr in the southern city of Basra, which has been closed since Saturday.

Such actions will have long-term adverse effects on everyday Iraqis by halting the arrival of goods to the country, leading to increased prices, reasoned Abdul-Mahdi. “All the people pay the price, especially the poor.”

Unrest has suspended scheduled economic events in the country, including the Baghdad International Fair and presentation of the 2020 national budget bill in parliament, Abdul-Mahdi said, and is discouraging “worried” investors “both domestic and foreign” from investing in the country.

Government measures have been taken to facilitate a return to normality, the PM added.

“We have decreased the curfew hours. The important thing for the government is the return of normal life, with the keenness to protect the rights of the people, including that of peaceful protests in dedicated locations and preventing arson and assault,” he said.

Return to everyday life need not bring a complete end to ‘legal’ forms of protest, he contended. 

“As for protests or other legal practices to express opinion without affecting life or public and private interests, then that is up to you, and this is one of your rights.”

“Your presence in the squares and expressing your opinion supports us in presenting reforms and implementing them, and it is one of the most essential factors of reform and pressure if done legally in a correct manner,” Abdul-Mahdi said.