The abandoned open floor building became a symbol of Iraq’s anti-government protests, decorated with slogans demanding jobs, services, an end to corruption, and the overthrow if the post-2003 political order.
Now, with the Blue Hats in charge, the tower is covered with anti-US, pro-Palestine, and pro-Sadr slogans.
Sadr’s Blue Hats say they have cleared the building of “drinkers” and “drug-addicts”.
“Here there used to be hooligans, vandals, and all sorts of people in the Turkish Restaurant, but now only those people who have a clean heart and are peaceful can stay here,” Garar Zayidi, a Blue Hat, told Rudaw.
People are now searched before they are allowed to enter.
“Our presence is to protect protesters and expel the hooligans. As you know, there used to be fighters and hostages. When we entered, we found crystal and drugs as well as alcohol,” Montaraz Jamali, another Blue Hat, told Rudaw.
Government forces cracked down on the protests in late January, retaking several key bridges and public spaces in the Iraqi capital from the encamped protesters.
The protesters remain defiant and say the Blue Hats are part of the “corrupt” establishment.
“We do not have animosity towards the Blue Hats as individuals. They are Iraqis too. However, regarding their ideological and political alignment, they are part of this corrupt government,” protester Daniya Jabouri told Rudaw.
According to the Iraqi Human Rights Commission, about 550 people have been killed and around 30,000 injured since the protests began on October 1.
Following the nomination of Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi as Iraq’s prime minister designate in January, Sadr withdrew his support for the movement. The protesters called the move a “betrayal” and have rejected Allawi as yet another establishment candidate.
With additional reporting by Halkawt Aziz
