ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – A small group of protesters took to the streets of Basra on Friday, demanding the province be given more control over its own affairs by being made a region, similar to the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region.
“The local government is not serious in its promises and sees the Basra people as second class citizens,” one protester told Baghdad Today.
The only solution is for the creation of a Basra region, he said.
Earlier in the day, Kadhim al-Sahlani, a spokesperson for civil activist groups in Basra said the government has not responded to demands of protesters despite the “passage of many months.”
Deadly protests in Basra over the summer sparked a political crisis in Baghdad. People demanded better services and investments in the province that is rich in oil and natural resources but has high unemployment and crumbling infrastructure.
Sahlani told Rudaw that the call for the formation of a Basra region will be used as a pressure card with the newly-formed cabinet of Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi.
Abdul-Mahdi’s Council of Ministers, supported by Muqtada al-Sadr’s Sayirun alliance and Hadi al-Amiri’s Fatih alliance, has promised to meet protesters’ demands.
Influential Shiite cleric Sadr was a strong supporter of the protesters who had issued 14 demands in July.
Representatives from the province in the parliament have said they will not support a federal budget if it does not increase funds for Basra – including petrodollars and a share of customs fees collected at Basra’s borders.
“The local government is not serious in its promises and sees the Basra people as second class citizens,” one protester told Baghdad Today.
The only solution is for the creation of a Basra region, he said.
Earlier in the day, Kadhim al-Sahlani, a spokesperson for civil activist groups in Basra said the government has not responded to demands of protesters despite the “passage of many months.”
Deadly protests in Basra over the summer sparked a political crisis in Baghdad. People demanded better services and investments in the province that is rich in oil and natural resources but has high unemployment and crumbling infrastructure.
Sahlani told Rudaw that the call for the formation of a Basra region will be used as a pressure card with the newly-formed cabinet of Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi.
Abdul-Mahdi’s Council of Ministers, supported by Muqtada al-Sadr’s Sayirun alliance and Hadi al-Amiri’s Fatih alliance, has promised to meet protesters’ demands.
Influential Shiite cleric Sadr was a strong supporter of the protesters who had issued 14 demands in July.
Representatives from the province in the parliament have said they will not support a federal budget if it does not increase funds for Basra – including petrodollars and a share of customs fees collected at Basra’s borders.
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