BAGHDAD, Iraq — Baghdad’s Joint Command has said that one member of its security forces was killed, and another seven wounded as they tried to push away thousands of angry protesters from the well-fortified Green Zone, where many key state institutions are located, including the Independent High Electoral Commission, which the protesters say is partisan, and call for its members to be changed.
Public demonstrations in the Iraqi capital turned violent earlier on Saturday which led to the death of at least two people, believed to be protesters, after police opened fire on them who tried to break into the Green Zone.
Supporters of the Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr marched on the streets of Baghdad and towards the government compound against corruption and demanding a change to Iraq’s election law.
Sadr later Saturday called on the protesters to conduct a “tactical retreat” to preserve their lives from what he called “the state terror,” while holding the government responsible for the loss of lives, warning that their next move will be even more forceful.
The Joint Command said in a statement that the protesters stepped out from the allowed area, that the security forces acted upon their “legal and constitutional duty,” and that they seized weapons and knives held by the protesters.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi released a statement reaffirming the “right for peaceful demonstration, the preservation of the security of the protesters and the safety and the security of the citizens, and the protection of the private and public property.”
PM Abadi also called for the commitment to law and order, given that Iraqi forces are fighting against ISIS militants across the country.
Sadr specifically said in his statement that he holds “the Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi responsible.”
“Some unknown parties used an excessive force against the unarmed demonstrators, Sadr said. “Therefore, it is the duty of the United Nations and the rights organizations to intervene quickly to protect the lives of the peaceful demonstrators.”
Protesters chanted: “Don’t respond to us with bullets,” as they marched on, said Rudaw’s correspondent in Baghdad.
Protesters in #Baghdad continue to chant “Peaceful, peaceful, peaceful” despite tear-gas and live fire from security forces. pic.twitter.com/bkXXMcMENt
— Rudaw English (@RudawEnglish) February 11, 2017
Police used tear gas and fired over protestors’ heads to disperse the crowds.
Waving the Iraqi flag protestors scattered through the streets, rushing the injured to nearby hospitals.
“These protestors are calling for the high electoral commission to be changed, which we believe is controlled by the ruling parties,” Sadr’s political spokesman Jawad al-Jiburi told Rudaw.
Ayad Shamari from Sadr’s faction in parliament told Rudaw that “The commission has lost the trust of people.”
“The Sadr Movement previously demanded that the election commission be changed as we believe the change is in the interests of the Iraqi people. This commission should be free from political interference. The protesters are demanding that the election commission, the election law, and the commission’s members be changed,” he added.
Sarbast Mustafa Rashid, the head of the Independent High Electoral Commission, said in a statement on Wednesday that there are “legal procedures” to make changes both to the election law, and a change to the members of the commission, which could be done through the Iraqi parliament.
Rashid expressed his surprise that the protesters are calling for such changes while the current term for the commission members expires in seven months.
The next provincial elections are due in September.
Jamal Kochar, a Kurdish MP in Baghdad told Rudaw that the demonstrators have taken matters into their own hands.
“Muqtada al-Sadr has not asked his supporters to break into Green Zone area at all,” Kochar said.
Another Kurdish MP said the protesters were set on crossing into the Green Zone.
“Based on our knowledge, we were aware that protesters had planned to enter the Green Zone area,” the MP said, adding that some Kurdish MPs have gathered together for protection.
The police did not let the protesters cross The Jamhuri Bridge to break into the Green Zone area, said Rudaw’s Bahman Hassan.
Adil Nuri, another Kurdish MP said that the protesters have blocked a main road to the Green Zone.
“The protesters have blocked the suspension bridge, which is the main road to enter the Green Zone,” said Nuri.
Security forces in the Green Zone were calling for reinforcements as they said they cannot stop the protesters, said Shakawan Abdullah earlier, another Kurdish MP from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).
“When they knew that the government was not serious in changing the Electoral Commission, they staged demonstrations,” Abdullah added.
To avoid any harm against the Kurdish MPs based in the area “all Kurdish factions are leaving the area and returning to the Kurdistan Region,” he said. “The airport road is open and the demonstrators have not reached there.”
He revealed that he had been told after 5 p.m., the demonstrators will receive new orders and that the violent clashes may escalate.
Al-Sadr has been staging protests against PM Haider al-Abadi’s government in the last two years and called for former PM Nouri al-Maliki to be put on trial for embezzlement and the loss of Mosul to ISIS under his command.
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