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Iraq
Iraqis demonstrate outside the Basra Governorate's building on November 11, 2019 in the southern city of Basra.Photo: Hussein Faleh/AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—Reforms in Iraq are a strictly Iraqi affair with no room for external intervention, Iraqi President Barham Salih said on Tuesday amid US calls for early elections.
“Awaited reform in Iraq is a purely Iraqi decision, and it is the response to the will of Iraqis. It cannot be subject to external dictation,” the Iraqi Presidency said in a Tuesday statement.
“Any external intervention is rejected and unacceptable,” the statement added, asserting that it is Iraqis, while “respecting the will of the [Shiite] Marja], who will decide on things within legal and constitutional frameworks, and “with their independent national decision”.
The comments follow a White House statement published on Sunday, in which the US called for early elections.
The statement directly linked protest suppression to Tehran, saying that "Iraqis wont stand by as the Iranian regime drains their resources and uses armed groups to stop them from peacefully expressing their views."
"The United States joins the UN Assistance Mission to Iraq in calling on the Iraqi government to halt the violence against protesters and fulfil President Salih's promise to pass electoral reform and hold early elections," it added.
Protests swept across the south of the country in October against corruption, unemployment and poor public services, among other issues. Those taking to the streets are now calling for the overthrow of the government.
Iraqi security forces have responded with deadly violence, including live rounds and military-grade tear gas canisters directly shot at protesters.
While protesters have not shied away from bashing Iran in the protests, the US statement was not met with a warm welcome by some officials with ties to Tehran.
On Monday, firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr vowed to evict US troops, thousands of whom remain in Iraq in assist-and-train missions for Iraqi security forces, if the US intervenes in Iraq's affairs.
In aggressive and fiery language, Sadr called the US “occupiers” and held them responsible for corruption that has marred Iraq since 2003.
“Enough of you interfering in our affairs. Iraq already has great [individuals] who can protect it and doesn’t need intervention from you or anyone else,” said Sadr, who is head of the majority Sayirun Alliance.
Sadr has even previously called for early elections and the resignation of the current Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi, but to no avail.
Despite the difference of opinion between rival Iraqi blocs, many were united in their rejection of the US statement.
“’Iraq is for Iraqis’ is a truth that the children of this proud people have struggle for and have given blood, tears, and enormous sacrifices,” Ammar al-Hakim, head of the opposition Hikmah Front, said in a tweet on Tuesday.
“While we re-affirm our stance and deep-rooted belief in this truth, we also condemn all types of external intervention in Iraq’s domestic affairs, and Iraqis are able to resolve their issues through their constitutional institutions,” al-Hakim, who had also advocated for reforms rather than early elections, added.
The early election proposal was rejected by Iraq’s Prime Minister and the pro-Iran Fatah alliance, which consists of the major Hashd al-Shaabi paramilitary-aligned political parties and rivals that of Sadr.
“The White House statement revealed the extent of American intervention in Iraqi affairs, and it is a proof that the early elections project is mainly an American project,” Qais al-Khazali, the secretary general of Asaib Ahl al-Haq, a Hashd al-Shaabi unit, said in a Monday tweet.
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