Without reforms, protests threaten to escalate in Iraq
Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr led massive protests in Baghdad last week, and demonstrations are likely to continue until progress is made on the government reforms he demands.
BAGHDAD — Thousands of supporters of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and the civil movement in Baghdad returned to the streets recently to protest delays in reforming a government they say is corrupt and unable to protect its people.
All political channels for reform seem to have reached a dead end in light of the continuing division among political blocs in parliament. During the massive protest July 15 in Tahrir (Liberation) Square in the Iraqi capital, Sadr urged demonstrators to keep protesting until their demands are met.
He called for dismissing all corrupt state officials and those with special privileges, warning that this also applies to the president, prime minister and parliament speaker if they breach their duties and fail to meet reform demands. This is also the objective sought by the parliamentary opposition bloc, the Reform Front.
“The corrupt must be subject to fair trial as soon as possible; otherwise, the people will prosecute them,” Sadr said.
