A Tweet asks:
Human rights? And rule of law? Which one of the two is being preserved in Sulaymaniyah ?
Good question. As things intensify, Louisa Loveluck -- with Mustafa Salim -- finally files a piece on a protest in Iraq for THE WASHINGTON POST. You have to wonder why it took so long. From the article:
As demonstrators decry the growing wealth gap between people and politicians, Kurdish leaders have cast the protests as a conspiracy, blocking the Internet and arresting journalists who are covering the events.
They note Harem Ali, a 13-year-old that Kurdish forces shot dead, and how his father hasn't been paid his pension in months. Hussein Khdir Tweets:
Shelly Kittleson (AL-MONITOR) notes:
Many point to a disconnect between those able to count on regular salaries or investment and homes, and those at the mercy of uncertain wages and the need to provide for their basic needs and those of their families. Concern over both the state of the country’s finances and the ongoing, yearslong disputes with the central government have worn down the patience of many.
Among the public sector employees that have not received several months’ salaries this year are the peshmerga; this fact was stressed by some after one soldier was killed in an attempt to put down the recent protests.
Read more: https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/12/iraq-kurdistan-sulaymaniyah-protests-economy.html#ixzz6gZmFLp8y
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Along with the dead, there are many missing including Bilal Yusif:
And Muhammed Reshe Ferej:
There's a new generation entering the workforce, often young men who cannot find jobs, and they are the ones involved in these protests, Zanko Ahmad, a local journalist, told DW.
"Most of those on the street are younger," he says. "Many are not even state employees. At the last election, the young people were expressing their anger through the ballot box. But now there are no effective opposition parties. So they're expressing their anger by burning the headquarters of political parties and even the homes of officials."
There is definitely a connection with anti-government protests in Baghdad and southern Iraq, Ahmad confirms. "They are a catalyst. The reasons are almost the same."
A survey conducted by his organization supports that, confirms Renad Mansour, director of the Iraq Initiative at London-based policy institute, Chatham House. "Even in Sulaymaniyah there was huge sympathy for protesters in southern Iraq," he notes.
What's different now are the circumstances. "The demographics and the economics make this into an almost perfect storm," Mansour says.
Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Hunter Biden Finally Gets A Little Press Attention" went up earlier today. He has another comic going up in a minute. In addition, the following sites updated:
