Thousands of Iraqis Protest Corruption
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Thousands of demonstrators turned out in Baghdad and southern Iraq to protest against rampant corruption and abysmal electricity services, calling for officials to be held to account.
Iraq’s top Shiite religious authority, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, called earlier in Friday for Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to take a tougher stand against corruption and expose those impeding reform.
The demonstrations in the Shiite south – the power base of many of Iraq’s top political parties – and Sistani’s calls for change are potentially serious challenges for the Shiite-led Iraqi government.
“All of you together to the court, all of you are thieves,” chanted protesters at Baghdad’s Tahrir Square.
Thousands also demonstrated in the southern port city of Basra, AFP reported.
Protesters aired similar grievances at demonstrations in the southern cities of Najaf, Karbala, Hillah and Nasiriyah as well.
Baghdad and other cities have seen weeks of protests against the poor quality of services, especially power outages that leave Iraqis with only a few hours of government-supplied electricity per day as temperatures top 50 degrees Celsius.
The demonstrators blamed the services crisis on corruption and incompetence in the political class.
Nabil Jassem, an organizer of the latest protest in Baghdad, said their demands include improving electricity service and finding new way of fighting corruption.
“If anyone thinks this demonstration is against a minister or a certain official, I want to correct this and say it is against everyone who held and dealt with the energy file from 2003 until now,” Jassem said.
Observers argue that while graft may be less open than it once was, corruption remains systemic.
In an attempt to assuage protesters, Abadi has imposed programmed electricity cuts on state institutions and top officials but Sistani said more was needed.
“He must be more daring and courageous in his reforms,” said Ahmed al-Safi, a representative of the reclusive Sistani.
Instead, the government should “make important decisions and take drastic measures to fight corruption and achieve social justice,” he said.
Abadi immediately promised to follow Sistani’s advice.
“I declare my total commitment to the directions of the religious Marjaiya (Shiite religious leadership), which has voiced the concerns and aspirations of the Iraqi people,” he said.
Abadi said he would draft an anti-corruption plan and invited other political parties to contribute.
