Iraqi Protesters Rally After Arson Attacks

Date: 25 December 2019 - 22:06

News ID: ۷۴۳۳۷

DIWANIYAH – (Dispatches) – Iraqi protesters again hit the streets Wednesday, angered by an activist’s death and an attempt on the life of a popular TV satirist by unknown assailants.
The latest rallies in Baghdad and cities including Basra and Karbala came after a night of unrest that saw protesters vandalize in the country’s south.
The demonstrators have rallied for almost three months to demand better life in the aftermath of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion which overthrew dictator Saddam Hussein.
The protests have been pressing the government to bring in reforms that would root out corruption and alleviate the country’s economic woes.
The rallies, however, soon turned violent -- amid reports of foreign interference – killing hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, the Parliament’s Human Rights Commission says.
Passions were inflamed when popular TV satirist Aws Fadhil was targeted Tuesday by unknown assailants, with three bullets hitting his car.
Fadhil posted footage of the bullet holes on social media and said "we have already achieved a goal”, referring to a parliamentary vote Tuesday to approve an electoral reform law, in line with the demands of the protesters.
In a move to stem public anger and drawn-out street protests, Iraq’s parliament has approved the new electoral law, which enables the electorate to choose individual candidates instead of picking from party lists.
The legislature lent its blessing to the law, which has constituted a key demand by protesters, who have been taking to the streets in the capital Baghdad and the country’s southern areas since October 1.
The new law also allows each lawmaker to represent a specific electoral district instead of groups of legislators representing entire provinces.
Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi resigned last month amid the demonstrations, but retains the position as caretaker premier. Political bickering at the Parliament has prevented picking a replacement, though.
Also on Tuesday, hundreds of student rallied in the southern port city of Basra, blaming the ruling political parties for the delay in the nomination of a new PM, the news agency said.
On Friday, Iraq’s prominent Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani called for early elections in order to put an end to the political paralysis, saying that a new government had to be formed soon.