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Students on strike in Maysan province (Al Ghad Press) |
Iraq’s Teachers’ Union called for a new general strike after the first one expired a few days ago. That shut down most of the country’s schools in the south. Speaking of that region, protesters tried to re-start the sit-in camp in Basra, there were more clashes in Dhi Qar, and new demonstrations in Karbala and Maysan.
Iraq’s Teacher’s Union started a new strike.
That led most schools and universities in southern Iraq and Baghdad
to shut down. On October
27 students in Baghdad walked out of their schools and joined the protests.
That was followed by the union going on strike on October
29. That was supposed to last a week, but many students have not gone back
to class. The new work stoppage therefore is just making official what is
already going on. Having the schools join the protests was a huge boost, and
came with other professionals and unions joining in. Initially, almost all of
the demonstrators were angry young men. Having the participation of social
organizations showed that the protests had finally spread to other parts of the
general population. Not only that, but it shut down important parts of the
government putting more pressure upon Prime Minister Abdul Mahdi.
Southern Iraq remained the main front in new protest
activity. For a second day, people tried to
return to the central square in Basra city, which had been cleared out by
the security forces. By the middle of the night there were still in the square so
this might have been a successful attempt. In Dhi Qar, the mayor of Gharraf had
his house
burned down, and there was a large gathering in Nasiriya
after four people were killed the day before. They shut down four bridges and
nearly 30 government offices including the Nasiriya refinery, which again
brought live gun fire by the security
forces. On the other hand, police in Karbala
joined a march in the city. Finally, in Maysan people also closed
government offices including the Maysan Oil Company and the Election
Commission. Basra was the first province where the security forces shut down a
protest site. They are now finding out that keeping the area clear is quite a
task. The crowds might have won out and returned to the downtown area. Besides
Baghdad, Dhi Qar has consistently had the most clashes between protesters and
the authorities. That started in the Shatrah district, but is now happening in
other sections of the province. That has led to several deaths. Trying to block
government offices has been going on for some days now, and is a new tactic
meant to find different avenues to continue on with the demonstrations, since
the sit-ins have not been enough to make the government carry out any
meaningful change. These types of actions can be expected nearly every day in
different provinces each time.
SOURCES
AIN, “Demonstrators shut down a number of government
institutions in Maysan,” 11/12/19
Aldroubi, Mina, “Iraqi justice minister hails ‘great
efforts’ of government but protests rage on,” The National, 11/12/19
Baghdad Post, “On the order of the people .. Demonstrators
close the office of the Iraqi channel in Maysan,” 11/12/19
Al Mada, “Bullets chase protesters in Baghdad and provinces
launch new strike,” 11/12/19
Al Mirbad, “Watch the Basra sit-in after returning for the
second day,” 11/12/19
NINA, “A Demonstration for Karbala police to support the
demands of the demonstrators,” 11/12/19
- “Dozens Of Demonstrators Flock To The Sit-In Square In
Basra,” 11/12/19
Sky News Arabia, “Our correspondent: heavy shooting to
disperse demonstrators in the province of Dhi Qar, Iraq,” Twitter, 11/12/19
Sotaliraq, “The sit-in closes the Nasiriya refinery and more
than 30 government institutions,” 11/12/19
Al Sumaria, “Protesters besiege the house of mayor of
Gharraf district north of Dhi Qar,” 11/12/19
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