Hundreds of members of the General Federation of Iraqi Workers (GFIW) demonstrated in Al-Tahrir Square in the centre of Baghdad last Saturday, to demand the returning of union work and the drafting of its related laws.
A GFIW statement stated that the workers’ demands include the formation of a joint committee between the GFIW and Iraqi government representatives to draft a constitutionally compliant legal plan to restore union work in Iraq, agree to facilitate the GFIW’s operations until general elections are held, and reverse the order to put the GFIW’s operations under the management of the head of the Planning and Studies Department in the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.
This is because he is a government representative who does not express the aspirations of thousands of workers in Iraq.
Protesters mentioned that Al-Da’wah Party member Salman al-Musawi is the person who received the protesters’ demands, and he promised to relay them to the government and parliament for discussion.
The GFIW were part of a mass demonstration that witnessed the voices of thousands of Iraqis resounding throughout Al-Tahrir Square, demanding the removal and prosecution of Baghdad Governor Salah Abd-al-Razzaq and Baghdad Provincial Council Chairman Kamil al-Zaydi for inflicting great suffering on people in the capital and covering up corruption cases.
Earlier, Baghdad Provincial Council Chairman Kamil al-Zaydi had attacked the peaceful protests throughout Iraq, saying security forces foiled operations which terrorists planned to carry out in Baghdad and other governorates during the protests on Friday, March 4th.
Al-Zaydi added that the authorities anticipated undesirable events for the security forces, which are always prepared for the worst scenario.
He said that if the protests are similar to those which took place on Friday, then he would hope that they would happen every Friday, meaning by that the extraordinary security measures imposed by security forces on protesters in the capital, and the hindering of their movement and activities.
In the southern capital, Basra, journalists on Saturday said they have decided to boycott all police activities until the riot police chief is fired and those behind the assault and battery of five journalists during the ‘Friday of Dignity’ protests are punished.
The Basra Journalists Syndicate held a meeting in which it decided to boycott the police forces and refrain from covering their activities, and demanded that the Basra Police chief issue a pledge not to repeat such assaults under any circumstances and to compensate the journalists in question for physical and emotional suffering.
Journalists in the governorate stated that they are preparing to demonstrate if their demands are not promptly met.
The Basra Journalists Syndicate also decided to suspend its activities and dissolve its board of directors in protest against the attack on the journalists.
Meanwhile, the Journalistic Freedoms Observatory has stressed that many journalists were attacked and faced various incidents during the Friday of Dignity protests in Baghdad.
Journalistic Freedoms Observatory Chairman Hadi Jalu Mar’i said on Saturday that three journalists in Basra were beaten and humiliated, a journalist in Al-Ramadi had his camera confiscated, and a group of journalists returning from covering the protests in Baghdad were beaten and humiliated by police and military forces in Al-Sa’dun Street.
Al-Mar’i added that the Journalistic Freedoms Observatory has started documenting these incidents to be raised to the authorities concerned, and that strict procedures will be taken upon their recurrence.
In another development, the residents of the Suq al-Shuyukh sub-district of Dhi Qar Governorate gave the local mayor seven days to dissolve the municipal council and carry out fundamental reforms in the sub-district, or else they will start demonstrations demanding his removal from office.
Hundreds of residents of Al-Nasiriyah, the capital of the governorate, had participated in the Friday of Dignity protests.
They had raised banners which called for revising the provincial council election law and demanding that the governor’s position be granted through elections, not by appointments based on sectarian deals.
The protesters had also demanded the improvement of the government’s performance, and that the government must hear the voice of the people.
Also, the people of Al-Diwaniyah have renewed their demands for removing the governor and members of the provincial council, and prosecuting and punishing corrupt figures.
Hundreds gathered near Al-Mustafa Mosque on the Friday of Dignity.
Most of those present were writers and artists, as well as youth groups, who raised banners demanding the improvement of the supply of ration cards, finding a quick solution for the unemployment issue by bringing back the central hiring system, and revoking the pensions granted to MPs, provincial council, and municipal council members.
l Iraq’s revolutionaries last Saturday issued a statement on the social networking website Facebook in which they called on the Iraqi people to continue demonstrations and strikes until the government meets their demands for reform, change, and the removal of corrupt figures from government institutions.
The statement also called for staging on March 7th of large protests in all Iraqi cities, calling it the Day of Regret.
The day falls on the same day on which they elected the current political caste, which is dedicating its security forces to oppress the people and prevent them from expressing their opinions by various means.
The statement also called upon all Iraqis to paint the finger with which they cast their vote red, instead of blue, to express the injustice and oppression which befell them from the authorities throughout this year.
The statement also stressed that the duty of the people on this day is not to concede or withdraw; but rather to unite and stand firm until the desired change is achieved.
‘Kurdistan Blocs’ Alliance’ MP Mahmud Uthman has warned that if the government does not respond to the protesters’ demands for reform, this will make them seek the removal of the regime instead.
Uthman added that the protesters’ demands are clear and defined; namely, combating corruption, improving services, and that the government should respond to them.
l The phenomenon of assassinations using silenced guns and sticky bombs has continued in Baghdad throughout the last few months.
Gunmen assassinated a high-ranking officer in the former Iraqi army in the Al-Jihad neighbourhood in western Baghdad on Saturday, seriously wounded his wife, and then escaped.
Also, Tuz-Khurmatu Police Commander Colonel Ali Khadir survived an assassination attempt using a sticky bomb which targeted his convoy on the main road in the centre of the city that left five of his escorts wounded.
Also, five officers were wounded when an explosive charge went off as they were trying to stop an armed attack on a policeman’s house by unknown elements in the Al-Has area, southern Al-Fallujah, in Al-Anbar Governorate.
