New Iraqi Protest Movement Targets Corrruption

The new factor now emerging is that despite the deadly violence perpetrated at the hands of terrorist organizations and the repression practiced by government security authorities under the pretext of confronting terrorist groups, many Iraqis are showing the determination to address this situation.

At the beginning of September, a new wave of protests started in Baghdad and several Iraqi cities. This time around, protests seemed to have more modest demands and clearer objectives. They came as a result of an organized process that started several months ago, specifically through a Facebook page under the title of “Campaign for the Cancellation of the Parliamentarians’ Pensions.”

This campaign called to cancel the huge pensions obtained by the parliament members, as well as the large privileges enjoyed by officials inconsistent with the living standard of a country where large segments of the population suffer from poverty, unemployment and the absence of public services.

Some criticized this campaign, finding that it focused on a secondary and limited issue instead of key problems such as the escalating violence, growing authoritarianism of the state apparatus, rampant corruption and the sectarian distribution of quotas, among others.

Some critics of the prime minister considered that focusing on criticizing the parliament members’ privileges only serves Nouri al-Maliki’s policies, which aim to weaken the Council of Representatives at a time when he is expanding his influence.

Supporters of the campaign believe, however, that addressing corruption must start by dealing with what they deem "masked corruption," exemplified by legislation that grant senior officials significant privileges. According to them, the parliament should reform itself and act as a responsible institution in order to be able to reform the rest of the institutions and fight corruption in the executive branch. After all, it is the only institution capable of issuing legislation that limits those privileges.

Following the demonstrations, the government was forced to announce a bill whereby the pensions of parliament members and senior officials would be reduced. It refused, however, to grant a license to the demonstrations, and the security apparatus violently suppressed the demonstrators. The contradictory position of the government reveals a hidden fear of the evolution of protests to a continuous popular movement that could spin out of control.