Pro-Sadr protesters storm Iraqi parliament in fortified Green Zone

Baghdad, Iraq – (AFP):

Hundreds of supporters of powerful Iraqi cleric Moqtada Sadr danced and sang in parliament Wednesday after storming Baghdad’s high-security Green Zone in protest over a rival bloc’s nomination for prime minister.

Police fired barrages of tear gas in a bid to stop the protesters from breaching the gates of the heavily fortified Green Zone, but the crowds surged forward and entered parliament.

“I am against the corrupt officials who are in power,” said protester Mohamed Ali, a 41-year-old day labourer, one of the hundreds who entered the zone. The Green Zone is home to both government buildings and diplomatic missions.

The protests are the latest challenge for Iraq, which remains mired in a political and socioeconomic crisis after years of American occupation that ravaged the country.

Moqtada Sadr’s bloc emerged as the biggest parliamentary faction after the elections held in October 2021, but was still far short of a majority in a deeply fractured society and a hung parliament. Nine months on, deadlock persists over the establishment of a new government.

‘Rejection of injustice’ 

Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi has called on the protesters to “immediately withdraw”, warning that the security forces would ensure “the protection of state institutions and foreign missions, and prevent any harm to security and order”.

However, it was the order issued by Moqtada Sadr which made the crowds of protesters leave peacefully nearly two hours later.

“Revolution of reform, and rejection of injustice and corruption,” Sadr wrote on Twitter, in support of the protesters.

“Your message has been heard… you have terrorised the corrupt”, he added, calling on the demonstrators to say a prayer “before returning home safe and sound”.

“We obey the Sayyed,” the crowds chanted as they calmly left parliament, a term honouring Sadr by acknowledging him as a descendant of the Prophet Mohammed Peace Be Upon Him.

The protesters oppose the candidacy of Mohammed al-Sudani, a former minister and ex-provincial governor, who is the pro-Iran Coordination Framework’s pick for premier.

The Coordination Framework draws lawmakers from former premier Nuri al-Maliki’s party and the pro-Iran Fatah Alliance, the political arm of the former paramilitary group Hashed al-Shaabi.

‘Reject the political process’ 

“I am against Sudani’s candidacy, because he is corrupt,” added protester Mohamed Ali.

“We reject the whole political process”, said Bashar, a protester in parliament, giving only his first name.  “We want an independent person who serves the people”.

Iraq was plunged deeper into political crisis last month when Sadr’s 73 lawmakers quit en masse.

Earlier this month, hundreds of thousands of Muslim worshippers loyal to Sadr attended a Friday prayer service in Baghdad, in a display of political might.

The huge turnout came despite scorching heat and the cleric not being there in person — an indication of his status as a political heavyweight, as well as a key religious authority.

“We are at a difficult… crossroads in the formation of the government, entrusted to some we do not trust,” Sadr said in the speech on July 15, read out by Sheikh Mahmud al-Jayashi.