Mass protests are a Warning to the System

of Power-Sharing Quota and Corruption

The widespread nationwide popular protests that are continuing since they began on 1st October 2019, have served as a real warning to the government and dominant political forces, that are responsible for the tragic situation in the country and the dire living conditions of the citizens, especially the poor, toilers and youth, and its repercussions demonstrated by the current state of unprecedented anger. This makes it an urgent matter that sweeping fundamental reforms should be taken at various political, economic and social levels. The government is therefore today facing the moment of truth in the full sense of the word, and it must take urgent serious and just measures, which the people are expecting and demanding.

The events of the past two days in Baghdad and a number of other cities have confirmed that the power-sharing quota approach followed by the political process does not lead to any solutions, but rather perpetuates and exacerbates crises, and does not provide a minimum level of social justice. Today, the depth of the gap between the masses of the people and this system and the rampant corruption has been exposed. The power-sharing quota cannot address the big daily problems and recurrent crises, economic, social and others, and cannot ensure the constitutional rights of the people and listen to their just demands. To make matters worse, the calls by the people for justice are often ignored and sometimes are even met with violence.

As we follow the ongoing disturbing developments in our dear homeland, we feel the need to affirm the following principles and measures:

• Peaceful demonstrations are a constitutional right that must not be violated, under any pretext or justification.
• The duty of state institutions, including the military and security, is to provide protection to demonstrators and protesters.
• We condemn and denounce the acts of repression and violence against the demonstrators, whatever their means: live or rubber bullets, helicopters, hot water, arrests, indecent and insulting words, etc. We call for the setting up of a broad commission of inquiry, that includes civil society organisations and representatives of the protesters, and to hold accountable those who gave orders to use violence and live bullets and bring them to justice.
• It is imperative to immediately stop the security forces from pursuing the wounded to hospitals, and to release the detainees, in addition to declaring the fallen demonstrators as martyrs of the people and Iraq.
• Maintaining the peaceful character of the demonstrations and protests in all its forms, and ensuring the protection of public and personal property, is a source of strength for the demonstrators and protesters. The peacefulness of the protest movement must therefore be maintained.
• It is necessary to summon the Prime Minister and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, the ministers and the heads of the security services to discuss the current developments in an emergency session of the Parliament.
• Our party has been and continues to extend solidarity, providing support and participating with the masses in their just demands. It will always stand by their side and fight to provide a decent and secure life.

 We renew our party's stance of siding fully with the just and peaceful demands of the citizens, opening spaces for radical change, ending the system of power-sharing quotas and corruption, and achieving the patriotic alternative of building a state based on citizenship, democracy and social justice.

We salute the memory of the martyrs and wish a speedy recovery to the wounded.

*  *  *  *  *