The U.S.-Iran Crisis: Impact and Implications for the Region, Europe and Beyond
The following is a summary and synthesis of an article by and an interview with Kawa Hassan, vice president of EastWest Institute’s Middle East and North Africa (MENA) program. Complete transcripts and audio can be found here: https://www.eastwest.ngo/idea/hassan-speaks-epc-policy-dialogue-impacts-us-iran-crisis-iraq https://www.eastwest.ngo/idea/hassan-calls-international-mediation-iraq-crisis Sources of the crisis: past and present In order to understand and resolve the crisis in […]
USLAW Solidarity Statement With Iraqi Unions And Civil Society
February 7, 2020 To Our Sisters and Brothers in the Iraqi Trade Union and Civil Society Movements: We in U.S. Labor Against the War stand with you as you struggle to achieve democratic governance in your country, free from corruption and foreign interference by any country. We stand with you in your demands for the […]
Iraqi Protests Swell Despite Clash With Sadrist Supporters
IRAQ PULSE Gilgamesh Nabeel February 3, 2020 After withdrawing his support for the protests, controversial populist Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered his followers back to Tahrir Square Feb. 1, where his supporters clashed with demonstrators and forcibly took over the main part of Tahrir Square as well as the Turkish Restaurant that has been under control of the […]
Iraqi Security Forces Use Hunting Weapons on Demonstrators
AlAraby Baghdad- Zaid Salim 30-January- 2020 The continued crackdown by the Iraqi security forces against demonstrators in Baghdad and other cities in the south and center of the country has reached a new level of atrocity as recent reports reveal that security forces are now using of hunting rifles, known in Iraq as “stoning” rifles […]
Iraq Uprising: Violence Escalates as Protesters in Kut and Najaf are Killed and Wounded
AlArabi AlJadeed – Bara’a Al-Shammari Iraqi protests have escalated in the city of Kut, the center of Wasit Governorate (central Iraq). Peaceful protesters spread to the street leading to the Qa’immaqamiya (Local Administration) building, while others tried to reach the Wasit police headquarters. Iraqi forces met demonstrators with direct fire, killing one person and wounding […]
A Message to Our Friends, Demonstrators Against War All Over the World
War leads to war War leads to destruction, displacement, and a lost future for millions of children Years ago, a small group of world leaders, most living far from Iraq, made a promise that they would maintain global peace and security and bring democracy and freedom to the Iraqi people — through war! In response, […]
Behind the Peaceful Protests: Cultural Transformation in Iraq
ICSSI Intervention in a hearing about Iraq before the Italian Foreign affairs commission Rome – January 2020 In the streets and public squares For over three months, Iraq has witnessed a powerful and widespread popular movement, one that is challenging the 2003, post-US invasion political regime. What is happening in the public squares of the […]
Ilisu Dam Reservoir has reached Hasankeyf town – Apocalypse is Impending!
Statement by the Hasankeyf Coordination, 17 January 2020 The filling of the controversial Ilisu Dam continues despite the ongoing strong critic and protests by the affected communities along the Tigris River and civil society organizations from all over Turkey. Almost two weeks ago the raising dam reservoir has reached the 12,000 years old town Hasankeyf […]
Stop New War in Iraq! The Time to Stop Escalation is Now!
The Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative (ICSSI) 8 January 2020 The overwhelmingly peaceful and nonviolent youth-led protests taking place across Iraq since 1 October—in Baghdad, Najaf, Karbala, Wasit, Diwaniyah, Babil, Omara, Samawa, Nasiriyah and Basrah—have over the past week had to react to a series of violent events, caused by forces outside Iraq. After a […]
Mushreq Abbas We are facing war. America does not give Iraq or its people any attention. This is a fact. Similarly, it is a fact that Iran intends to turn the country into a battlefield to settle regional and international accounts. This is what the Iranians currently in power desire. The reason that Washington and […]
Iraqi Demonstrators Call to Keep Iraq Away from the American-Iranian Conflict
Aktham Saif Aldeen – Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed On Saturday 4 January, the public squares in Baghdad and in the southern governorates witnessed new momentum, reinforcing the enduring strength of the nonviolent demonstrations throughout the country which are now entering their fourth month: hundreds more protestors have now joined in, coming out to these public spaces to […]
Four Scenes From Iraqi Reality
Scene One – Cautious Government Response and Failure to Address Protestors’ Demands The political class has, since the start of the protests, expressed a variety of reactions to the protestors’ demands, ranging from skepticism and deceit, to rejecting any change, to finally making reluctant concessions when the pressure and influence of the protests mounted. This […]