Iraq's Sadrist 'revolution' has a bitter taste for 2019 protestors
On July 30, Nadia (whose name has been changed) burst into tears when she saw footage of supporters of Shiite populist leader Muqtada al-Sadr invading the Green Zone, the highly protected district of Baghdad that houses the Iraqi institutions. "We lost more than 600 demonstrators during the Tishreen Uprising [Iraq's October 2019 anti-government protests] without even making it across the bridge to the Green Zone. But, because it is Muqtada al-Sadr and no one can do anything against him, they can easily enter and stay there," said the 30-year-old woman who was at the forefront of the protest.
The country's security forces barely stood up against the Sadrist supporters. Since then, the groups have been camping out in the Parliament building and no one has tried to dislodge them. There, they commemorated Ashura, the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, son of Ali, the founder of Shiism. Mr. Sadr instructed them to continue the sit-in until the "revolution" comes in the form of a "radical overhaul of the system and the constitution." "Muqtada al-Sadr's demands are no different from ours [three years ago]. So why did they kill us? Why did they keep us from going till the end?" asked Nadia, who lost three of her friends in the Tishreen protest on August 7.
'Herd mentality'
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"It's a disappointment," said poet Adham Adel, adding, "Our demonstrations and our objectives have always been completely different. The Sadrists have been in the government since 2003; they are the government. Muqtada al-Sadr was inspired by us, by our demonstrations and by what we passed on to his supporters. If it weren't for Tishreen, he wouldn't have been able to bring about his so-called 'revolution.'" The 30-year-old poet lost all hope for change after the 2019 protests. Many of his friends were either killed or imprisoned, while others disappeared or went into exile. He himself was hunted down and had to flee his home for a time. He still suffers from psychological trauma from that period.
He regrets that his fellow protesters have joined the Sadrist sit-in. "They think that every protest is for Iraq's good. My doctrine is that any party that relies on a militia will not do any good to Iraq. Iraq can only be saved by civilians," he said. For now, converts are only a minority, but Nadia fears that others will soon join them "out of opportunism." "If Muqtada al-Sadr wins, they will be able to say they are on the winner's side. This is the problem with Iraq, people have the memory of a goldfish and follow the herd," she said. Every day, her friends post messages in support of Muqtada al-Sadr on Facebook, calling for unity behind shared goals. "It's shameful. They are lying to themselves. They are hypocrites," she said, adding, "For our part, we won't forget what they did to us during Tishreen."
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