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Dozens pour into streets of Iraq's oil-rich Basra against high unemployment rate, corruption

Dozens pour into streets of Iraqs oilrich Basra against high unemployment rate corruption
Dozens pour into streets of Iraq's oil-rich Basra against high unemployment rate, corruption

2019-05-28 00:00:00 - Source: kurdistan 24

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Dozens of people in Iraq’s southern city of Basra took to the streets Tuesday morning to protest the lack of job opportunities and basic services in the oil-rich city.

Protesters gathered in front of the Basra Oil Company as they chanted national songs, waving the Iraqi flag, and shouted slogans condemning the parties governing their city.

Violent protests in Basra last year led to widespread demonstrations in other Iraqi cities, including Iraqi capital, with riots that left tens of people dead and many more injured.

This time, protesters issued the same complaints, lamenting the lack of progress regarding the unemployment rate, poor basic services, widespread corruption, and worsening access to electricity.

The Tuesday protest, however, was peaceful, with anti-riot forces standing at the gate of the oil company in anticipation of disturbances similar to last year, which had led to the torching of several governmental and political buildings.

“The protests are very peaceful and have not affected the company’s state-run business,” a security source in Basra told Kurdistan 24 on Tuesday.

Organizers are preparing to restart protests in the Basra province next month, marking the anniversary of last year’s demonstrations should the situation fail to improve, Haidar al-Jazairi, one of the organizers, told Kurdistan 24.

“The revolution of the unemployed is returning,” he told Kurdistan 24 by telephone.

Two weeks ago, at least four people were killed and 17 more injured during a violent, anti-corruption protest in the city of Najaf.

The protests are a returning challenge for the federal government of Iraq, this time headed by Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi, who promised to address the situation in Basra and combat corruption plaguing the country.

Oil exports from Basra account for more than 90 percent of Iraq’s total revenue.

Successive Iraqi federal governments have not been able to put an end to corruption as the current government struggles to end the mismanagement of public funds while facing strong resistance from within its own institutions.

Iraq has one of the world’s largest oil reserves and is the second-largest oil producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

The embattled Middle Eastern nation, however, continues to rank high on Transparency International’s list for corruption, fraud, and mismanagement of state institutions, some of the most significant challenges facing the country since the fall of the former regime in 2003.

According to the organization’s 2018 Corruption Index, Iraq ranks 168th, the 12th most corrupt country out of a total of 180.

Editing by Nadia Riva





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