2011 Iraqi Protests
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The 2011 Iraqi protests came in the wake of the
Tunisian revolution The Tunisian Revolution, also called the Jasmine Revolution, was an intensive 28-day campaign of civil resistance. It included a series of street demonstrations which took place in Tunisia, and led to the ousting of longtime president Zine El ...
and
2011 Egyptian revolution The 2011 Egyptian revolution, also known as the 25 January revolution ( ar, ثورة ٢٥ يناير; ), began on 25 January 2011 and spread across Egypt. The date was set by various youth groups to coincide with the annual Egyptian "Police ho ...
. They resulted in at least 45 deaths, including at least 29 on 25 February 2011, the "Day of Rage". Several protests in March were against the Saudi-led intervention in Bahrain. Protests also took place in
Iraqi Kurdistan Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan ( ku, باشووری کوردستان, Başûrê Kurdistanê) refers to the Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of "Kurdistan" in Western Asia, which also incl ...
, an autonomous
Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...
region in Iraq's north, and lasted for 62 days.


Background

In an effort to prevent potential unrest,
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
i
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Nouri al-Maliki Nouri Kamil Muhammad-Hasan al-Maliki ( ar, نوري المالكي; born 20 June 1950), also known as Jawad al-Maliki (), is secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party and was the prime minister of Iraq from 2006 to 2014 and the vice president ...
announced that he will not run for a third term in 2014, and called for a constitutional term limit. Nevertheless, hundreds of protesters gathered in several major Iraqi urban areas on 12 February (notably Baghdad and Karbala) demanding a more effective approach to the issue of national security and investigation into federal corruption cases, as well as government action towards making public services fair and accessible. In response, the government of Iraq subsidised electricity costs.


Protests

Israel's ''
Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...
'' reported that a 31-year-old man in
Mosul Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second large ...
died after he self-immolated in protest against unemployment. ''Haaretz'' also reported a planned "Revolution of Iraqi Rage" to be held on 25 February near the
Green Zone The Green Zone ( ar, المنطقة الخضراء, translit=al-minṭaqah al-ḫaḍrā) is the most common name for the International Zone of Baghdad. It was a area in the Karkh district of central Baghdad, Iraq, that was the governmental ...
.


Timeline


12 February

Hundreds of protesters gathered in several major Iraqi urban areas, most notably in
Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
and
Karbala Karbala or Kerbala ( ar, كَرْبَلَاء, Karbalāʾ , , also ;) is a city in central Iraq, located about southwest of Baghdad, and a few miles east of Lake Milh, also known as Razzaza Lake. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Governorat ...
, demanding a more effective approach to the issue of national security and an investigation into federal corruption cases, as well as government action towards making public services fair and accessible. In response, the government of Iraq subsidised electricity costs.


16–29 February

On 29 February, up to 2,000 protesters took over a provincial council building in the city of Kut. The protesters demanded the provincial governor resign due to a lack of basic services such as electricity and water. Up to three people were reported killed and 30 injured. On 17 February, two people were killed as protesters threw stones at the headquarters of the
Kurdistan Democratic Party The Kurdistan Democratic Party ( ku, Partiya Demokrat a Kurdistanê; پارتی دیموکراتی کوردستان), usually abbreviated as KDP or PDK, is the largest party in Iraqi Kurdistan and the senior partner in the Kurdistan Regional Gov ...
, headed by
Masoud Barzani Masoud Barzani ( ku, ,مه‌سعوود بارزانی, translit=Mesûd Barzanî}; born 16 August 1946) is a Kurdish politician who has been leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) since 1979, and was President of the Kurdistan Region o ...
, president of Iraq's semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region in Sulaimaniya, Iraqi Kurdistan. On 18 February, around a thousand demonstrators blockaded a bridge in Basra, demanding the resignation of the provincial governor.


23 February

Lt. Gen.
Abdul-Aziz Al-Kubaisi Abdul Aziz or Abdul-Aziz may refer to: * Abd al-Aziz, a male Arabic theophoric name, commonly abbreviated as Aziz People * Sultan Abdulaziz (1830–1876), sultan of the Ottoman Empire * King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud (1876–1953), founder of Saudi ...
( ar, عبد العزيز الكبيسي) resigned from his post as the Director General at the Iraqi Ministry of Defense, gave up his military rank, and removed it from his shoulders on television. Following this step, he was arrested by security forces. Al Kubaisi described the Iraqi government as corrupt and called on all officers to declare their resignation and join the demonstrators, who are planning a demonstration on 25 February. The three officers, including one colonel, responded to this call and announced their resignations. Uday Zaidi, who has previously organized protests, revealed that these officers have joined the demonstrations. Zaidi told ''Al Jazeera'' that the 37 personnel from the Ministry of Interior have also resigned and joined the crowds of demonstrators.


24 February

On 24 February,
Muntadhar al-Zaidi Muntadhar al-Zaidi ( ar, منتظر الزيدي ''Muntaẓar az-Zaydī''; born 15 January 1979) is an Iraqi broadcast journalist who served as a correspondent for Iraqi-owned, Egyptian-based Al-Baghdadia TV. , al-Zaidi works with a Lebanes ...
, an Iraqi journalist famous for the 2008 shoeing incident, was arrested for allegedly taking part in the protests. Al-Zaidi is popular in Iraq for what Iraqis see as his act of defiance.


25 February–"Day of Rage"

Major protests were held throughout Iraq on 25 February, centering on the nation's high unemployment, corruption, and poor public services. During the protests, crowds stormed provincial buildings, in addition to jailbreaking prisoners and forcing local officials to resign. At least twenty-nine people were killed across the country as a result of protests on this day, though the deadliest protests took place in
Iraqi Kurdistan Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan ( ku, باشووری کوردستان, Başûrê Kurdistanê) refers to the Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of "Kurdistan" in Western Asia, which also incl ...
.


26 February

Protests were diminished from the 25 February "Day of Rage," due to the deaths that resulted during it. Hundreds were detained by Iraqi security forces, including
journalists A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
, artists, and
intellectuals An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking Critical thinking is the analysis of available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments to form a judgement. The subject is complex; several different definitions exist, ...
. One of the artists that was arrested, Hussam al-Ssair, later stated that "It was like they were dealing with a bunch of
al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...
operatives, not a group of journalists."


16 March

New protests arose at Baghdad and Basra against the Saudi-led intervention in Bahrain.


17 March

At
Kerbela Karbala or Kerbala ( ar, كَرْبَلَاء, Karbalāʾ , , also ;) is a city in central Iraq, located about southwest of Baghdad, and a few miles east of Lake Milh, also known as Razzaza Lake. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Governorat ...
about 3,000 people demonstrated against Saudi-Arabia. Nouri al-Maliki criticized the Saudi intervention.


April–May

Beginning on 9 April 2011, the 8th anniversary of the fall of Saddam Hussein, the protests escalated with thousands protesting in Baghdad's
Tahrir Square Tahrir Square ( ar, ميدان التحرير ', , English language, English: Liberation Square), also known as "Martyr Square", is a major public town square in downtown Cairo, Egypt. The square has been the location and focus for political dem ...
and all over the country. The protests extended to anger at the US occupation and culminated on 26 May 2011 with a demonstration organized by
Muqtada al-Sadr Muqtada al-Sadr ( ar, مقتدى الصدر, Muqtadā aṣ-Ṣadr; born 4 August 1974) is an Iraqi politician and militia leader. He is the leader of the Sadrist Movement and the leader of the Peace Companies, a successor to the militia he had p ...
. Reports of participants vary from 100 thousand (Iraq's official '' Al Sabaah'') to half a million people (Baghdad's independent '' New Sabah'' r/sup>). (The highest figures are not unlikely, as similar protests by Muqtada al-Sadr have drawn up to a million people, as in 2007 and 2012.)


10 June

About 400 protesters converged on Tahrir Square in
Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
after Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki Nouri Kamil Muhammad-Hasan al-Maliki ( ar, نوري المالكي; born 20 June 1950), also known as Jawad al-Maliki (), is secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party and was the prime minister of Iraq from 2006 to 2014 and the vice president ...
's deadline for reform expired.


12 August

Dozens protested in Tahrir Square, calling for Oil Minister Karim Luaibi to be fired, a planned port named for ex-President of
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
Hosni Mubarak Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak, (; 4 May 1928 – 25 February 2020) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011. Before he entered politics, Mubarak was a career officer in t ...
to be scrapped, and
political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although n ...
s to be released.


2 December

The 2011 Dohuk riots refers to riots by
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
Kurds ug:كۇردلار Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Ir ...
on 2 December 2011 which were instigated by
Friday prayers In Islam, Friday prayer or Congregational prayer ( ar, صَلَاة ٱلْجُمُعَة, ') is a prayer ('' ṣalāt'') that Muslims hold every Friday, after noon instead of the Zuhr prayer. Muslims ordinarily pray five times each day according ...
' sermons calling for
Jihad Jihad (; ar, جهاد, jihād ) is an Arabic word which literally means "striving" or "struggling", especially with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it can refer to almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with Go ...
against liquor stores and massage parlours in
Zakho Zakho, also spelled Zaxo ( ku, زاخۆ, Zaxo, syr, ܙܵܟ݂ܘܿ, Zākhō, , ) is a city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, at the centre of the eponymous Zakho District of the Dohuk Governorate, located a few kilometers from the Iraq–Turkey bo ...
in the
Dohuk Governorate ar, محافظة دهوك , image_skyline = Collage_of_Dohuk_Governorate.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_seal = ...
,
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
. The riots soon developed to looting and burning down of
Assyrian Assyrian may refer to: * Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia. * Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire. ** Early Assyrian Period ** Old Assyrian Period ** Middle Assyrian Empire ** Neo-Assyrian Empire * Assyrian ...
and
Yazidi Yazidis or Yezidis (; ku, ئێزیدی, translit=Êzidî) are a Kurmanji-speaking endogamous minority group who are indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran. The majo ...
-owned properties in other towns in Iraqi Kurdistan over the next couple of days.


Responses


Domestic

In response to the initial round of protests, Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki Nouri Kamil Muhammad-Hasan al-Maliki ( ar, نوري المالكي; born 20 June 1950), also known as Jawad al-Maliki (), is secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party and was the prime minister of Iraq from 2006 to 2014 and the vice president ...
said that his ministers who do not improve their ministries face dismissal. An MP also called for provincial elections to be brought forward by two years.


See also

*
Iraqi insurgency (post-U.S. withdrawal) Iraqi insurgency may refer to: * Iraqi insurgency (2003–2011), part of the Iraq War ** Iraqi insurgency (2003–2006), 2003–2006 phase of the Iraqi insurgency ** Iraqi civil war (2006–2008), multi-sided civil war in Iraq * Iraqi insurgency (20 ...
*
2011 Kurdish protests in Iraq The 2011 Kurdish protests in Iraq were a series of demonstrations and riots against the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraqi Kurdistan. The autonomous region experienced protests that were concurrent with the 2011 Iraqi protests and the wider Ara ...
* 2011 Dohuk riots * 2012–2013 Iraqi protests


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iraqi Protests, 2011 Protests in Iraq
Protests A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...
2011 protests
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...