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Iraqi PM pledges reforms to calm angry protests
BAGHDAD, Oct 6, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi’s
cabinet issued a series of reforms early Sunday after an “extraordinary”
session overnight in response to sweeping anti-government rallies that have
left nearly 100 dead.
Iraqis have gathered in Baghdad and across the south since Tuesday to
demand widespread government reforms, which Abdel Mahdi had promised to
tackle when he came into power just under a year ago.
Early Sunday, his cabinet issued a decree including more than a dozen
planned reforms, including land distributions, military enlistment and
increased welfare stipends for needy families.
In response to staggering youth unemployment, which has reached around 25
percent according to the World Bank, the government said it would create
large market complexes and boost benefits for those without work.
In the southern city of Kut last month, a young Iraqi man died after he
set himself alight in despair after authorities seized his mobile kiosk.
The public sector remains the largest employer in Iraq, a country of 40
million people, but it has struggled to absorb new university graduates in
recent years.
Local authorities also recently cleared housing units built without proper
permits, which a total of three million Iraqis live in across the country.
Starting Tuesday, protesters gathered in Baghdad and spread to the
country’s Shiite-majority south, defying an internet blackout, tear gas and
even live rounds.
The mainly male, young crowds say they are not backed by any political or
religious establishment and have attacked a broad range of political party
offices.
The Iraqi Human Rights Commission said Saturday that 99 people have died
and nearly 4,000 have been wounded since protests kicked off.
The government has officially designated those killed as “martyrs,”
granting their families a special set of benefits.
Parliament speaker Mohammed al-Halbusi also pledged a range of reforms in
a meeting with lawmakers on Saturday, but did not hold his planned
legislative session as the body failed to reach quorum.
BSS/AFP/SSS/1700 hrs