Roving Periscope: Iraqi protesters follow Sri Lankans, storm President’s palace, swim in pools
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Two months after the happenings in Sri Lanka, Iraq, another crisis-ridden nation faced with a civil war, witnessed Colombo-type agitations with protesters storming the Republican Palace in the national capital Baghdad, and then some of them swam in the pool on the premises.
But there was a difference: while the Sri Lankan protesters forced then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to quit, their Iraqi counterparts wanted their political and militia leader to stay!
In a Sri Lanka rerun, they hit the roads after Iraq’s influential Shi’ite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, 48, announced to quit politics. The media reported on Tuesday that his supporters took to the streets after he said he would step down from politics.
Amid clashes between his loyalists and the rival-backed groups, at least eight protestors died in Baghdad as security forces tried to disperse the angry mobs using teargas shells.
In widely circulated videos, they could see protestors storming the Presidential Palace as Iraq is witnessing a political deadlock. Once inside, they availed luxuries, like swimming, at the President’s residence.
According to reports, shots were fired by guns and weapons while Sadr’s supporters and Tehran-backed units hurled stones at each other. The incident took place in Baghdad’s Green Zone, where ministries and embassies are situated.
The Iraqi military imposed a curfew at 3:30 pm and urged protestors to vacate the Zone.
The Middle Eastern country is currently reeling under a political deadlock since Sadr’s party secured the largest majority in October 2021 parliamentary elections but did not secure enough seats to form a government.
Soon after the poll results, he refused to form a coalition government with his rivals, including the Iran-back Shi’ites. His decision to quit politics has triggered uncertainty for a country with 40 million people.
