Anger over basic services has bridged Iraq’s sectarian divide

A comparatively small number of Iraqis took part in Arab Spring protests compared to the large turnouts in squares in Egypt and Tunisia. Yet the Iraqi people now find themselves at the threshold of a new and delicate political phase as they strive to reinvent their state and their political system.

But as Mustafa Fahs, a columnist for the London-based daily Asharq Al Awsat, described it, this is on the Iraqis’ own terms and based on their national specificities.

“What is different in the Iraqi case is that this protest movement, which began a month ago, could bring an end to the political instability that has been disabling the country for over a decade and threatening its national unity as a result of political corruption and marginalisation policies,” he wrote.

Iraq’s political elite – mainly its Shia politicians – seem unable to contain the protests or to circumvent popular demands.

They can no longer resort to their old schemes and accuse protesters of having fallen prey to foreign powers that seek to exploit their genuine demands to undermine Shia gains in power.

This time, the protests have reached most of the predominantly Shia central and southern provinces that have been run by corrupt parties for over a decade.

In the meantime, the Kurds continue to hold on to the quota system and Sunni leaderships are busy liberating their regions from ISIL before they can reintegrate power following forced marginalisation.

In the same vein, the Saudi columnist Abdulrahman Al Trairi, writing in the pan-Arab daily Al Hayat, saw the influence of Tehran in the political events affecting Iraq.

“Since the fall of Baghdad in 2003 and until the present day, Iraq’s situation has clashed with its economic capabilities,” he wrote.

“Following an extended embargo period under Saddam Hussein came Nouri Al Maliki’s eight years of hardship that only cemented sectarianism, poverty and a lack of basic services. All this floundering was an Iranian strategy with US blessing.”

Iran has reason to be alarmed about the ongoing protests in Iraq because they seem to transcend the sectarian division that Tehran and its agents in Baghdad have worked hard to cement.

“Instead of enjoying living standards that befit their standing as an oil-producing country, with plentiful rivers and water resources, Iraqis are reduced to having to take to the streets to express anger at lack of electric power,” he said.

Prime minister Haider Al Abadi’s response to the protests – abolishing redundant government posts – was designed to contain public anger, appease the crowds and avoid making the difficult decision of reconstituting the cabinet, using the basis that there is no better alternative at the moment. He sacrificed a few cards in order to retain power and stay in the game, Al Trairi said.

Iraq is going through a bottleneck, where the people will decide their own destiny. They will either get rid of Iran’s meddling and militias, or accept the proposed reforms even though they do not get to the root cause of the corruption.

Makram Mohammed Ahmed, writing in the Egyptian newspaper Al Ahram, praised Mr Al Abadi’s positive response to the popular protests, rejecting sectarianism and corruption.

“The Iraqi prime minister was right to realise that he must take immediate action in response to the people’s demands and to ensure timely reformative efforts to avoid further inflaming the streets ,” he noted.

The firm support expressed by Ayatollah Al Sistani, the highest Shia religious figure in Iraq, about the need to abolish sectarian discrimination came to reaffirm that the reform process must continue uninterrupted until Iraqis are united, he noted.

“Should the Iraqi people succeed in abolishing sectarianism and removing the elevated walls that separate Shia from Sunnis in Baghdad, it would indeed be a great accomplishment that would re-establish Iraq’s Arab and regional standing and conserve its historical function as a meeting ground for Sunnis and Shiites,” Mr Ahmed concluded.

RMakarem@thenational.ae