Sami Adnan

An Iraqi revolutionary talks about the current uprising in Iraq, its political history, and the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since October of 2019 a massive revolutionary movement has occupied public squares all over Iraq. Rising alongside a wave of explosive international struggles from Chile, to Ecuador and Hong Kong to Algeria, Sudan, and Lebanon. The movement in Iraq–exemplified by the sit-in and occupation of Baghdad’s central Tahrir Square–is one powerful example of these movements that rally against an international order of neoliberalism and its local manifestations. This interview with a member of Workers Against Sectarianism is an updated and English version of an interview originally printed in the German publication Express. 

A large part of movement in Iraq seems to be led by women on the one hand, and by informal and precarious workers like tuk tuk drivers on the other. Who are the protesters everywhere on the Iraqi streets? What is their class composition?

The tuk tuk drivers are people who work about 10 hours a day for only a small income. They participate in the demonstrations. They work as ambulances for the revolution. There have been multiple songs made about them. Women’s participation is also high, whether in medical care on the frontlines, or the writing of manifestos and  statements, basically in everything. They lead protests and chants. It is an atmosphere of equality in the square. People are really building a civic and secular state. These women come from different religious backgrounds, Christian, Sunni, Shi’a, secular, and communist.

And yes, the revolution is not led by political parties because most of the parties are involved with the government. The people are making a revolution against the system and its parties. However, we should know that in Iraq we do not have strong leftist parties. So generally, when people say that they do not want parties, it usually means they do not want Islamic parties. We only have Islamist parties. The secular parties are either not participating or only have 1 or 2 seats in parliament. People do not mean all types of parties, only those governing parties.

So most people on the squares are independent, they belong to unions, teachers, students and also to the two leftist parties. One of these parties takes part in the government (the Iraqi Communist Party) and the other does not (the Iraqi Worker-communist Party). There are also intellectual groups.

The age range participating is of all ages but it is the youth–between 16-27–that are leading the protests. 80 percent are unemployed. Most of them are working class.

The squares are a new kind of civil society that is very young and very progressive. They want a secular system and to separate religion from state. This movement is not new, it has been here since 2011.

Read more about it from the source: Rampant magazine