The Iraqi – USA Strategic Dialogue:

In June, the Iraqi government announced that it intends to start an important strategic dialogue in which the relationship with the USA, including the following issues, will be discussed:

 1 – Military relations, including the international alliance against terrorism, which includes regional security as well as weapons in the hands of gangs and militias.

2 – The issue of Iran’s deep influence in Iraq, the trade exchange between Iraq and Iran and the import of electricity.

3 – Also, The roles of some political figures closely related to Iran will be present at the meeting.

4 – Economically, the US has economic interests in Iraq in particular and the Middle East region in general. Therefore, it is likely that the relations between Russia and China will be discussed as these harm American economic interests in Iraq.

5- The Corona virus, its elimination, and assistance to Iraq’s elimination of the virus.

Leaders in the popular mobilization forces (Al-hashed Al-sh’abi) and other militias affiliated with Iran consider the dialogue at this time, a danger to the future of Iraq. For them,  any decision that threatens them and their interests in Iraq would automatically threaten the future of Iraq and pose a threat to its security.                                                                            At the same time, the US ambassador to Baghdad, Matthew Toiler, stressed that the dialogue is not limited to the security issue, but will also include economic, cultural and political aspects.                                                As for the demonstrators in general, they stress the necessity of the independence of Iraq’s decisions, and to a halt to any external interference in their internal affairs. For demonstrators, it is important that Iraqis determine their political and economic destiny for themselves without the interference any external forces.

Iraqi Special Operations Forces (Anti-terrorism unit)

is a unit formed to eliminate terrorism with the assistance and training of the (International Coalition to Eliminate Terrorism) led by the USA. It is an apparatus independent of other military forces such as the army and the police. It is only linked to the Prime Minister; this is because the Iraqi Prime Minister is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces in Iraq.

Recently, Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi appointed the famous military commander Abdel-Wahab Al-Saadi as the head of these forces.

Some believe that this force has a fundamental role in eliminating ISIS, since it has international support and  strong relations with the USA, unlike the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) which has Iranian loyalty, similar to other forces such as the army and police, with different loyalties.

As all these forces are supposed to be led by the Prime Minister, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and funded by the state’s budget, but the reality is the opposite for several historical reasons.

Immediately after the end of the first American-Iraqi dialogue, Al-Kazemi issued several decisions, including restoring the control of border crossings for land, sea, and airports in Iraq, and these must be under the control of the Iraqi state.

In addition, entrusted with the mission of receiving the borders that were under the control of militias and political Islamic parties with Iranian loyalty to the Anti-terrorism unit that moved towards the outlets with a huge military force to receive them from the militias without resistant’s.

Likewise, we would like to clarify that these forces have popularity, respect and love because they did not interfere in the suppression of demonstrators and had a non-sectarian role in eliminating terrorism, unlike the role of the popular mobilization forces and the rest of the Iraqi military forces. So, the Iraqi people are counting on this forces to eliminate militias in the future.

Recently, on the 27th, the Anti-Terrorism Unit arrested members of the Iraqi Hezbollah organization, according to a legal note that they intended to bomb the Iraqi airport and the American forces there. Tensions flared up between the militias and the anti-terror unit, as the militias carried out a military parade and a direct threat to Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi. On the second day, the Prime Minister replaced the National Security President Faleh al-Fayyad, who is loyal to  Iran with Khaled al-Ubaidi.

Labor struggle

As we mentioned in the previous report of May, the Iraqi government is going through a financial and economic crisis and wants workers and state employees to bear the burdens of this financial crisis. Thus, the Iraqi government recently handed over the salaries of retirees and employees very late (10 days late). In addition,  the government led by Al-Kazemi has issued several neoliberal reforms to the Iraqi economy, including activating a new law on taxes that imposes a 10-20 percent deduction of salaries of employees and retirees.

The government was not satisfied with this limitation of reforms, but expelled many workers in oil and electricity. The official media spokesman of Prime Minister Ahmed Mulla Talal recently stated : ‘At the present time there is no government in the world that has 8 million employees out of 45 million citizens, and this is a large number of employees and must be decreased because it poses a financial problem for us.

All of these problems and reforms have angered the working class, who organized several widespread protests in Iraq:

Among them are the electricity workers’ strike in southern Iraq, as well as the oil workers in Ahdab field in southern Iraq, and the teachers’ strike in the city of Sulaymaniyah and the city of Dohuk for not receiving their salaries. The Iraqi government faced all these protests in a brutal and repressive manner and the victims of this repression were 3 martyrs and 10 injured people.  

Demonstrations

We said in the previous report that the corona pandemic has returned and the demonstrators in general have decided to continue their protest against the authority.

The political scene in Iraq has witnessed widespread labor protests against economic reforms, as well as protests in front of the Prime Ministry building giving “free lecturers” in order to become official state employees. This type of protest follows a promise by the state to lecturers that after six months of free work,  the state would hire them as official employees. However, it has been 5 years and the state did not fulfill its promises to many of them.

These protests are resemble the days before the October Uprising as we were seeing widespread protests of various groups of the Iraqi working class.

In Nasiriya, the demonstrators stormed the state institutions and forced the general managers to sign the resignation paper, and they succeeded in removing the general manager of the Ministry of Health in Nasiriya, the general manager of the governorate, and the general manager of the water department.

In Al-Haboubi Square in Nasiriya, where the central sit-in is located, the protesters decided to hand over the security situation of the square (Guard the square)  to the Iraqi army after the demonstrators and the army agreed to protect the square from militias and gangs that attack the square every day.

The army vowed to protect and defend the demonstrators and they stood in the middle of the square with the Iraqi national anthem, saluting the people as part of a “military salute”.

In Basra City, a protest march went out against the military leadership that is accused of killing protesters in Basra. The protesters demand a trial for these criminals:

1- The governor of Basra Asaad Al Edany.

2- The military officer Ali Meshary.

3- The police officer Rasheed Flaieh.

4- The general military leader Jamil Al Shemary.

However, the march was brutally suppressed.

Corona Pandemic:

Corona disease cases in Iraq have increased dramatically recently. Iraq has lost many people, also famous sports players and artists loved by Iraqi people, as the number of daily casualties reached between 1500 – 2500 cases per day.

Iraq is living in a deteriorating health situation due to corruption and the control of the private sector by the Islamic parties. This is the result of several years of control of the health sector by the Sadrist movement.

Because of this policy, not a single hospital was built in Iraq after 2003 and the health system is breaking down. There are many unverified stories told by some people about the state of the health system. For example, an examination of corona in Iraq may cost you a thousand dollars. The absence of oxygen as well Caused problem for Iraq, which increases the death rate.

The Iraqi Ministry of Health states that the ministry is in contact with several countries such as Russia, Germany and Britain to buy medicine to treat the Corona virus, but these attempts clash with corruption, competition and control of private companies in manufacturing the medicine in Iraq.

There was communication with Russia about importing the medicine of Russian (Afefavir), but negotiations stopped as the Russian side explained that the deal contains corruption and the re-manufacturing of medicine in Iraq which would be a violation of international health laws.

Despite all these problems, social solidarity was present among the Iraqis. People have supported the public health sector in Iraq, and they have manufactured and purchased oxygen and provided it free of charge to patients. Solidarity was also visible when it came to the distribution of food and vegetables to poor families who cannot work due to the Corona virus.

The Turkish Occupation

Recently, the Turkish government announced that it is bombing and pursuing the PKK organization in northern Iraq.  This is taking place with the agreement of the the Iraqi government and the Kurdish regional government. This time, the Turkish government has penetrated deep into the Iraqi borders until it reached Duhok City and bombed the villages around the city. Several civilians died as a result.

This Turkish occupation (as some demonstrators call it) angers the Iraqi society in general. It feeds into the feeling that Iraq has no sovereignty because on the one hand, Iran and its militias intervene in Iraq, and on the other hand, Turkey bombs and occupies Kurdish areas in addition to American control of Iraq. Therefore, Iraqis feel that they have no homeland, no sovereignty, and no political representation in the government, and that they live at the mercy of a dictatorial state.

Many people in Tahrir Square in Baghdad went out with strong protests against Turkish interference in northern Iraq and against Iranian interference. Meanwhile, the Iraqi government has not issued any comment on the matter yet while the Turkish government stated that this matter is taking place within the security agreement that Turkey signed with Iraq as well as the Kurdistan regional government.

Workers against Sectarianism / June

30/6/2020