Poverty and a lack of services
are preventing rebuilding in Mosul, forcing thousands to choose the
lesser of two evils and return to the camps. Over 2 million have yet to
go back home. Judit Neurink reports from Mosul.
photo: Eddy van Wessel
Translate
Thursday, May 24, 2018
Wednesday, May 23, 2018
Eager to vote, Iraq's displaced faced obstacles on election day
Promises of jobs and support to build their homes sent many of Iraq's internally displaced in search of polling stations that would allow them to cast their vote on May 12.
Labels:
elections,
IDP Iraq,
Kurdistan Region,
May 12,
voting
Iraq Pulse Iraqi churches shoulder burden of reconstruction, for now
In Iraq, churches have taken the lead in persuading and helping Christians to towns razed by the Islamic State.
Expect change in Iraq when embattled Kurds cast ballots
The dust seems to be settling somewhat over
Iraq's Kurdistan Region, but fallout from the discord among Kurds, and
with the central government, could still be considerable come election
time.
Thousands of demonstrators protested for months, and hundreds of civil servants have been on strike in several cities over delayed and reduced pay. Teachers and health care workers in Sulaimaniyah agreed this week to end or suspend
their strikes after meeting with administrators, though details about
the financial situation apparently have yet to be worked out. Those
workers also voiced their anger because what money Baghdad had provided
was being doled out among all of Kurdistan’s civil servants — none of
whom had been paid since September. As a result, nobody received a full
salary.The protests have been most prominent in Kurdish areas not dominated by the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) — areas such as Sulaimaniyah, where tents were erected in front of the local courthouse, allowing people to participate in huge demonstrations. In other cities such as Rania, Koya and Kifri — where the KDP is less popular than the other ruling party, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), and the opposition to those ruling parties — hospitals and schools closed.
More significantly still, hundreds of protesters also hit the streets in KDP-ruled towns like Erbil and Dahuk, undeterred by local authorities refusing to grant them permits. Anti-government protests are rare in KDP territory, where discontent is hardly ever expressed openly for fear of retribution. But that fear didn't keep people from protesting this time, and it's not expected to discourage them from voting their minds in the May elections for a new Iraqi government. Their impact is expected to be even greater during Kurdistan parliamentary elections, currently scheduled for September.
Labels:
central government of Iraq,
KDP,
Kurdistan Region,
protests,
PUK,
Sulaimaniyah
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)