PROTESTS raged across the Arab world yesterday following noon communal Muslim prayers, a traditional time for voicing dissent. The common cry was for political freedom and an end to corruption.
Security forces killed six protesters in northern Iraq during a nationwide “Day of Rage”, three in Hawija and three in Mosul when guards opened fire on demonstrators protesting the lack of electricity, water, and jobs.
Around 1,000 protesters clashed with police in the western city of Fallujah, the site of Sunni uprisings early in the US occupation. One thousand rallied in the Shia holy city of Kerbala and in the southern port city of Basrah 4,000 demonstrators secured the resignation of governor Sheltagh Aboud al-Mayahi.
In Baghdad, thousands of demonstrators marched to Tahrir (Liberation) Square, chanting “No to unemployment” and “No, to the liar Maliki” although the centre of the capital had been transformed into an armed camp by soldiers determined to contain the rally. Police scuffled with protesters who tried to storm the fortified green zone housing government offices and foreign embassies.
Prime minister Nuri al-Maliki dismissed the protests, alleging they had been arranged by al-Qaeda and followers of the ousted Baathist regime.
Shia clerics had urged people to stay away and many Sunnis feared to attend because they did not want to be labelled “terrorists” or supporters of Saddam Hussein.
Iraqis have staged numerous protests since the fall of Tunisian president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali on January 14th. The largest rallies have taken place in Suleimaniya, where protesters have castigated the Kurdish regional government for cronyism and misrule.
In Egypt, democracy demonstrators, who had dubbed the day “Cleansing Friday,” called for the resignation of the government headed by premier Ahmad Shafiq, appointed by former president Hosni Mubarak shortly before he was ousted from office. Activists have threatened to mount mass demonstrations every Friday until the army command lifts the state of emergency imposed in 1981, releases political prisoners, ends restrictions on political parties and the press, and prepares for free and fair elections.
