How did the demonstrations in Iraq begin? Who started the protests? Why are they happening now? What was the government’s position towards the demonstrators? Were the demonstrations in fact peaceful? What were the motives of the demonstrators? Many questions have been asked about the recent protests, and many have yet to be answered — some […]
Invitation to the 3rd Kurdistan Social Forum in Erbil!
We are pleased to invite you to attend the third Kurdistan Social Forum in Erbil to be held on 25 and 26 October 2019. The forum is an open space for collaboration among civil society organisations, networks and civil activists in the Kurdistan region. The Kurdistan Social Forum was established in 2016 by Peace and […]
On 21 September, the Fallujah Council for Social Cohesion together with the Freedom of Expression masar (path) held a panel discussion to explore issues surrounding the reality of freedom of expression and public freedoms in Anbar governorate after the liberation. The panel gathered in Ramadi and participants included a number of activists, academics, officials and […]
Fallujah Chooses Peace: A Workshop on Standing Up to Terrorism and Violent Extremism
The Council of the Tribes Against Terrorism, in cooperation with the Peace Forum in Fallujah, recently held a productive discussion session entitled ‘City of Fallujah, The Land of Peace, Resisting Terrorism and Standing Against Violent Extremism’. The workshop was attended by a group of tribes and activists and took place in Fallujah on 12 October […]
Do the Iraqi Youth Protests of 1 October Represent a Nonviolent Movement?
The Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative – 18 October 2019 The uprising of 1 October, which was launched from Tahrir Square in Baghdad, called for peaceful demonstrations. But in the days that followed, there were an enormous number of victims, as many as 108 dead and about 7,000 injured (according to official sources). These victims […]
Iraq: Lethal Force Used Against Protesters
Attacks on Fleeing Demonstrators, Ambulances, Media Human Rights Watch (Beirut) – Iraqi security forces have used excessive and unnecessary lethal force in confronting at times rock-throwing protesters, killing at least 105 and wounding over 4,000 since October 1, 2019, Human Rights Watch said today. Security forces followed protesters as they dispersed, shooting at them and spraying them […]
Statement by Save the Tigris Campaign, 12 October 2019 On 9 October, Turkey started a military offensive in northeast Syria. A move which will have disastrous consequences for the region. This armed conflict will have a direct impact on populations, ecosystem and post-conflict recovery of the area. Concerns mount of a humanitarian catastrophe. Water is […]
Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative 8 October 2019 The 1 October uprising, which began in Tahrir Square in Baghdad, is an extension of the Iraqi nonviolent protest movement that began in the same place in 2011. The earlier peaceful protests challenged the existing political system; this time, though some of the issues are the same, […]
Amnesty International The Iraqi government must immediately order security forces to stop using excessive, including lethal, force against protesters and ensure that the investigation announced into the reported killing of at least 18 protesters and one police officer begins immediately and is fully independent and impartial, Amnesty International said today. It also called on the […]
Mustafa Habib –Niqash Protests by Sunni Muslim residents in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, in support of a Shiite Muslim army officer from the south, are a hopeful sign of a new, less sectarian national identity in Iraq. But the fact that this general was part of the reason for recent protests is also […]
Nonviolent Popular Protests Erupt Again in Iraq
Lastest update – Saturday, October 5 -Police forces and snipers deployed at high buildings, committing a massacre against young protesters: the number of martyrs rises to more than 73 (mostly protesters, including 7 police). the number of wounded exceeds 3000 according to the Office of Human Rights,– Witnesses and pictures of martyrs killed as a […]
Building the Network of Water Activists in Basra
It’s been one year since the city of Basra was rocked by large-scale protests following a major pollution crisis in which citizens decried the lack of access to fresh water and services. Earlier this year, Human Rights Watch released an extensive report on the crisis. One year onward, Save the Tigris Campaign traveled to the […]