Protests have once again grappled the Middle East (ME). Especially, anti-government demonstrations in Iraq are not going away anytime soon. The protestors are in a mood of not letting the government emerge victorious. In the recent wave of protests, the government forces killed at least nine demonstrators. Since October, at least three hundred protesters have been killed.
On the one hand, the government is confident that it can quell the demonstrations by exercising of brute force. On the other hand, the latest displays of public anger show that Iraqis do not fear death any more. When people fear nothing to lose, then the governments crumble and fall. Iraqi government by not responding to public anger is hiding its head in the sand.
The anger of the people is genuine. Why should they not protest over government’s negligence to the creation of jobs, provision of better services and an end to corruption? The government is having difficulty doing anything at all while the country is in turmoil. But the chaos will not abate until the government does something. And the state’s reliance on the force has complicated the situation further.
The government has no other choice but to respond in affirmative to the Iraqis who have been calling for a clearing out of the entire political class that has failed the Iraqi youth. The present political leadership while countering people’s resentment through security forces forgets that using force has rarely, if ever, proved an effective strategy in such situations.
Also, surprising is the global response to the on going turmoil in the streets of Baghdad. Unfortunately, the global silence is deafening. If the international community does not question the regime over its use of force, Iraq will see more dark days. The global silence over Iraqi government’s repression will destabilise the whole region in unimaginable ways.