Thread by @aaboulenein

#thread: Yesterday was the largest turnout in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square since #IraqProtests resumed Friday. Protesters motivated by security forces shooting dead comrades in #Karbala and PM @AdilAbdAlMahdi’s refusal to call an early election. #Iraq 1/11
reut.rs/36l9QnJ

Parliament’s reforms didn’t do it for them either. Abdul Mahdi resigning is not their demand though, they want the whole system gone. Parliament, the PM, his government, and most of all the political parties run by elites they say are corrupt and beholden to Iran/the U.S. 2/11

Every relevant authority has bizarrely denied that anything had happened in #Karbala, saying no one was killed. @UNIraq AND @amnesty condemned the violence in which at least 14 people were killed. @Reuters sources say 18. 3-11

https://twitter.com/uniraq/status/1189208665078845440?s=21

On the political front Abdul Mahdi kicked the ball back into @Mu_AlSadr’S court, saying he can’t call an election and that if Sadr wanted him gone, why not just agree with Amiri on a replacement and introduce a vote of no confidence. It would be quicker, the PM said. 4/11

So Sadr did just that. He said he’d been trying to let Abdul Mahdi go with his dignity intact but if he won’t then so be it. He called on Amiri to help him oust the premier immediately. 5/11

https://twitter.com/mu_alsadr/status/1189222513320058880?s=21

I tried to get at some of the root causes in yesterday’s story. @renadmansour kindly shared his wisdom. Spoiler: the post-2003 identity-based power sharing system isn’t working for Iraqis. Elites unwilling/unable to carry out meaningful reform. 6/11 reut.rs/36l9QnJ

Some elites see violence and fear as the only way to stop protests. Others prefer “dialogue” but unwilling to go put their jobs on the line and go against those who put them in power. Most Iraqis are young. “We liberated you from Saddam” just doesn’t work for them. #Iraq 7/11

Getting rid of competent civil servants under the guise of “de-Ba’athification” and replacing them with patronage networks (by elites in all ethno-sectarian groups) has ruined the state’s ability to provide. 8/11

External actors are not helping. Both #Iran and the U.S. at various times back and arm non-state actors to the determinant of state institutions. Millions of $ invested in #Iraq with nothing to show for it. 9/11

As a result, you end up with the weakest ever PM, government, and parliament, all fragmented and unable to deliver even if they wanted to. Ultimately this is a crisis of governance and representation. 10/11

Young Iraqis don’t see a future for themselves. They have completely lost faith in the system. The 2018 election saw historically low turnout. People think their voice only matters on the street. And those in power now are the ones with guns. #IraqProtests #Iraq 11/11

UPDATE: Amiri agreed overnight to Sadr’s proposal they work together and oust PM Abdul Mahdi. #Iraq #IraqProtests Story here: reut.rs/2qRfltO