The top UN official in Iraq and the country's most senior Muslim cleric on Monday urged authorities to get "serious" about reforms after anti-government demonstrations that have cost hundreds of lives.

Mass rallies calling for an overhaul of the ruling system have rocked the capital Baghdad and the country's Shiite-majority south since October 1 -- the largest and deadliest popular movement in Iraq in decades.

The bloody unrest has sparked serious concern from the United Nations, human rights groups and the White House, which has called on Iraq "to halt the violence against protesters" and to pass electoral reform.

After weeks of paralysis, top leaders seem to have agreed to keep the system intact, but the UN in Iraq (UNAMI) urged them to enact a host of changes.

These include electoral reforms within two weeks, the prosecution of those responsible for the recent bloodshed as well as of corrupt officials, and the passing of anti-graft laws.

On Monday, UNAMI chief Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert met the country's highest Shiite authority, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, in the holy city of Najaf.

She said the seat of Shiite religious power in Iraq, known as the marjaiyah, had stressed that "peaceful demonstrators cannot go home without sufficient reforms" to answer their demands.

"The marjaiyah expressed its concerns that the political forces are not serious enough to carry out such reforms," said Hennis-Plasschaert.

"If the three authorities -- executive, judiciary and legislative -- are not able or willing to conduct these reforms decisively, there must be a way to think of a different approach," she warned.

There was no statement attributable directly to Sistani, who is 89 and never appears in public.

In his recent sermons, delivered by a representative, Sistani has described the protesters' demands as "legitimate" and called for the rallies to be handled with "restraint".

Parliament will meet on Wednesday for a session on the current crisis, the speaker announced on Monday, adding that Hennis-Plasschaert would attend.

- Rallies flare up -

At least 18 protesters have been killed since Saturday as security forces have cracked down on demonstrators.

They have forcibly cleared streets and squares in Baghdad, in the port hub of Basra and the southern city of Nasiriyah, where four protesters were shot dead on Sunday.

Security forces there even chased demonstrators into a children's hospital and fired tear gas inside.

More than 300 people have been killed since the protests erupted on October 1, and Iraq's Justice Minister Farooq Ameen Othman on Monday expressed "deep regret" over the loss of life during a meeting at UN headquarters in Geneva.

Protesters struggled to come out in large numbers Monday in Nasiriyah and security forces reopened roads in Basra, stifling attempts to stage sit-ins near the provincial headquarters.

In Baghdad, live rounds rang out in neighbourhoods close to the main protest camp of Tahrir (Liberation) Square.

But thousands of demonstrators took to the streets again in Hillah, Kut and Diwaniyah -- where the local teachers union announced it would begin a general strike on Tuesday.

Aside from the crackdown, activists and volunteer medics have described a widening campaign of arrests and intimidation intended to keep them away from protests.

The UN has warned that "a climate of anger and fear has set in".

- 'We want total change' -

Iraq's President Barham Saleh last month proposed an early vote after reforms, but the idea seems to have been widely rejected by the political class.

Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi cast the proposal as unrealistic and even firebrand cleric Moqtada Sadr, who first demanded snap elections supervised by the UN, has gone silent.

The initial fissures among the political elite appear to have closed this week following a consensus brokered by Major General Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' foreign operations arm.

Soleimani, who often appears in Baghdad at times of political crisis, has led a series of meetings with Iraq's top-tier politicians, sources told AFP.

The agreement, they said, included a series of reforms in exchange for keeping the broader system in place.

Those proposals will likely fall short of the demands of protesters, who demand a complete overhaul of a regime they see as deeply corrupt.

Demonstrators say the current system means government jobs are doled out based on bribes or nepotism, shutting out applicants who are politically independent.

Youth make up 60 percent of Iraq's nearly 40 million people and the unemployment rate among them stands at a staggering 25 percent, according to the World Bank.

One in five people lives below the poverty line, despite the vast oil wealth of OPEC's second biggest producer.

"We don't want amendments, we want change -- total change," one protester in Baghdad told AFP.

Iraq tells UN it regrets the 100s killed in crackdown
Geneva (AFP) Nov 11, 2019 - Iraq's justice minister voiced "regret" before the UN Monday over the hundreds killed during a crackdown on anti-government protesters, as diplomats demanded accountability for the violence.

Speaking at the UN in Geneva, Iraq's Justice Minister Farooq Ameen Othman voiced "deep regret" over the loss of life during the protests that have been rocking the country since October 1.

Speaking through a translator, he insisted that the government "firmly stands behind the respect for human rights," and had "taken serious efforts to thoroughly investigate all of the attacks on the protesters."

But he lamented that "some lawless individuals (had) ... attacked security forces, and national institutions, private property and other types of violations and acts that have hampered the peaceful character of the demonstrations."

The minister was speaking during a so-called Universal Periodic Review -- which all 193 UN countries must undergo approximately every four years.

The review came as deadly unrest has gripped Iraq, with rights groups warning that the government crackdown could spiral into a "bloodbath".

More than 300 people have died in violence surrounding mass rallies calling for an overhaul of the ruling system that have rocked the capital Baghdad and the Shiite-majority south since October 1.

Baghdad has faced harsh criticism after Iraqi forces fired live ammunition at protesters over the weekend.

But Othman insisted Monday that "we refuse the use excessive force and live fire. We have referred all perpetrators of crimes to the courts",

- 'Excessive force' -

During Monday's review in Geneva, countries voiced alarm over "excessive use of force" against the protesters, and demanded that perpetrators be brought to justice.

The United States representative, Daniel Kronenfeld, demanded that Baghdad "immediately cease using excessive force against peaceful demonstrators."

He especially lamented the "unlawful use of tear gas canisters and live ammunition," and called on Iraq to "hold accountable, in a transparent manner, those responsible for this violence."

British representative Matthew Forman meanwhile said London was "concerned by the scale of security force violence in recent protests, and reports of media intimidation and suppression."

"Freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly and association must be protected, ... including by properly investigating violence against protestors," he said.

A number of countries acknowledged the major security challenges faced by Iraq in recent years with the battle against the Islamic State group.

The Swiss representative however stressed that "Iraq's security situation does not justify the serious violations of human rights being committed."

French Ambassador Francois Rivasseau meanwhile urged Iraq to "guarantee the right to peaceful demonstration, freedom of expression and of the press," and voiced concern over cuts to internet access in the country.

Public anger erupted in October over rampant corruption and a lack of jobs but quickly spiralled into calls to overthrow a regime blamed for perpetuating graft and clientelism.

Oil-rich Iraq is OPEC's second biggest producer, but one in five people live in poverty and youth unemployment stands at 25 percent, the World Bank says.

The government has suggested a series of reforms in response to the demonstrations, including hiring drives, welfare plans, a revamp of the electoral law and constitutional amendments.

But it has resisted calls for an overhaul of the entire system, with rival political forces closing ranks around embattled Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi.

Related Links
Iraq: The first technology war of the 21st century

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Threats, killings: Iraqi protesters face 'psychological' war
Baghdad (AFP) Nov 9, 2019
Strange men following them. Threats phoned in or muttered in the middle of a crowd. As Iraq's anti-government protests falter, activists and volunteer medics feel the noose tightening around them. Speaking to AFP using pseudonyms, they have described an apparent campaign of surveillance and intimidation by government forces and unidentified actors. "We know we're all being followed, particularly the girls," said Mariam, a young female activist in the main protest site of Tahrir (Liberation) Squ ... read more