{"id":235,"date":"2019-11-04T09:38:00","date_gmt":"2019-11-04T08:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spblinux.de\/The-Giraffe-Heroes-Blog\/?p=235"},"modified":"2019-11-04T09:38:02","modified_gmt":"2019-11-04T08:38:02","slug":"by-order-of-the-people-afp-com-6-hrs-ago-nov-4-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spblinux.de\/Staying-the-Course\/index.php\/2019\/11\/04\/by-order-of-the-people-afp-com-6-hrs-ago-nov-4-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cBy Order of the People\u201d afp.com 6 hrs ago , Nov. 4, 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

“I’m sorry, I can’t let you through\nwithout orders,” said the Iraqi civilian manning the makeshift checkpoint,\nsmirking at the befuddled policeman he had waved down in the capital Baghdad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a month of defying official\ncurfews and road closures to protest, Iraqis have flipped the rule book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One recent evening, police officers\nerected a row of concrete t-walls on the same street, sealing off access to\nTahrir Square, ground zero for protests in the capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Demonstrators — one riding a motorised\nred rickshaw known as a tuk-tuk — sprung into action, chasing down the police.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tuk-tuk came to a screeching halt in\nfront of the truck, blocking its exit as young Iraqi men pressured officers to\nreopen the road to Tahrir.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Improbably, the officers relented, and\nthe enormous truck reversed up the road to lift the barriers as the victorious\ntuk-tuk followed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Protesters swiftly hung a sign nearby:\n“Re-opened by order of the people!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Demonstrations broke out on October 1 in\noutrage over rampant corruption and unemployment. They were met with a violent\ncrackdown that left dozens dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since resuming later last month, the\nprotests have shifted to campaigns of non-violent resistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– By order of the people! –<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Across the country’s south, Iraqis are\ncarrying out sit-ins at schools, on highways and main bridges, and near\ngovernment buildings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“No country? No class!” is the\nnew slogan for thousands of Iraqi university students and school children\nrefusing to go back to class until they see sweeping reforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The teachers’ syndicate has extended its\nstrike, despite threats from officials that protesting students or staff would\nface legal consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most official administrations have been\nshut in large cities, with large banners also proclaiming the newfound\nauthority: “Closed by order of the people!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Diwaniyah, 200 kilometres (130 miles)\nsouth of Baghdad, the government’s provincial headquarters has literally become\na dump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The building has been shuttered since\nprotesters stormed it last month, and now rubbish trucks and residents add\ndaily to the growing piles of trash there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And in Rumaitha, the southern town known\nfor sparking Iraq’s 1920 revolution against the British mandate, residents are\ngiving the government a taste of its own medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the heart of a recent demonstration\nthere, a protester grabbed a megaphone and cleared his throat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We are declaring a curfew on all\ngovernment employees and vehicles, and the closing of all party\nheadquarters!” he declared, as people cheered all around him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cities and towns across the south have\nimposed curfews in an attempt to clamp down on protests, but as the movement\ndrags on, residents are increasingly ignoring the restrictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Tables turned –<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Baghdad, the military announced last\nweek it would begin imposing a nightly curfew from midnight until 6:00 AM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That evening saw the largest protests\nyet in Tahrir, as streams of people defied the order and declared their\nopposition to the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They have remained camped in the square,\nsetting up tents and occupying an 18-storey building long known as “the\nTurkish restaurant”. Now it is called, among other names, “Revolution\nMountain.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From there, young men watch the crowds\ngathering in Tahrir and along the key Al-Jumhuriyah bridge leading into the\nGreen Zone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Riot police have set up barricades along\nthe bridge to keep protesters from entering the enclave, where government\noffices and embassies are located.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those watching from above, their\nperch provided them a rare opportunity to monitor — and mock — security\nforces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Welcome to the morning\nshift!” they call out over loudspeakers to the fully-equipped police units\nbelow, before blaring Arabic love ballads typically heard on morning radio in\nIraq.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Down below, protesters hand out fake\nIraqi identity cards, where the nationality is listed as “Honorable\nIraqi,” and profession as “peaceful protester”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond the jokes, the demonstrations\nhave taken on a more serious tone in recent days. Groups hold discussions on\npolitics and economics, even debating the constitution, article by article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some advocate for a return to a\npresidential system, others even say Iraq needs a dictator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But they are united in condemning the\ncurrent system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The competent people, they’re over\nhere in Tahrir — not over there,” one protester said, gesturing towards\nthe Green Zone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Access Closed by Order of the People<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Tahrir Square<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“I’m sorry, I can’t let you through without orders,” said the Iraqi civilian manning the makeshift checkpoint, smirking at the befuddled policeman he had waved down in the capital Baghdad. After a month of defying official curfews and road closures to protest, Iraqis have flipped the rule book. One recent evening, police officers erected a row of concrete t-walls on the same street, sealing off access to Tahrir Square, ground zero for protests in the capital. Demonstrators — one riding a motorised red rickshaw known as a tuk-tuk — sprung into action, chasing down the police. The tuk-tuk came to Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-human-rights-civil-disobedience-courage-honesty"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spblinux.de\/Staying-the-Course\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spblinux.de\/Staying-the-Course\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spblinux.de\/Staying-the-Course\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spblinux.de\/Staying-the-Course\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spblinux.de\/Staying-the-Course\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=235"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/spblinux.de\/Staying-the-Course\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":238,"href":"https:\/\/spblinux.de\/Staying-the-Course\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235\/revisions\/238"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spblinux.de\/Staying-the-Course\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spblinux.de\/Staying-the-Course\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spblinux.de\/Staying-the-Course\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}