The new government, in power for only two months, is hoping that the planned demonstrations on Friday 25th February will be the last popular protest in the country. But the activists have other aspirations.
Civilians, clerics, liberal and independent figures expect the sit-in in al-Tahrir Square, in the heart of Baghdad's commercial centre, to be the first in a series of mass protests against corruption by the state and political parties.
"It's just the beginning and all hell will break loose”, Abdallah al-Shammari, the Coordinator of the February 25 Youth movement, told Niqash.
Shammari, a young man in his mid-20’s, has been leading protests for several weeks, chanting slogans with other angry protesters.
“There have been spontaneous demonstrations in many areas of Baghdad. But in future, things will be different. If we want to achieve our goals, we need to be better co-ordinated”, he said.
For the last two weeks, clerics and respected religious figures have been calling people to participate en masse in demonstrations in different parts of Iraq. They have also been urging the authorities and security forces to ensure the safety of the protesters.
Some clerics, like Sheikh Qasim al-Taei, have hinted that they may take part in these demonstrations themselves.
The protesters are demanding reform of the sectarian government system, an improvement in public services, respect of public freedoms, and an end to corruption and unemployment. They also want a government pledge to fulfill these demands expeditiously.
But others are going further, with calls for the overthrow of the current regime, as in Tunisia and Egypt, and currently in Bahrain and Libya.
According to Shammari, the January 25th revolution in Egypt, which led to the fall of its leader, President Mubarak, has inspired young people.
Shammari leads a group of activists and administers several Facebook groups and links, which are today considered to be the main engine of Arab popular revolutions.
He is a member of a group of 13,000 internet activists, which is mobilizing people under the slogan "Support the Iraqi Youth Uprising in al-Tahrir Square on 25th February 2011."
Observers in Iraq say that the demands may change if the demonstrators are attacked. Al-Nasser Duraid is political science professor at Salahuddin University. He points out that initially, the protesters in Egypt and Tunisia only wanted reform.
“But then there was a shift and they demanded the overthrow of the two regimes. And they got what they wanted. It's quite possible that the same thing could happen in Iraq!”
Hanaa Adour, the president of al-Amal Organization, is one of many who expect around a million Iraqis to turn up in Tahrir square on Friday.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has already said that he will not be responsible for any acts of violence that may occur during the demonstrations.
“Some people may take advantage of the situation and use police uniforms to cover up their actions and attack demonstrators,” he said, warning against the possibility of infiltration.
Shop-owners in al-Tahrir Square have already started moving their products to safer places in anticipation of violence. Others say they will not open their shops at all that day, despite the fact that Fridays are generally good for business.
Friday’s demonstrations are expected to receive huge local media coverage. Over the past few days, local channels have been broadcasting reports of physical abuse against demonstrators by what they called al-Baltajiyah "thugs", when the security forces unexpectedly withdrew from the streets.
The authorities say they are planning to deploy a large number of its militants to protect protesters on Friday and that people have the right to demonstrate freely.
But the demonstrators already in the square disagree. They point out that the authorities are putting many restrictions in place, preventing demonstrators from setting up day and night camps and delaying the granting of official permission to demonstrate.
They also say that Salah Abdul Razzaq, the governor of Baghdad, who is close to Prime Minister Maliki, has set out extremely “prohibitive instructions” for the licensing of demonstrations.
Prior permission has to be obtained one week before the demonstration, and the exact location of the demonstration has to be specified in the application.
The new instructions oblige organisers to fill out many forms and to sign commitment and assurances forms.
It seems highly unlikely that the demonstrators will abide by these instructions, on what they are calling a Day of Anger or Revolution for Dignity day.
Hana Edward, a civil society activist, who heads one of the biggest women’s rights networks, says that “the Iraqi people’s revolution against corruption and corrupt people will continue despite government attempts to obstruct them.”
“The majority of Iraqis are now aware of the importance of reform and will not be deterred from demonstrating by any restrictions or repression by the security authorities.”
For eight years, she says, corruption of the worst kind has been widespread. “Even the ruling class, parliamentarians and politicians are aware of what is happening.”
Eight years since the US invasion of Iraq, electricity is only available in most areas for two hours a day. In addition, the country suffers from an extremely weak infrastructure and transport network, and an acute drinking water and sanitation crisis.
A report by the Berlin-based Transparency International in 2011, ranked Iraq almost bottom in the list of most corrupt countries in the world.
Rahim al-Uqaili, a judge and the president of the integrity commission, responsible for investigating cases of financial and administrative corruption, expressed his support for the demands of the demonstrators.
"Demonstrations are the most powerful weapon against corruption in government institutions", he said.
The government is clearly concerned by the planned demonstration. On 20th February, it held an extraordinary session and introduced unexpected measures, including the suspension until further notice of the customs and tariff law, which was supposed to enter into force on 1 March 2011.
“The authorities fear that the tariff law will lead to a rise in commodity prices”, said Duraid. “That is why the government has taken a series of random measures to ease the troubled situation.”
As a precautionary measure, Prime Minister Maliki issued a directive reducing his monthly salary by half and allocating the other half to the government treasury, as of February 2011.
He has also promised to conduct constitutional reforms to ensure that the prime minister does not stay in office for more than two consecutive terms.
But, according to Shammari, these measures alone are not enough and do not meet the aspirations of the demonstrators.
“Iraqis want to see that their demands met by actual deeds. They will not be satisfied by promises and rhetorical statements.”
