Sixteen countries issue a joint statement on the demonstrations in Iraq
Baghdad today – Sixteen countries, Monday (January 27, 2020), issued a joint statement on the demonstrations in Iraq.
According to the statement, “the ambassadors of Canada, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States condemned the excessive and lethal use of force by the Iraqi security forces and the factions Armed forces against peaceful demonstrators since January 24, including demonstrators in Baghdad, Nasiriyah and Basra, “according to the text of the statement.
“Despite the guarantees provided by the government, security forces and armed factions continue to use live ammunition in these locations, killing and wounding many civilians, while some protesters are subjected to intimidation and kidnapping,” according to the statement.
The ambassadors, according to the statement, directed “to call on the government to respect the freedoms of assembly and the right to peaceful protest as stipulated in the Iraqi constitution,” calling on “all demonstrators to preserve the peaceful nature of the protest movement.”
The ambassadors called on “the government to ensure that investigations and credible accountability are conducted with regard to more than 500 deaths and thousands of wounded protesters since October 1 (2019).”
The capital, Baghdad, and a number of central and southern governorates are witnessing demonstrations and protests, since the beginning of October last year until now, interspersed with clashes, which resulted in the death of more than 600 demonstrators, and the injury of more than 20,000 others, calling for ministerial and constitutional reforms, and the selection of an independent candidate To the Prime Minister in the transitional period, and to set a date for early elections, under international supervision.