The protest in the southern city of Basra marked the anniversary of the start of the US invasion in 2003. Slogans were mainly directed at the government of Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki for failing to improve the lives of Iraq’s poor.
But the main context appears to be the March 27-29 Arab League summit, the first in Iraq in more than 20 years.
Basra police estimated the size of the crowd at between 700,000 and 1 million. A Reuters correspondent on the scene said it was clear at least several hundred thousand were there.
Yesterday’s demonstration, by contrast, seemed to show a deliberate effort to avoid antagonizing Arab neighbors by channeling protesters’ anger into domestic grievances.
There is no shortage of such outrage in a country where oil wealth has yet to alleviate dire poverty. Nine years after the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, most Iraqis have electricity only a few hours a day.
Men and women traveled from across Iraq to protest bearing Iraqi flags and portraits of Sadr. They carried black caskets labeled “Electricity,” “Education” and “Democracy.”
“We came to call for the removal of injustice against Iraqis ... There are no jobs. We are living in bad conditions without services,” said Latiaf Kadhim, who came hundreds of miles from Karbala to participate in the demonstration in Basra.
Muttashar Saeed, who had traveled from Baghdad’s Sadr City neighborhood, said: “Lawmakers are looking out for themselves while the state ignores the poor. We want the attention of officials who are busy with their own affairs in their comfortable chairs and armored vehicles.”
Sadr, who led uprisings against the US presence before American troops withdrew last year but is now a key member of Al-Maliki’s ruling coalition, has banned protests during the summit to show “hospitality” to the guests.
Holding yesterday’s protest in Basra rather than Baghdad helps Al-Maliki’s assertion that the capital is safe for the summit.
Authorities in Baghdad took no chances yesterday, imposing a security operation with checkpoints conducting thorough searches that snarled morning rush-hour traffic for hours.
