Kurdish officials in northern Iraq on Monday struggled to contain public discontent over unpaid salaries and claims of corruption, using force and tear gas to break up peaceful protests across the region.
Until recently protests had been confined to opposition-controlled areas of the Kurdistan Region. But for the first time on Sunday, protesters gathered in the capital Erbil, a stronghold of the leading Kurdistan Democratic Party.
Some of those involved said they had taken to the streets despite the KDP’s longstanding policy of trying to prevent such protests. "This is very significant for Erbil,” said one teacher, who asked not to be named for fear of repercussions.
Protests continued in Erbil on Monday but were rapidly contained by security forces. “We were around 150 protesters,” the teacher said. “There were three times the number of security forces, in full riot gear."
For three years now the KRG has struggled to pay the salaries of its more than one million government employees. The high number of Kurds receiving a government salary — nearly a quarter of the population — has in the past dampened popular discontent towards the autonomous region’s leadership.
But growing anger over ongoing austerity measures and the failure to pay salaries could threaten the KRG, whose power has already been greatly rolled back by the federal government in the wake of a failed independence referendum in September last year.
The Iraqi federal government began halting payments to the Kurdistan Region in 2014, following a dispute over the Kurds' share of the federal budget and their right to export oil.
Since then the KRG has struggled to reduce its deficit, despite unilaterally selling oil in defiance of Baghdad. As a result the Kurdish government was forced in 2016 to introduced austerity measures, cutting public salaries by up to three quarters.
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But many Kurds believe corruption is also a factor in igniting the protests.
“They’re stealing our salaries and ... giving us [only] part of our salaries every two or three months,” said Yasa Ako, 23, a civil society activist protesting in Erbil.
In September last year Kurdish leaders banked on a successful referendum to placate their constituents and achieve a stronger negotiation position with the federal government.
Instead Baghdad vehemently opposed the move, shut Kurdish airspace to international flights and later seized large tracts of disputed territory formerly controlled by the Kurds, including oil fields around the city of Kirkuk.
With the loss of nearly half its oil production, the KRG was forced to re-enter negotiations with Baghdad in order to receive its share of the federal budget.
Earlier this month, Iraqi prime minister Haider Al Abadi announced he would lift the international flight ban on Kurdish airports and would send money to pay for KRG public salaries ahead of the Nowruz festival on March 20.
The KRG says Baghdad sent IQD 317 billion (Dh982.4 million) to pay salaries, but claimed it needs at least IQD 590 billion to pay its employees under its austerity salary programme. “It is a smaller amount than needed,” the KRG said in a statement promising to work to increase payments to its civil servants.
A KRG spokesperson was not immediately available for comments.
Baghdad suspects the Kurds have a large numbers of “ghost employees” on the government payroll and insists that the amount it sent is sufficient. “The portion sent to [the Kurdistan Region], along with the region’s oil sales is enough to provide full salaries of the Kurdistan Region’s employees,” Saad Hadithi, a spokesman in the Prime Minister’s office told local media.
The protests follow ongoing strikes by teachers and healthcare workers in the cities of Sulaymaniyah and Halabja, both government opposition strongholds.
With protesters’ demands unmet, the unrest has the potential to grow.
“There will be more protests,” said activist Mr Ako. The government, he said, has been dishonest. "The people can no longer trust this lying government.”
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MATCH INFO
Chelsea 1
Alonso (62')
Huddersfield Town 1
Depoitre (50')
The stats: 2017 Jaguar XJ
Price, base / as tested Dh326,700 / Dh342,700
Engine 3.0L V6
Transmission Eight-speed automatic
Power 340hp @ 6,000pm
Torque 450Nm @ 3,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined 9.1L / 100km
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: 2019 Mercedes-Benz C200 Coupe
Price, base: Dh201,153
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 204hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 300Nm @ 1,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.7L / 100km
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
Meydan race card
6.30pm: Baniyas (PA) Group 2 Dh125,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,200m
7.40pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh170,000 (D) 1,900m
8.50pm: Rated Conditions (TB) Dh240,000 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh175,000 (D)1,200m
10pm: Handicap (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m
What went into the film
25 visual effects (VFX) studios
2,150 VFX shots in a film with 2,500 shots
1,000 VFX artists
3,000 technicians
10 Concept artists, 25 3D designers
New sound technology, named 4D SRL
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The biog
Name: Shamsa Hassan Safar
Nationality: Emirati
Education: Degree in emergency medical services at Higher Colleges of Technology
Favourite book: Between two hearts- Arabic novels
Favourite music: Mohammed Abdu and modern Arabic songs
Favourite way to spend time off: Family visits and spending time with friends
Teri%20Baaton%20Mein%20Aisa%20Uljha%20Jiya
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Dolittle
Director: Stephen Gaghan
Stars: Robert Downey Jr, Michael Sheen
One-and-a-half out of five stars
Company%20profile
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CABINET%20OF%20CURIOSITIES%20EPISODE%201%3A%20LOT%2036
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match info
Union Berlin 0
Bayern Munich 1 (Lewandowski 40' pen, Pavard 80')
Man of the Match: Benjamin Pavard (Bayern Munich)
The specs: 2017 Dodge Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn
Price, base / as tested: Dhxxx
Engine: 5.7L V8
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 395hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque: 556Nm @ 3,950rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km
The Year Earth Changed
Directed by:Tom Beard
Narrated by: Sir David Attenborough
Stars: 4
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Takestep%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20March%202018%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Mohamed%20Khashaba%2C%20Mohamed%20Abdallah%2C%20Mohamed%20Adel%20Wafiq%20and%20Ayman%20Taha%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Cairo%2C%20Egypt%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20health%20technology%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EEmployees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2011%20full%20time%20and%2022%20part%20time%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20pre-Series%20A%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Race card
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 Group 1 (PA) US$100,000 (Dirt) 2,000m
7.05pm: Meydan Classic Listed (TB) $175,000 (Turf) 1,600m
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 2,000m
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (D) 1,600m
8.50pm: Nad Al Sheba Trophy Group 2 (TB) $300,000 (T) 2,810m
9.25pm: Curlin Stakes Listed (TB) $175,000 (D) 2,000m
10pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 2,000m
10.35pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 1,400m
The National selections
6.30pm: Shahm, 7.05pm: Well Of Wisdom, 7.40pm: Lucius Tiberius, 8.15pm: Captain Von Trapp, 8.50pm: Secret Advisor, 9.25pm: George Villiers, 10pm: American Graffiti, 10.35pm: On The Warpath
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices