The Arab region and the world witnessed many milestones in 2019, including the isolation of the Sudanese President, Omar al-Bashir, the death of the Tunisian President, Baji Kaid Essebsi, the isolation of the Algerian President, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, and the revolt of two popular revolutions in Iraq and Lebanon, in addition to the recognition of the administration of the American President, Donald Trump, the legitimacy of the settlements, and its recognition of Israel's sovereignty of the Syrian Golan Heights. Other notable events include the dispute over the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, the measures to isolate Trump, the yellow jacket demonstrations in France, and others in Hong Kong for several months now, the Turkish attack on northern Syria, and the holding of new elections in Britain that brought Boris Johnson, a pro-British exit From the European Union, for prime minister, and other events.

Man may have difficulty finding some positive events between endless reports of war, terrorist attacks, aircraft crashes, climate problems, floods and hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, and other horrific events.

Since these events greatly affect the reality and future of the Arab region, we will try in this file, which extends through several episodes, to shed light on the most important of them, in order to document and benefit from the lessons.

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The president is puzzled between the demonstrators and the parliamentary blocs

Iraq .. 3 months of popular movement and political rivalry

Since last October 1, Iraq has been in a state of mobility and popular protest, matched by a political stalemate in the absence of responding to the demonstrators ’demand to choose an independent prime minister, and the displacement of the political class that has dominated the country’s administration for 16 years, which protesters accuse of“ corruption and subordination to Iran ”, despite Recent political changes that appear to be mockery in light of the continuing rivalry between the main powers that have monopolized the political scene since the ouster of the former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in 2003, with the resignation of Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi, she chose the same blocs that were supported by alternative personalities, and he The refusal of the demonstrators.

Between the former parties, the demonstrators and the political blocs, Iraqi President Barham Salih stood bewildered, without being able to resolve the issue of the largest bloc in Parliament, which has the right to nominate the Prime Minister, or to choose a consensual figure with the characteristics that the people seek, and he had no choice but to wave Finally, with his resignation, hoping that this will lead to concessions from both parties leading to a solution to the crisis.

On the other hand, the concessions sought by the Iraqi president have not taken place until the moment. On the contrary, the sources indicate that there are moves within Parliament to isolate the Iraqi president himself, by charging him with "violating the constitution" for him, given that Article 76 includes that the president's role is to assign the bloc's candidate The oldest in the parliament, and he has no right to reject this nomination, and the matter has evolved into a lawsuit filed by one of the deputies already accusing the President of the Republic of violating the constitution.

Iran .. fueling the conflict

The Iraqi scene appears to be complex, making it difficult to decipher its incantations. Perhaps this indivisible bifurcation and intertwining was intended by external parties that fuel differences in the Iraqi interior, and at the head of those parties is Iran, which a large part of the Iraqi street accused of standing behind the political system that they demanded to topple And what has fueled the anger of the demonstrators is the repeated visits of the commander of the "Quds Force" in the "Iranian Revolutionary Guard", Qassem Soleimani, to Iraq, and the statements of the Iranian guide, Ali Khamenei, about Iraq.

After a month of protests, specifically in the first week of last November, violence erupted in Karbala, which resulted in the killing of four demonstrators by gunfire of the security forces, while trying to burn the Iranian consulate building, and after about a month of protests as well, major political forces agreed to maintain power The list at the time, even if it was necessary to use force to end the protests, and sources at the time stated that the parties agreed during a meeting that included the majority of the leaders of the major blocs to adhere to Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi, in exchange for reforms in the files of anti-corruption and constitutional amendments, and the parties also agreed to "let The government to end the protests by all means available ».

Political sources pointed out that the agreement between the parties concerned (including others and wisdom) came after the meeting of the leader of the "Quds Force" Qassem Soleimani, with the leader of the Sadrist movement Muqtada al-Sadr, and Muhammad Raza al-Sistani (son of the Shiite cleric Ali al-Sistani), which resulted in the agreement on Abdel-Mahdi to stay in his position, but before the end of the month Abdel-Mahdi had to resign under the pressure of the street.

Iran did not stand idly by, and continued its utmost efforts to pass its candidate Qusay al-Suhail, who was a minister in the resigned government, but the street announced its total rejection of Al-Suhail, considering that he is a candidate for Iran, in addition to being part of the class that the people rose up to overthrow.

In mid-December, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Iran of a "decisive response" if US interests were harmed in Iraq, after a series of missile attacks on military bases.

"We must seize this opportunity to remind Iran's leaders that any attacks on their side or their representatives of any identity are detrimental to the Americans, our allies, or our interests, and will be answered decisively," Pompeo said in a statement.

He added, "Iran must respect the sovereignty of its neighbors, and stop immediately supporting the third parties in Iraq and throughout the region." The United States translated this warning by launching a series of raids, the day before yesterday, on the bases of an Iraqi faction loyal to Iran, which resulted in the killing of At least 19 fighters, two days after a missile attack on a military base near Kirkuk, killed an American contractor, and Washington has not ruled out any further steps "if necessary".

Street sound ... mounting anger

Between rival political forces and a president who is almost unable to resolve the crisis, it seems that the Iraqi street has a great insistence to achieve its demands, as strikes and blocking roads pervade Baghdad and the cities of southern Iraq, and waves of anger escalate daily, after the popular movement met with repression that killed about 460 people, At least 25,000 were injured.

The protests spread to strikes in universities, schools and government institutions, as well as to cutting off roads leading to oil fields, to pressure the authority to fulfill the demands, or to the desire of a group of protesters to be appointed to the oil institutions. Iraq is the fifth largest oil exporter in the world, and it exports about 3.4 million A daily barrel from the port of Basra in the south of this country, which depends almost entirely on oil revenues, which constitute 90% of the country's budget, and despite the enormous oil wealth, one in five people in Iraq lives below the poverty line, and the youth unemployment rate is 25%. According to the World Bank.

The demonstrators reject any of the political "party candidates" that participated in ruling the country during the past years, and despite the parliament's vote a few days ago on reforms to an electoral law, there are no indications of steps towards holding close elections, although among the demands of the demonstrators, the dissolution of the parliament and the holding of early elections .

Despite the decrease in violence during the past few days, the government human rights commission revealed 68 kidnappings and losses due to the demonstrations, and assassination attempts among activists and demonstrators reached 33 cases, distributed by 15 murders, 13 injuries, and five failed attempts.

On the sidelines of the movement, "tuk tuk" is a hero in the shadows

In the shadows .. There are always heroes behind the scenes standing somewhere that may not be visible to everyone, and with the intensification of the popular movement in Iraq fiercely, the "tuk tuk" was a lieutenant of the demonstrators and their loyal friend, as it is a means of transporting them to places of protest, and in the battlefields it turns into a means To flee, and in it also turns into an ambulance, transporting the injured to hospitals or field clinics. After the clashes are over, we find the "tuk tuk" sometimes the same victim, where he has been burned or shocked.

In Tahrir Square in central Baghdad, on the seam lines at the entrances of severed bridges, on the banks of the Tigris, on Rashid Street, in the alleys, the "Tok Tok" seems ready to play its role.

According to Agence France-Presse, the "Tok Talk" gained a status that was missing before the protests, as this vehicle was the subject of an inferior view of it and its drivers, the majority of whom are from impoverished neighborhoods, but since October 1, this view has changed, since everyone became one family, Tuk-tuk is the one who takes the injured or injured to hospitals, and who delivers food and support to the demonstrators.

There are still many tasks that lie with the future of "tuk-tuk" in the future, so there does not seem to be a near solution looming on the horizon for the Iraqi crisis, and even if there is a consensus between the political and presidential blocs on a figure who takes over the prime minister and the formation of the new government, and even if that happens, it is The political elite is unlikely to relinquish the power that protesters are demanding to remove.

The Iraqi scene seems divergent, making it difficult to decipher its talismans, and this branching and interlocking may have been intended by external parties that fuel differences in the Iraqi interior, and on top of those parties is Iran.

460

People were killed and some 25,000 protesters injured as a result of the suppression of protests in Iraq.

One in five people in Iraq lives below the poverty line ... and unemployment among young people is 25%.