After a year of intense demonstrations sometimes and sometimes Al-Hina, and after Tahrir Square (central Baghdad) and its environs witnessed a complete closure and massive proliferation of the protesters' tents, as well as thousands of dead and wounded, came on October 31 to witness the opening of the square and the lifting of the tents.
With the protesters' tents being raised, the roads opened, and life returned to what it was, Iraqis are wondering whether the demonstrations have actually ended or not, in addition to many questions about the reasons for their end, what they achieved, and the factors that may be the cause of their renewal.
The streets around Tahrir Square were opened and the tents were raised from within (communication sites)
Why did it end?
Many reasons made the continuation of the demonstrations in Tahrir nearly impossible, according to activist and one of the coordination members of Tahrir Square, Hashem al-Jubouri. He explains that on the evening of last October 25, the demonstrators noticed the infiltration of groups that tried to throw the demonstrations into skirmishes with the security forces, which led to many decisions. Demonstrators withdraw and remove tents.
Al-Jubouri continues in the narration of events, adding that on the noon of last October 26, the demonstrators actually worked to remove 90% of the tents without the protesters withdrawing, pointing out that since then, the arena has become the upper hand of infiltrated elements of some parties.
The situation continued as it was - according to al-Jubouri - until 5 a.m. on Saturday, October 31, when security forces suddenly entered Tahrir Square and overran the remaining camps with vehicles.
As for the activist Anas Ahmed, he believes that the outbreak of the Corona virus, the difficult economic situation, the disruption of schools and universities, and the exposure of activists during the past months to hundreds of assassinations and kidnappings, are all reasons that led to the failure to see the public momentum that witnessed the first wave of demonstrations a year ago.
He added to Al-Jazeera Net that the reasons that led to the withdrawal of the demonstrators from Tahrir on the anniversary came after their realization that youth groups he described as engineered had targeted the security forces and attempted to cause a collision between them and the demonstrators, and therefore the decision was to withdraw and not slide in the face of security forces that this time did not use violence As happened in the first demonstrations.
Al-Hindawi considered that raising the protesters' tents from Tahrir Square does not mean the idea of demonstrating has ended (Iraqi Press)
The gains of the demonstrations, and
returning to Al-Jubouri to talk about the gains achieved by the demonstrators, he stressed that the greatest achievement they achieved was to break the barrier of fear of going out in protests, citing the special demonstrations that take place in Baghdad led by employees, workers and trade unionists, in a phenomenon that is now witnessed in Baghdad every week.
He added to Al-Jazeera Net that the new election law, despite what it contains, is a gain for the demonstrators who canceled the old system through multiple departments, and therefore the fear and resentment of the political blocs of the new law indicates the great achievement of the demonstrators, according to al-Jubouri.
Al-Jubouri does not exclude the renewal of demonstrations before or after the next legislative elections, explaining that the Iraqi can no longer bear running new elections in difficult labor that does not result in actual change, as the first demonstrations were launched mainly because of what he described as the rigging of the 2018 elections and the resulting takeover of the parties he described as corrupt. On power.
For his part, Hussein al-Hindawi, an advisor to the Iraqi prime minister, believes that one of the most important gains of the demonstrations is the legislation of a new election law that was largely compatible with popular demands.
In his interview with Al-Jazeera Net, Al-Hindawi says, "The October demonstrations have produced a new Iraqi generation that refuses to deal with it by the state, as it was before the demonstrations, and that raising the protesters’ tents from Tahrir Square does not necessarily mean the end of the idea of demonstrations. "
As for the head of the Center for Political Thinking, Ihssan Al-Shammari believes that the demonstrations accomplished many things, including pushing the government of former Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi to resign, and forcing regional equations to retreat from the support of their allies inside Iraq.
Although not fully accomplished in accordance with what the demonstrators were asking for, he, in his interview with Al-Jazeera Net, believes that imposing early elections and breaking the knot of fear of the ruling political class is a great political maturity.
My request: The Sadrist movement was not an opponent of any reform movement, including the Tishreen demonstrations (Al-Jazeera Net)
The continuity of the movement
and goes in this direction, the deputy of the Saeron parliamentary bloc, Sabah Talobi, who believes that the popular demands for reform will continue even if the Tahrir Square demonstrations end a year after they began.
My request confirmed to Al-Jazeera Net that the Sadrist movement (which supports the Sairoun bloc) was not an opponent of any reform movement, including the October demonstrations, and that the movement was the reason for its success, but the entry of some infiltrators and their attempts to change its course led to what led to it, and thus this stage ended According to him.
As for the renewal of the demonstrations, it is believed that the return to peace and real demands represent the real initiation line for reform in the next stage, provided that the demonstrations have a real effective leadership, pointing out that the current situation of the country is in great and continuous need for reform.
Meanwhile, the head of the Center for Political Thinking believes that the demonstrations have not ended, concluding that the first anniversary witnessed a large gathering, as well as the continuation of the movement in Nasiriyah (the south of the country) and in other cities.
Indicating that the strategy of the demonstrations in Baghdad is not related to raising the tents as much as it is related to the circumstances that led the protesters to raise the tents and the withdrawal of some of them before that, and therefore the possibility of launching new demonstrations is very likely and may be much more severe than the previous one.
Regarding the factors that may lead to their renewal, he explained that this depends on the economic situation of the country and the possibility of continuing the financial distress, in addition to the criteria that will be adopted in the elections, the method of voting and the government's ability to control the fugitive and its impact, and therefore all these circumstances will be an incentive for the demonstrators.
Al-Salhi expressed his surprise that the demonstrations ended without all of their demands being met (Al-Jazeera)
Strong messages
As for the head of the Parliamentary Human Rights Committee, Arshad al-Salihi, he is surprised that the demonstrations have ended without all of their demands being met, especially with regard to accountability for the killers of the demonstrators, who number more than 700, according to him.
Al-Salihi, who heads the Turkmen Front bloc, adds that despite their unexpected end, the demonstrations conveyed strong messages to the government, parliament and all the political class.
In an interview with Al-Jazeera Net, Al-Salhi comments by saying, "The renewal of the movement depends on what events will lead to, especially the election law and the loopholes in it, the vote counting system and the mechanism that the commission will adopt whether it is based on the voter's biometric card (eye and finger print) or on the previous electronic card. ".
Observers believe that no one can predict what the coming months will lead to, especially since the October uprising emerged without having any introductions, and therefore the possibility of its return remains available in light of the difficult conditions in the country.