Iraqi premier says govt serious about fulfilling protesters’ demands

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Iraqi government is serious about meeting the protesters’ demands, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Tuesday, highlighting that the mass demonstrations currently sweeping the country push the government into working hard to improve the services sector.

Speaking at a weekly press conference, Abadi said that his government “is determined to fulfill the demands of protesters,” who have been staging rallies for the third week in a row to demand job opportunities and enhanced services.

The premier noted that the government is currently “working with all political parts in the country to prepare unified reform programs in the coming period.”

“The government is about to publish a list of the names of officials, who have been referred to the Commission of Integrity on corruption charges,” the premier pointed out.

Abadi, at the end of his speech, called on legislative and executive authorities to “cooperate with the executive bodies to fight corruption.”

Mass demonstrations against unemployment, corruption and poor services spread further across southern Iraqi provinces, prompting Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to rush from a NATO summit in Brussels to Basra to meet with local officials and tribal leaders in a bid to restore calm.

The demonstrations started three weeks ago in Basra province, but they later extended to other cities, including Amara, Nasiriya, Karbala and the Shiite holy city of Najaf. There were also protests in parts of the capital, Baghdad.