Basra MP charges PM Maliki with having failed to respond to demands of demonstrat?ors

BASRA / IraqiNews.com: The Legislature, representing al-Ahrar (Liberals) bloc in southern Iraq’s Basra city, Uday Awad, has charged Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, on Thursday with having fudged the promises he gave to the demonstrators.   “The demonstrators, who took to the streets last February had limited demands, towards which Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, had promised to achieve, but he had fudged his promises and did not fulfill them,” Awad told IraqiNews.com news agency, charging that the “demands that were handed over by the MPs of provinces to the Prime Minister were thrown in the waste-paper basket.”   Awad said that there had been some demands that could be achieved, such as the appointment of casual workers on permanent contracts, that Maliki had promised to achieve, but “they had gone with the wind.”   He called on the Prime Minister to respond to the demands of some poor classes of the Iraqi people, demanding rights for employment, guaranteed by the Iraqi Constitution.   The Iraqi Legislature also called on Prime Minister Maliki to respond to the demands of the demonstrators, warning that “huge demonstrations would take place, and nobody would be able to prevent or stop them.”   The majority of Iraqi provinces have witnessed protest demonstrations each Friday, since Feb. 25th last, to press on the government to improve public services, living standards and to put an end for corruption and accounting corruptors.   Most of the demonstrators had been activists of Social Society organizations, intellectuals and Face-Book Youth, giving the demonstrations a civilian nature, away from narrow-party nature.   Clashes have taken place during the demonstrations between the demonstrators and security men, who used force to disperse the demonstrators, causing casualties on both sides.   Basra, the center of the Province carrying the same name, is 590 km to the south of Baghdad.   SKH (FT) 432