New Iraqi Protest Movement Targets Corrruption

Al Monitor – Harith Hasan, 9/11/13

Protesters demand that the pensions of parliamentarians be canceled during a demonstration in Kerbala, Aug. 31, 2013. (photo by REUTERS/Mushtaq Muhammed)

The fact is that Iraq is a rentier country where the political elite oversees the distribution of oil revenues in a way that serves its interests. An equitable relationship between taxation and representation does not exist in rentier states, where the ruling elite practically turn into owners that distribute the wealth as it sees fit, while the people become dependent on donations from the rulers.

At the beginning of September, a new wave of protests started in Baghdad and several Iraqi cities. This time around, protests seemed to have more modest demands and clearer objectives. They came as a result of an organized process that started several months ago, specifically through a Facebook page under the title of “Campaign for the Cancellation of the Parliamentarians’ Pensions.”

More: Al-Monitor.com