Under the title "Mass Demonstration in Baghdad: Images of Assassinated Activists," the Al-Arabiya website reported that the cries of Iraqi youth returned to the capital Baghdad on Friday, aiming to redirect demands and directions less than two weeks before the elections scheduled for October 10. Hundreds flocked to the Iraqi capital to commemorate the second anniversary of the unprecedented popular protests that began in 2019.
With a heavy security presence, the demonstrators, who marched towards Tahrir Square, raised Iraqi flags and photos of young people killed during previous protests, which resulted in around 600 fatalities and over 30,000 injuries.
The protesters waved images of activists who were assassinated over the past two years, including Ehab Al-Wazni, the head of the protests coordination in Karbala, who was shot dead in May by armed men outside his home with silenced pistols. Others held banners that read "When will we see the killers behind bars?" and "We want a homeland, we want change," according to the Agence France-Presse report.
The demonstrators also called for not re-electing the same faces in the upcoming election, which many observers do not expect to bring significant change. Some slogans included "Re-electing the same faces is a massacre for the homeland," "No to corrupt parties, no to corrupt politicians," and "Do not elect those who killed me."
The demonstration reflects a feeling of frustration and despair among activists regarding the possibility of early parliamentary elections bringing about change, especially as the country continues to be mired in numerous crises, including power outages, a shortage of services, deteriorating economic conditions, and high unemployment rates among the youth due to years of wars and chronic corruption.
Despite this, some today raised slogans expressing a degree of optimism, such as "The revolution will spread across the country faster than the coronavirus, and there is no vaccine for it."
It is worth noting that since the outbreak of popular protests in Iraq in October 2019, more than 70 activists have been assassinated or have survived assassination attempts, while dozens of others have been kidnapped for short periods. No group has claimed responsibility for the killings and kidnappings of activists, but demonstrators accuse powerful factions loyal to Iran.
