Massive protest held in Iraqi Kurdistan

Sun Mar 20, 2011

An unprecedented number of protesters have gathered in the Iraqi Kurdistan to protest the regional government's corruption and failure to implement democracy.

The Sunday rallies took place in the city of Sulaymanieh and were attended by a large crowd, who gathered to attend the Nowruz celebrations, which marks the change of the year, Reuters reported.

"We are gathering in thousands today to celebrate the festival of Nowruz and to stress that we still ask for our demands of reforms to be answered," said Nasik Qadir, spokeswoman for protesters in the city.

"We are here to say that our demands have still not been met."

The rallies, inspired by the recent revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, have been raging on since last month, urging the removal of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

The government has reportedly deployed a 4,000-strong contingent to Kurdistan's city of Kirkuk to prevent protests.

The troops belong to the Peshmerga division, which operates in the northern region as an offshoot of the Iraqi Army's Regional Guards.

The outraged public were about to raise their voices about a lack of basic services and Kurdish hegemony over the city and the province.

The KRG, however, claimed it had received credible intelligence about planned attacks against the Kurdish community.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/170934.html.