ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Crowds of recent graduates of the medical majors protested at Baghdad’s Green Zone on Tuesday demanding employment from the Iraqi government. Security actors used force to quell the demonstrations, injuring dozens of protesters and detaining many others.
The Iraqi Health Professions Syndicate announced last week that Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani had called on the finance ministry to make the necessary financial allocations for the permanent employment of the more than 57,000 graduates of the medical and health majors of the 2022-2023 academic year.
Iraq’s finance ministry previously made allocations for the employment of nearly 30,000 but is yet to act on Sudani’s directive.
Thousands protested peacefully near the gates of the Green Zone in the capital calling for the implementation of the prime minister’s decision, but they were met with a violent crackdown from security forces. Iraqis, in an outpouring of support, shared their angry reactions online.
Media affiliated with the country’s Health Professions Syndicate reported that tens of protesters were injured, including some severely, and many others were detained “without right.”
“What happened to the syndicate members and our graduates is unacceptable,” read a statement from the syndicate. “We strongly condemn with all expressions of resentment and denunciation what happened and is happening in front of the Green Zone.”
“We went out asking for the application of the law and will not return until justice is achieved,” the statement added.
In a press conference later in the day, the syndicate described the crackdown on the protesters as “barbaric,” calling on relevant authorities to ensure accountability for those responsible for the treatment against the graduates.
The protesters are demanding employment according to the provisions of the Iraqi Medical Progression Law of 2000, which ensures the permanent employment of all medical and health graduates.
Iraqi government spokesperson Basem al-Awadi announced that Sudani has directed the joint operations command to launch an investigation into the circumstances of Tuesday’s protest, and also directed the commander of Baghdad operations to be present during all future demonstrations “in order to prevent a recurrence of what happened today.”
The prime minister has also called on a committee, headed by the health minister, to submit a report within a week on how to resolve the graduates’ issues.
Miqdad Miri, spokesperson for the Iraqi interior ministry, on Wednesday published footage showing the protesters throwing rocks and objects at the security forces, saying that at least 15 members of the forces suffered injuries, including some severe.
The Iraqi parliament’s health and environment committee on Tuesday said in a statement that the injury and detainment of the protesters is “in violation of the law,” urging accountability for those involved.
“We also call on some parties that incite graduates to demonstrate continuously without waiting for the relevant authorities to take appropriate measures to allocate the positions to stop these actions which are not in the interest of graduates, but will rather complicate matters further,” the committee added.
Arshad al-Salihi, head of the parliament’s human rights committee, also rejected the “continued assault” on protesters, calling for an urgent and comprehensive investigation into the attacks.
Salihi acknowledged that the increase in the number of private universities and medical majors has “restricted the ability of the health and finance ministries to absorb the increasing numbers of graduates,” but stressed that the necessary positions must be provided for the graduates. He also called for reassessing the policies of accepting students into medical majors in private universities.
Anti-government demonstrations are a common occurrence in Iraq often followed by the use of violence against the protesters by security authorities.
Thousands of Iraqi youth took to the streets in nationwide demonstrations in October 2019 - later to be titled the "Tishreen" movement - protesting the country’s poor economic conditions, unemployment, foreign interference, and overall corruption.
The Tishreen protesters were met with live bullets, teargas, battery, and other forms of brutality from Iraqi security actors trying to control the situation and disperse the demonstrations. At least 110 were killed within the first seven days of the protests, and thousands others were wounded.
