Barham Salih: Peaceful protest is a guaranteed right, violence is not a solution

On Tuesday, Iraqi President Barham Salih said in a statement issued by his media office, regarding the recent events in Sulaymaniyah and the situation in Başûr Kurdistan in general: "We have been following with great concern and interest the developments of the events in the city of Sulaymaniyah for days, including demonstrations and popular protests and the accompanying acts of violence, which resulted in the wounding number of citizens and security forces, and a number of buildings were burned and destroyed."

He added: "Peaceful protest is a guaranteed constitutional right that must be respected and not transgressed. It is the right of citizens to demonstrate peacefully to demand their legitimate rights, especially those related to securing a decent living for them and their families from salaries and improving conditions and public services."

Salih stressed that "the relevant authorities must meet these demands and work on radical solutions to the problem of salaries and improving living conditions, through rapid and serious steps based on openness and directing the people's resources to serve the citizens, and adopting real methods of reform, as the abuse of public money and corruption administrative, financial, looting and smuggling must stop. "

He continued: "We reiterate here, that violence is not a solution to confront the legitimate demands of citizens, and the will and demands of peaceful demonstrators must be respected, and we ask the security forces to act according to the law and to refrain from using violence, and to allow the media to freely exercise their work without restriction or aggression."

He added, "Resorting to violence is a grave mistake and it is not the right way to find solutions, as the use of violence tarnishes the reputation of the security forces, whose mission is to maintain security and stability and protect the lives and citizens' properties. Violence distorts the reputation of peaceful demonstrators and distorts their demands."

The Iraqi President called on the authorities of Başûr Kurdistan to listen to the true demands of the citizens, as well as the citizens, to respect the security forces and preserve public property and public security. He called on both parties to stay away from “violence and not allow for unfortunate results to happen.”

He also called on the parties involved in the government to work "seriously and as quickly as possible, to find radical solutions to the crises in order to meet the citizens' demands." And he added: "The best way for the regional government to solve the financial crisis that afflicts it is to work to reach a comprehensive agreement with the federal government in what It is related to salaries and the region’s entitlements in order to provide citizens with a free and decent life.

Earlier, the Human Rights Commission - Iraq rejected the policy of silence and preventing peaceful demonstrations, and used force to stop the protests, and called on the federal government and Başûr to expedite the settlement of their differences to ensure the fulfillment of the demands of the demonstrators.

T/S

ANHA