The Iraqi premier said the protesters should “end their strike before the state intervenes to end it.” “I warn you against continuing (blocking the highway), because this is against the Iraqi constitution. We have been very patient with you.”
The protesters have blocked off the key trade highway since December 23, following the arrest of Finance Minister Rafia al-Issawi’s bodyguards on terrorism charges.
On Dec 26, Thousands of Iraqis protested in a Sunni-dominated province west of Baghdad on Wednesday, determined to keep up the pressure on a Shia-led government that many accuse of trying to marginalize them.
BBC published about Iraqi on-going protests that In the "media tent", young men with laptops organize events, write statements, and update the movement's Facebook page.
"We shall continue the revolution which began in Syria," one of them told me.
The demonstrators allege that the arrests were made on sectarian grounds and demand the release of the detainees.Maliki, however, says the bodyguards were arrested following an independent judicial inquiry based on the anti-terrorism law.
Last week, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the Iraqi government of sectarian behavior, saying that Iraq could soon be plagued with unrest like what is now happening in Syria.
Baghdad-Ankara relations turned sour last year after Turkey expressed support for fugitive Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi and gave him refuge. Hashemi has been sentenced to death in Iraq over involvement in terrorism-linked activities.
http://www.almanar.com.lb/
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