Brief for Monday February 21, 2011
Fresh protests in Iraq & more terrorism
Protests hit Iraq yet again on Monday, as politicians tried to assuage the demands of citizens who are increasingly frustrated with the lack of government services as well as angered over violence which has seen a number of Iraqis killed in the last week. On Sunday night a young protester was killed in Suliamaniyah, which has only hardened the protestors positions.
Perhaps the biggest surprise that came on Monday was the notification that the Iraqi Government would close down for one week in order to allow Members of Parliament to return to their home provinces in the hopes that they can calm some of the building anger against the government. Before it went into recess parliament decided to scrap proposed tariffs that would have raised the prices on incoming goods. They have also voted to take a 10 percent pay cut.
However, another incident that took place today surely will not help in the Iraqi government’s quest to assure it’s citizens that things are under control. Early in the morning, a suicide bomber struck a police compound in Samarra, and the resulting explosion killed as many as twelve policemen and wounded many more.
Parliament stops work to listen to Iraqis- Reuters