The Internet and the protests in Iraq

0
254

Promises of reform, home – and Internet changed the locks nothing in the anger of the people in Iraq. They document the crackdown by the security forces in the Social media and to show how necessary it is.

In the since of a week of ongoing unrest in Iraq have been killed, according to government data, more than 100 people and 6000 injured. In the case of the protests against corruption and unemployment in a number of Iraqi cities, it always comes back to clashes between the protesters and the police. On Videos, the a period of time in the social networks course, is an unprecedented hardness in the crushing of the protests to observe: sharp-shooting from the roofs to protect civilians, masked Gunmen storming TV stations and artillery shells in residential area. There are Iraqi security forces that act with brute force against unarmed demonstrators, or in the case of foreign militias, as the government claims?

A country goes from the network

Ignited the wave of protest of the widespread corruption in the governmental institutions of Iraq. Within a short time, the Iraqi authorities blocked activists that has access to Facebook and a number of Social Networking Sites, before sections of the country completely by the World Wide Web. The organization’s “Netblocks”, reported on Thursday a nationwide Blockade of the Internet in Iraq. The demonstrators, only the communication via SMS remained. Even today, about three-quarters of the country were “offline”, including the capital, such as several residents of Baghdad, the DW confirmed.

Activists were able to gain in spite of blocking by VPN access to the foreign Server access to the network, reports on social networks that the Iraqi government is blocking access to the Internet in order to conceal the violence that the security forces apply when Resolving the protests, in front of the world. In addition, it should be the protesters made heavier, to organize. One of the activists, the name would not be called, explained to the DW via Twitter: “We need the Internet in order to document events on the ground, in particular, cases of Assault on peaceful demonstrators, for example, by means of snipers.” You can tweet what is happening under the Arabic Hashtags such as “We want our country back” or “demonstrations in Iraq”. Also, English Hashtags like #save_the_iraqi_people or #revolution_now_in_iraq went viral.

Government contra activists

The Iraqi government denies that its security forces use guns against protesters. Rather, the government is accused of “yet unidentified agitators” to shoot protesters and security personnel alike, to Chaos and to destabilize the country. It is Iraq able of activists, however, pictures and Videos to upload to show the opposite. On Iraq should be to see the security forces shooting at several places in the country right in the amount to distribute to this. Activists from reports in the social media that “had disguised a number of foreign persons” as protesters in the crowd had gone, and more than one Person from the center of the demonstrations would have taken.

The protests in Iraq were sparked initially to the dismissal of the Deputy commander of an elite unit that is revered by many Iraqis because of its operations against the IS as a Hero. But soon, the protests much more: corruption, poverty, lack of basic services and the inability of the government to implement reforms.