US Demands Iraq Ease 'Severe Restrictions' on Press Freedom, Protests - Pompeo

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd November, 2019) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo demanded that Iraq lift restrictions on the news media and public demonstrations, in which nearly 240 people have been killed in the past month, the Department of State said in a press release on Friday.

"The recently imposed severe restrictions on freedom of the press and of expression must be relaxed," Pompeo said. "Press freedom is inherent to democratic reform."

Protests over unemployment, lack of basic services and government corruption broke out in the Iraqi capital Baghdad and spread to other cities in early October, with local reports claiming more than 250 people had been killed by police firing into crowds.

The government responded arresting journalists covering the protests, shutting down the internet, beating reporters and confiscating equipment, according to local press advocacy groups.

Protests in early October died down only to resume with a vengeance this week.

Tens of thousands of protesters flooded Central Baghdad's Tahrir Square on Friday, engaging in pitched battles with security forces as taxis ferried wounded dissidents through clouds of tear gas, according to eyewitness accounts.

Many Iraqis have said they see the political class as subservient to either Iran or the United States, claiming both nations use Iraq as a proxy in a struggle for regional influence.

Pompeo said on Friday that the Iraqi government should listen to the legitimate demands made by the Iraqi people who have taken to the streets to have their voices heard.