Sulaimany: Day Ten of Protest, Friday Prayer at Maidany Azadi, Death in Chamchamal

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Today was the Tenth day of Protest in Sulaimany, Iraqi Kurdistan. Maidany Azadi (Badarky Sara) seemed like Egypt’s Tahrir Sequare as thousands participated in Friday Prayer and in  the rest of Iraq, The Day of Rage was on.

Today was the second Friday since the start of the Protest, a different day compared to last Friday in which Sulaimany felt like a ghost town, today the city was alive again, beautiful weather, blue sky with sunshine. More cars on street and shops were open.

Before I start to talk about Sulaimany, let me talk a little about the rest of Iraq. Today was the “Day of Rage” and many took to the streets in various cities of Iraq, there are reports of many dead and many wounded in Kirkuk, Mosul and its surrounding small towns. Protesters have set some buildings on fire. Al Jazeera Arabic report that Protesters in Baghdad are trying to get to the Green Zone. Al Jazeera does a great job in covering the rest of the Protest in Iraq, and I would recommend you to tune in if you want to know about what is taking place in the rest of Iraq. There are reporst that the towns of Hawija (near to Kirkuk) and Fallujah are now in the hands of Protesters. Protest all over Iraq, in Baghdad, Basra and many other place. Al Jazeera Arabic shows four split screen of Protest, one of Aman, Jordan, then Basra, South Iraq, celebration in Cario, Egypt and Protest in Bahrain, some time they sneak in Yemen also. Footage of protesters in Basra, they are ripping apart the barricade walls inside the city, police chasing them away.

Praying for a better Future!

Lots of time and attention on KDP and PUK media to the Protest in Kirkuk and Mosul, they are reporting that the Protesters are carrying Saddam Hussein’s pictures and are Ba’athist, Gali Kurdistan report that Kurdish Peshmerga force are ready and would spread out in Kirkuk and Khanaqin to protect the city.

Speda TV  on its lower third report time after time that more money would be paid to state employer, teachers and civil servants. Also, Speda TV report that money that were taken out of Civil Servant’s payment from 2003 onward will be paid back to them, and although today is Friday which a public holiday, yet they are  getting the money ready to paid for tomorrow.

"We are with Pen, Against Guns and Rifles" ئێمە قەڵەم بە دەستین، دژی سیلاح و چەکین

KNN TV shows many Students who studied at Salahaddin University in Erbil are back in Sulaimany, they are giving interview  as they come out of buses, the footage is from last night,  there are hundreds of them, they claim that they were threatened and told to leave Erbil back to their place of residents. Some student claim that even their teachers didn’t know about closing of the University.

KNN TV on its lower third reported at 2:00 PM that Protest was taking place in Erbil and some were arrested. Soon Kurdistan TV showed footage that the city was calm. Then the reporter oat KNN apologized and said that instead of writing Mosul they wrote Erbil.

Music in the Air

Today, as many as 35,000 to 40,000 people were at Maidany Azady (Bardarky Sara), like all other days, there were many Young Men, but more older  men also joined in. They had more loudspeakers, the main events was holding the Friday Prayer in the square. There were many religious leaders, they made speeches and few of the protesters chanted “Allah u Akbar, Allah u Akbar”. Then Friday Pray , the Mullah spoke about better times and a better future of Kurdistan and Iraq,  they would chant after him “Amen, Amen”. Call on Militias and Police not to shoot on Protesters, “We all are brothers”, loud cheers, “Let us look into Egypt, let us be like Egyptian, for their Revolution was a peaceful one”, louder cheers, “For Police, don’t shoot at your Brother”, the biggest cheer. The place was packed. Heavy Security present no just in Maidany Azadi, but also in the neighborhood and roads all over Sulaimany.

White Group (Peace Group) "ڭروپی ئاشتی"

Some of the Speakers refereed to the protest as “Revolution” and that the protest was led by Young Men and the people and no Political Party was behind and they should stay way and not get involved in leading the Protesters, it is People Revolution.  The place was very crowded, some Protesters prayed on top of roofs and inside shops, many had their prayer rug with them. Very quite when they prayed.  Not many shops were opened today, on Fridays usually the market is quite. After the prayer at Maidany Azady, the people sat down in the middle of the square and streets in and around the place. Soon, more Women and Children came to join in. Many College Students at the protest today. Again, call for Erbil (Hawler) to join the protest. White Group (Peace Group) “ڭروپی ئاشتی” were again present and a group of Young Men show job was to keep the place clean.

Pray at Maidany Azady

For the first time, today a Protest took place in Chamchamal (a town close to Kirkuk), Speda TV report that “thousands are on the street”. Also, Speda TV report that Protesters are being shot at Kalar, 15 are wounded so far. Payam TV report that the protest in Said Sadeq also has turned violent, so far 6 are wounded.  Payam TV also report that at least 20 are dead in Mosul.

Let us not forget that in today’s Protest at Maidany Azady, many Speeches were made in solidarity with rest of the countries that currently Protest are taking place.

Footage of yesterday’s protest is shown from Kalar, hundreds of people blocked the roads between Sulaimany and Kalar.

"Good Job" "دەست خۆش"

Some new chant from today’s protest:

“مەدالیامان بۆ چیە، میلەت ھەمووی برسیە” “We don’t Need Medals, the Masses are Hungry”

“The Government of Many Patches,We don’t Want You, GO” حوکمەتی پینەو  پەڕۆ، تۆمان ناوێت دەی بڕۆ

ئێمە قەڵەم بە دەستین، دژی سیلاح و چەکین  “We are with Pen, Against Guns and Rifles”

"The Government of Many Patches,We don't Want You, GO" حوکمەتی پینەو پەڕۆ، تۆمان ناوێت دەی بڕۆ

UPDATE: From 6:20 PM

A guy is calling from Halwer to Nawroz TV, he is saying that today a Young Man shouted anti-government slogan and he was beaten “by 12 people” in front to the Police and they didn’t care about it, he said that passersby stop them from killing the Young Man.

Gali Kurdistan on its lower third report that PUK’s headquarter in Hajiawa (Close to Kirkuk) was looted and burned to the ground.

Al Jazeera Arabic  and Sharqia TV shows footage of many wounded and dead at Tahrir Square in Baghdad, horrifying footage. The protesters in Baghdad are chanting anti-American slogan. There is no Ambulance to be seen.

Gali Kurdistan TV report on its lower third, that some Protesters are tying to burn down the Government’s building in Kirkuk and report of many building on fire in Mosul.

KNN TV report on its lower third that a force called “Sahwa” is trying to get into Kirkuk from Hawija and the Security Force are preventing them from entering.

KNN TV and Kurdsat TV report of a meeting taking place between Nawshirwan Mustafa (head of Goran) with Hiro Mustagfa and Mala Bakhtiar (PUK). The Goran told PUK that they will answer them back in a few days.  Speda report that one is dead and two wounded in Chamchamal.

As of 6:15 PM, protest is still going on in Kalar, Chamchamal and Maidany Azady.

Now, reports of one dead at today’s protest in Kalar.

Al Jazeera English report that some buildings in Kirkuk are in the hand of the Protesters. Report that Curfew is in place in Kirkuk, from 6:00 PM to 5:00 AM.

According to reporter calling on Zagros TV (belong to KDP) that Protesters stormed into KDP’s section 4 headquarter in Chamchamal and broke all of the building’s window with stones and burned tire inside the building. Some of the staff in the building ar wounded by rocks, including a Kurdistan TV reporter. On its lower third, Gali Kurdistan report that Protesters also stoned the  Municipality building  in Chamchamal and all of its window shattered.

There are news on Al Jazeera Arabic that so far 8 Protesters are killed (not sure if that include Kurdistan also)

More picture from Maidany Azadi (Credit to Dastwr):

Credit to Dastwr

Credit to Dastwr

Credit to Dastwr

Credit to Dastwr

They Clean by Night