Sulaimany: Day Eleven of Protest, Shooting at Maidany Azadi

Maidany Azadi

Today was the eleventh day of the protest in Sulaimany, Iraqi Kurdistan, despite rain, the Protesters took to the streets again.

Another cloudy and rainy day in Sulaimany, gray clouds covered the sky, from time to time rain drop would fall, a sudden loud of thunder would shake the windows of  buildings and then for a few minutes rain would pour down to wash away the sleep from the eye of tired Protesters who stood in their place at Maidany Azad (Bardarky Sara), determined more than ever to go on protesting for the eleventh day as they chanted:

نه‌ گیره شیوینم نه‌گۆڕان ,ته‌نیا دژی گه‌نده‌ڵان
“NOT a member of Goran nor a Troublemaker, ONLY against Corruption”

داواکانمان ڕەوایە، حکومەت لە خەودایە “Our Demands are Legitimate, The Government is Dreaming”

The crowd was as large as any other day, yet life seemed as normal in and around Maidany Azadi, shops were open, buses full of passengers, students going to school, all going on with their daily lives, but deep inside, on their faces a sadness could be seen. Today, some of the Protesters were angry at the city of Erbil (Hawler) for not taking part in the protest. Last night’s coverage from Kurdistan TV (belong to KDP) only fueled that anger, they showed footage of KDP’s supporters (numbered at hundreds) on the streets of Erbil with yellow armbands, driving around the city with pictures of Masud Barzani and KDP’s flag  dancing to the  music on the background (Zakaria). Some of them spoke to Kurdistan TV “Instead of throwing rocks and creating trouble like Sulaimany, We are celebrating and throwing flowers”, “People of Sulaimany should think and celebrate like us”. The coverage on Kurdistan TV was live and came soon after the news that two Protesters were killed in Kalar and Chamchamal. Zagros TV shows the cars driving around the streets in Erbil and on its lower third, the text read “Erbil: The Happy Friday”, they have a patriotic song on the background “What is all this trouble for? Why destroy what we have achieved? Why are you making people Sad? All your Neighbors that are your Enemy are happy to see you causing trouble”. etc. Some are shouting “Hawlera, Hawlera”

White Group aka Peace Group گروپی ئاشتی

You could imagine the anger of some of the Protesters at Maidany Azady, “Halwer is sleeping, they are scared”, “They are nothing but KDP’s Baltagya”, Baltagya is a reference to Hosni Mubarack’s supporter in Egypt. More anger at Kurdistan TV and Zagros TV, they call Kurdistan TV “The Lie Hole” “کونە درۆ”. Also, some of the protesters were amazed at America’s silence, one of the protesters declared “The head of the snake is America”

They are engineers

There is am amusement park in Sulaimany, it was named after  Muammar Gaddafi (Who named it? I’m not sure!), members of Kurdistan Parliament and Protesters are demanding to change the name . This morning, Iraq’s largest oil refinery in Salahudin province was attacked and some of its pipeline blown up, its capability is down by %80. Yesterday, three Protesters who were members of Kurdistan Communist Party were kidnapped on their way home from the protest. KNN TV report more arrest in Erbil, Kurdistan TV deny it and claim that Erbil is calm.  Today, more than 200 Engineers from Sulaimany City Municipality came to Maidany Azady in support of the Protesters, they got today’s loudest cheers. A group of them came down from Parky Daek “پارکی دایک” down Peramed Street toward Maidany Azady, chanting “ئێمە گروپی ئەندازیارین، دژ بە  گەندەڵکارانین” , “We are Engineers against Corruption”, shop owners and shoppers chanting and applauding them.

Engineers from Sulaimany City Municipality

The PUK and KDP media are paying more attention to yesterday’s protest in Kirkuk and Mosul. Kurdistan TV report that in Hawija (close to Kirku), the Protesters are now with some section of Iraqi Army and they are raising the old Ba’ath Iraqi flag and carrying Saddam Hussein’s picture (I have not seen any so far), they claim that the town is now in the hand of the Ba’ath.

Keep it Dry

Back to Maidany Azady, one protester with Kurdistan flag wrapped around his head, ” I will protest into eternity until they answer our demand” . Only Kurdistan flag could be seen today, from time to time they would play the Kurdish national anthem (Ay Raqeb) on the loudspeaker, all would sing together. A moving moment as an Old Women passed among the crowd, she told them that she had lost two sons, one fighting Saddam and one during Civil war between PUK and KDP, she looked at one of the reporters “Am I a Troublemakers?”, the crowd roared with chants. Nobody cared about rain, one said “We didn’t care about Bullet, why should we care  about Rain?”, Women and Children in the crowd. Lets us not forget that the people of Sulaimany are famous for their wits and poetic quotations, poetry would be read by many Speakers as they took the center stage. Today there were not  many heavy present of Security in and around Maidany Azady, there were few,  all surrounding streets closed for cars. The street of Salim in which the headquarter of KDP is located had the most Security. More flowers given to the Security Services with their rain jackets on, the White Group aka Peace Group (few of them today) separated the Protesters from them. Many Students from Sulaimany University took their protest to Maidany Azady.

And Life Goes on.......

Also, protest took place again in Kalar, Chamchamal, Said Sadiq, Rania, Halabja and Qaladzi. Kurdistan TV is changing its tone again and now more attack on Islamic Union of Kurdistan, they claim that with Goran Party they were behind yesterday’s protest in Chamchama and Kalar. A Young Protesters was killed yesterday in Chamchamal . KNN TV show footage of the Protesters throwing stones at the  headquarter of KDP  in Chamchamal and the KDP militia from the building start to shoot into the Protesters, wounded being carried away, one Protester shout  “They have brought Iraqi and Arab soldiers to Massacre us”, the Protester who died in Chamchamal was a Young Boy, Garmian Ahmed گەرمیان ئەحمەد , ages 12, he was shot in the chest in the front of KDP’s section 19 headquarter, here is a link to the video of him being shot (it is graphic, please don’t look if you have a weak heart). His father claim that his son was too young to even know what the protesting was about, “He was my only son, he asked his Mom the other night why these people were protesting?”.  The people of Chamchamal are very angry as they talk to reporters of KNN and Speda TV, and now today, they are taking to the street again, let us hope that their won’t any more shooting.

Garmian Ahmed گەرمیان ئەحمەد

The group that was created to investigate the Friday 17th shooting of the Protester is now dissolved as some of its members resigned.

Wounded

Between 4:00 PM to 4:10 PM : There was a large of sound explosion (what a sound) at Maidany Azadi, black smoke, Protesters scared, some running, phone calls, “I’m fine, what? I don’t know what that sound was”, chaos, a Women and a Young Man down on the pavement, they are shaking, blood, some say that they throw a hand grenade into the crowd and others claim it was electricity.  Protesters are now scattering. Some gathered around, now some say that a Sound Bomb was thrown into the crowd to scatter them.

"Mom, I'm not Coming Home, I Got only One Life to Live"

Some of the Protesters get angry, they wanted to start marching to Mawlay Street and then to Salim, clashes erupted and gun fire into the air, some are wounded. One of the wounded was hit on the head, he was bleeding on top of a cart close to Mizgawaty Gawra (Big Mosque), sound of distance gun shot. That poor guy, he looked like one of the workers who hang out in front of the Mosque, looking for job.

Too Late to Worry

Scatter again, some would run, some would stop, some take pictures, and some, just looking . There was a Young Man, he was talking on his phone to his Mom, angrily “Mom, I’m not Coming Home, I Got only One Life to Live”, some would shout “Don’t be scared, Don’t run, Don’t run”, they would stop, and now they are back at Maidany Azady and Protest continue.  More people are saying that it was a Sound Bomb. When the ambulance arrived, lots of boos and jeers, some of the wounded were already in hospital. Somebody said that one is killed (not sure if that is true).There are reports that somebody in civilian cloth shot at the Protesters with pistols. They carried away some of the wounded on carts, throw away the things on top of the carts, put them on, “Push it, Out of the Way”, surrealist imagery.

Boos and Jeers

Many Protester started to go home, they were angry, some shop owners and even regular shoppers would chant as they walked with the Protesters “Down, Down” , “بڕوخێ، بڕوخێ”. The mood is very tense, there are reports of shooting in Kalar. Sound of thunder, rain is pouring down as I write this, I’m home , it is now 5:25 PM.

Close to Mizgawty Gawra

Fire and Rock

Run for Cover

Come and Get Me

"See it, See it"

Rocks and Bullets

UPDATE AT 5:55 PM:

My friend is calling me,  “You got to see this, lots of Protesters carrying rocks went toward the Peshmerga Force, fight broke out again, but now they are making peace, some members of the Peshmerga Force are putting down their weapons and kissing the protesters, “We are brothers, we Won’t shoot at you”, some are crying”, “How big is the crowd?”, “It is large, very large”. Emotion comes and goes, nothing is predictable.

KNN TV and Speda TV on their lower third report “One dead and 11 wounded in today’s protest in Sulaimany”