Iraqi Police Use Force to Disperse Medical School Graduates Protest in Baghdad

Iraqi graduates protest near the Green Zone in Baghdad. (EPA file photo)
Iraqi graduates protest near the Green Zone in Baghdad. (EPA file photo)
TT

Iraqi Police Use Force to Disperse Medical School Graduates Protest in Baghdad

Iraqi graduates protest near the Green Zone in Baghdad. (EPA file photo)
Iraqi graduates protest near the Green Zone in Baghdad. (EPA file photo)

Thousands of medical school graduates took to the streets of Baghdad on Tuesday to protest against the failure to hire them for public sector jobs over a year since they graduated.

The police used excessive force to disperse them, complained several protesters, who gathered near the Green Zone that houses government buildings.

Over 25 people were wounded in the rallies, while activists said eleven have “gone missing” and believed to be detained by security forces.

Witnesses said riot police used clubs and water cannon to disperse the protesters, leaving them with injuries.

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani ordered a probe into the violence, stressing that all Iraqis have the right to hold peaceful protests.

On Monday, the PM approved the appointment of nearly 60,000 doctors in the public sector. The cabinet agreed to allocate the necessary funds to finance their salaries.

The appointments weren’t enough to quell the anger on the streets.

Head of the parliamentary Human Rights Committee Arshad al-Salihi noted that the growing number of private universities has led to a growing number of medical school graduates, while there aren’t enough public sector job vacancies for them to fill.

He called on the state to provide different job grades for the graduates to ensure that they are hired.

Medical sources doubted that the state would be able to meet the demand for employment by the graduates due to their swelling numbers every year.

The sources explained to Asharq Al-Awsat that the majority of the private universities are owned by powerful political figures and parties.

One year at medical school costs at least 10 million dinars, or about 7,000 dollars, they added.

However, several health specialists have complained that the graduates aren’t even qualified enough for jobs given the poor and outdated educational standards at the universities they studied at.

“The greatest crime successive authorities in Iraq have committed – under the pressure of influential parties – is allowing the establishment of dozens of private universities that are specialized in various medical studies,” they added.

The sources predicted that the problem of unemployed graduates will only deepen with time and the government will find itself unable to contain their large numbers.



Heads of CIA, MI6 Issue Joint Call for Ceasefire in Gaza

Displaced woman Iqbal Al-Zeidi stands in front of her tent which was torn by an Israeli strike, on the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, September 5, 2024. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
Displaced woman Iqbal Al-Zeidi stands in front of her tent which was torn by an Israeli strike, on the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, September 5, 2024. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
TT

Heads of CIA, MI6 Issue Joint Call for Ceasefire in Gaza

Displaced woman Iqbal Al-Zeidi stands in front of her tent which was torn by an Israeli strike, on the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, September 5, 2024. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
Displaced woman Iqbal Al-Zeidi stands in front of her tent which was torn by an Israeli strike, on the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, September 5, 2024. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed

The heads of the American and British foreign intelligence agencies said Saturday they are “working ceaselessly” for a ceasefire in Gaza, using a rare joint public statement to press for peace.

CIA Director William Burns and MI6 Chief Richard Moore said their agencies had “exploited our intelligence channels to push hard for restraint and de-escalation.”

In an opinion piece for the Financial Times, the two spymasters said a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war “could end the suffering and appalling loss of life of Palestinian civilians and bring home the hostages after 11 months of hellish confinement.”

Burns has been heavily involved in efforts to broker an end to the fighting, traveling to Egypt in August for high-level talks aimed at bringing about a hostage deal and at least a temporary halt to the conflict.

So far there has been no agreement, though United States officials insist a deal is close.

Burns and Moore also stressed the strength of the trans-Atlantic relationship in the face of “an unprecedented array of threats,” including an assertive Russia, an ever-more powerful China and the constant threat from international terrorism — all complicated by rapid technological change.

They highlighted Russia’s “reckless campaign of sabotage” across Europe and the “cynical use of technology to spread lies and disinformation designed to drive wedges between us.”

The article is the first joint opinion piece by the heads of the two spy agencies. The two directors pointed to a new era of openness in their secretive field, noting that the CIA and MI6 both declassified intelligence about Russia’s plan to invade Ukraine before Moscow attacked its neighbor in February 2022.