An anti-corruption campaign announced by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi last week knocked on Parliament’s doors on Wednesday, while the judiciary announced the release of all those arrested during the country’s protests that erupted in October.
The Supreme Judicial Council announced in a statement that it had issued orders to lift the immunity off 20 MPs, in financial and administrative corruption cases.
The Council also announced the release of all detainees, who were arrested during the peaceful demonstrations in Iraq, to meet the prime minister’s demands.
The release came in line with Article 38 of the constitution which guarantees the right to protest, “provided that it is not carried out along with an act contrary to the law,” a statement by the council said.
In his statement during the new cabinet’s second session, Kadhimi said: “This government will tackle difficult challenges, the most important of which is the economic situation, the fight against poverty and unemployment among young people, and the fair distribution of wealth.”
Meanwhile, the financial advisor to the Prime Minister, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, announced that Baghdad was moving towards internal and external borrowing in order to overcome the deficit in the treasury.
“The government submitted a bill to Parliament for approval to borrowing from internal and external financing sources, in order to enhance public financial liquidity when necessary,” he said in a press statement.
He pointed out that foreign funding would support investment and complete suspended projects, “while local loans would be earmarked to the operational budget and the government’s needs to pay salaries among others.
On a different note, UN Representative in Iraq Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said that the formation of the new government and the appointment of Kadhimi was a “long-awaited development.”
In a report submitted to the Security Council via video from Baghdad, the representative underlined the need “for the Iraqi government to demonstrate that it is able to accomplish the necessary tasks such as maintaining law and order and providing public services.”
Hennis-Plasschaert also emphasized “the pressing need for accountability and justice for the many, many deaths and injuries of innocent protesters.”
She said she was “encouraged by the early actions taken by the new Prime Minister which demonstrate his eagerness to move these important files forward.”
