By Alaa Al-Huwaijel
(News report) BAGHDAD, Aug 26 (KUNA) -- A month has passed since opposing Iraqi factions began their political protests with last Tuesday seeing one of the main instigators, Al-Sadr party, upping the ante by assembling in front of the Supreme Judicial Council's headquarters.
Al-Sadr bloc's failure to establish a unity government with their partners the Sunni Coalition for Sovereignty and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), due to "judicial intervention", had led to withdrawal from parliament in June and holding rallies.
The Shite political bloc, led by cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr, chose to hold a rally in the parliament's headquarter on June 30, disrupting a planned session by rivals the Coordination Framework party to from government without the presence of the Sadrists.
In reaction to that, the Coordination Framework party called for a protest in early August on the pretense of protecting the constitution and governmental institute. They repeated the action on August 12 with a protest geared towards a similar purpose.
Despite the upheaval, there were no clashes amongst the opposing political forces, but that could be attributed to the fact that the Sadrists were assembling in parliament north of the Green Zone, while their rivals were holding their events south of the area.
The Sadrists stance is based on refusal to dissolve parliament, changing the system, or calling for early elections, saying that the current parliament was capable of addressing the demands of the Iraqi people.
The party was planning to hold a massive "millions of people" rally on August 20; however, the Sadrists backed off due to the Coordination Framework vowing to do the same.
Last Tuesday's Sadrists assembly in front of the Supreme Judicial Council headquarters had suspended work at the federal court and affiliated entities throughout the nation.
A statement by the council affirmed that operations were suspended due to Al-Sadr bloc rallies and threats.
The council indicated in a statement on August 14 that the judicial system had no say in dissolving parliament or matters pertaining to the legislative and executive authorities.
An Iraqi court had issued an arrest warrant on three Sadrists leaders for serious threats against the judicial system.
The Sadrists rally in front of the council did not last long due to widespread criticism echoed by a number of figures including Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Al-Halbousi who pointed out that the current crisis was leading Iraq towards losing international recognition of the political process in the country.
In an effort to resolve the tension, incumbent Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi called for an urgent session for parliament on August 17, which aimed to gather the main players and political figures involved in the alarming situation.
That effort saw the Sadrists and major Coordination Framework figures declining to attend the session, continuing the nine months dilemma of failing to form government after the last election in November 2021. (end) ahh.gta