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Asharq Al-Awsat
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Mounting Tensions in Iraqi Kurdistan Over Delayed Salaries
Public frustration is surging across Sulaymaniyah province in Iraq's Kurdistan Region, as government employees face their second consecutive month without pay. The delays have deepened economic hardship and triggered a slowdown in local markets. Calls for mass protests intensified in recent days as salaries have remained unpaid since May. With June nearing its end, authorities have yet to announce when workers will receive their wages. Demonstrations planned for Thursday were ultimately stifled by heavy security deployments. Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that security forces detained numerous activists and teachers demanding their salaries, along with journalists attempting to cover the protests. The Metro Center for the Defense of Journalists' Rights condemned the wave of arrests. Its coordinator, Rahman Gharib, said that security forces apprehended activists, politicians, and reporters on Wednesday and Thursday merely for planning to participate in demonstrations expressing legitimate demands for fair pay and dignified living conditions. Since 2015, public employees in Kurdistan have repeatedly faced salary delays, the result of deep-rooted financial disputes between Baghdad and the regional government in Erbil. Kurdistan's Prime Minister Masrour Barzani announced Wednesday that the federal government would send a delegation within two days to resolve the crisis. He stressed that employees' wages should be kept separate from political disagreements between Baghdad and Erbil. Earlier this month, Iraqi Finance Minister Taif Sami ordered the suspension of funding for Kurdistan's salaries and other entitlements, citing the region's alleged breach of its 12.67 percent budget share. The Kurdish government has since appealed to the international community to help end the deadlock. Amid the salary crisis, Kurdistan's Labor Minister Kwestan Muhammad warned of a surge in drug abuse and trafficking across the region. Speaking Thursday at an event marking the International Day Against Drug Abuse, she said Kurdistan had once been nearly free of narcotics, but has now become a key corridor for smuggling drugs, especially toward Canada, via cross-border networks. She revealed that last month alone, authorities detained 5,746 people on criminal charges, with 1,576 arrests linked to drug offenses. Among them were 1,486 men and 81 women, highlighting how deeply the problem has spread in society. The region's security services also disclosed that in the first half of this year, 520 suspects were arrested in drug-related cases, including 243 users and others accused of trafficking.
Shafaq News
05-02-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Journalist Bazyani held in Al-Sulaymaniyah, rights center urges release
Shafaq News/ Authorities in Al-Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan Region, arrested Kurdish journalist Bashdar Bazyani, the Metro Center for the defense of journalists' rights announced on Wednesday. "This afternoon, journalist Bazyani was informed to visit the Sarchnar Police Station in Al-Sulaymaniyah, where he was interrogated and then transferred to the Criminal Court. A court order was issued for his detention until February 9,' the center stated. Journalists Sardasht Hama Salih and Dana Salih went to the detention center to visit their detained colleague but were reportedly denied access. The rights center called for the immediate release of Bazyani on bail, stressing the need to 'handle journalistic cases under the Press Law and avoid applying alternative laws to journalists concerning their media work and freedom of expression.' In 2022, Al-Sulaymaniyah Investigation Court sentenced Bazyani to ten days in detention after two lawsuits were filed against him by the mayor of the province and an investor over his coverage of a corruption case involving the sale of public land. A year later, Al-Sulaymaniyah Police raided Bazyani's home, detaining him for about 10 hours. The journalist confirmed undergoing prolonged interrogation over a lawsuit filed by Ali Babir, leader of the Kurdistan Islamic Justice Group, after he reported on corruption allegations involving the movement's political office leadership. The journalist further revealed in 2024 that he had three outstanding arrest warrants and was being pursued by the police and courts 'without proper adherence to the Region's journalism laws.'
