SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region — People have taken to the streets of Sulaimani on Tuesday demanding salaries for teachers from the Iraqi government, with some comparing Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s promises to send their wages to the KRG.
The federal government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government have been locked in a political stalemate over budget shares.
Osman Golpi, a member of the council of dissatisfied teachers, among the protesters said their message will be given to Iraq’s parliament.
“And later we will send it to the Iraqi government telling them, ‘Please, do not sacrifice the livelihoods of people for the political rivalries, do not manipulate the livelihoods of people for election campaigning, please turn your words into action and make people happy.”
While holding a banner that read ‘Where is the government, where is law, where are the representatives?’ one teacher explained, “We feel like Abadi is playing game with our feelings just like the KRG does.”
She claimed that Abadi has seized the opportunity of the “Kurdish house’s disunity… He is playing with our feelings.”
Holding the banner 'Where are your promises Abadi? How long should we wait?' another teacher said: “We are turning to Abadi because he has promised to send the salaries of civil servants and teachers. Just like the KRG, he is playing with the rights and minds of teachers.”
"In fact, this miserable economic and political situation is due to the mismanaging and wrong governing system, corruption, and self-interests of the Kurdistan Region authorities,” said the representative of the protesters. “Unfortunately, we are all equally paying the price. In the past we have done our best to wage peaceful demonstrations to express our dissatisfactions and civil stances."
The representative explained today’s “peaceful demonstration” marked the 51th protest since their salaries were cut off by Baghdad, with the KRG later taking austerity measures which slashed their wages nearly in half.
“We knocked on all the government doors, yet they never responded," he said. "Therefore, the direction of our calls is towards the Iraqi central government.”
"We are calling on the Iraqi central government to react for the livelihoods of teachers and other civil servants as soon as possible," he added. "And prevent the sabotaging of the education sector and other services sectors by sending our salaries via an appropriate mechanism."
The dissatisfied teachers in a statement read aloud also slammed the KRG, calling on it to not become an “obstacle” before Baghdad sends the salaries. They want the KRG to facilitate the process.
“The teachers are exhausted. They are incapable of going back to schools and resuming work. And the government carries the responsibility of the failure of education sector," explained the representative.
The protestors urged the people of Kurdistan to break their silence and to express their demands through peaceful means.
"The silence of the people has paved the way for such a continued miserable way of governing," said the representative.
Muthana Amin, the head of the Kurdistan Islamic Union faction in the Iraqi parliament, attended the demonstration and spoke with media.
He said the protesters should condemn the government if it doesn’t respond to peoples’ demands, acknowledging that “our nation” is subjected to hunger because of political questions.
The Kurdish MPs won’t allow the budget to be signed into law if it doesn't address peoples’ needs, he said, explaining that they cannot vote for politician who concentrates his efforts to make people hungry.
“This is unacceptable,” said Amin. He claimed the federal government “is lying” when it says it is forming a committee to pay salaries because nothing has been done yet.
He added that Baghdad has complicated the situation by bringing party politics into the process.
Teachers protest, complaining that they have not received their salaries. Video: Rudaw
The Central Bank of Iraq transferred $210 million to its branch in Erbil on Thursday, but the KRG says they don't know what the funds are for.
Kurdistan's finance ministry has explained they have no direct relations or authority over the Erbil branch of the Iraqi central bank.
Abadi has said they will audit KRG payrolls department-by-department and then send funds accordingly. He expressed that essential services like health, education, infrastructure and some security institutions would be the first to be audited.
The KRG in 2016 introduced unpopular pay cuts as part of austerity measures responding to an ongoing financial crisis caused by a drop in oil prices and budget cuts from Iraq. The measures caused months of protests in the Kurdistan Region, especially in the provinces of Sulaimani and Halabja.
Since Iraqi forces and Iran-backed Hashd al-Shaabi paramilitaries took control of oil-rich Kirkuk and other disputed or Kurdistani areas claimed by both Erbil and Baghdad in October, the KRG has said their revenues have been slashed nearly in half.
Parliamentarians from Kurdish parties are urging Abadi to heed the advice of the International Monetary Fund, regarding the budget share.
"Where are your promises Abadi? How long should we wait?"
"Differentiate between political rivalries and people's livelihoods."
"Stop imposing sanctions on the nation."
"Playing games with the lives of civil servants is treason."
Last updated at 1:20 p.m.
