Iraqi protesters have once again breached the Iraqi parliament in a show of support for strongman Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr, days after storming the legislature and suspending a session to appoint a new prime minister. Security forces on Saturday fired tear gas and hurled sound bombs as protesters used ropes to lower and climb over a series of large concrete barriers surrounding the Green Belt, which encloses government buildings and foreign embassies. “The whole world is with you Sayyid Muqtada,” chanted the protesters, using his title as a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. Prime Minister Mustafa al-Khadimi’s media office had issued a statement calling on security officers to guarantee the security of state institutions. Al Jazeera’s Mahmoud Abdelwahed, reporting from Baghdad, said protesters were not backing down despite reports of several injuries. He added that on Wednesday, when a large crowd occupied the parliament building, security forces let the large crowds enter the perimeter relatively unhindered. The protesters oppose the candidacy of Mohammad Shia al-Sudani, a former minister and former governor of the province, who is the pick of the pro-Iranian Coordination Framework for the post of prime minister. The vote announcing Al Sudani as prime minister was scheduled to take place on Saturday, but the meeting was suspended after Wednesday’s events. Abdelwahed said al-Sadr’s supporters rallied again because they did not trust parliament to not go ahead with the vote. “They are saying that the fact that the meeting is adjourned does not mean that the vote cannot be held behind closed doors,” he said. Supporters of Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr hold a photo of their leader inside the country’s parliament [Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP] Al-Sadr’s bloc emerged from elections in October as the largest parliamentary faction, but was still far from a majority. Ten months on, the impasse remains over forming a new government – the longest since the 2003 United States invasion that restored political order to the oil-rich country. Al Jazeera’s Dorsha Jabari said the world is demanding change. “They don’t want the previous corrupt politicians to stay in power, they don’t want the country to have [interference] by the United States and Iran,” the report said, speaking through the occupied parliament. “We are here for a revolution,” said protester Haydar al-Lami. “We don’t want the corrupt, we don’t want those in power back… since 2003… they have only done us harm.” Although al-Sadr’s alliance won the most seats in October’s parliamentary elections, the warring political parties failed to achieve the two-thirds majority required to elect a president – an important step in choosing a prime minister. After negotiations broke down, al-Sadr withdrew his bloc from parliament and announced he was withdrawing from talks to form a government. Mass mobilization is a well-worn strategy of al-Sadr, a disaffected figure who has emerged as a powerful force with a nationalist, anti-Iranian agenda. Wednesday’s parliament raid came after Tehran backed former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who nominated a pro-Iranian politician as Iraq’s new leader. By convention, the post of prime minister belongs to a leader from Iraq’s Shiite majority.
