The protests began after many university students went out in mass demonstrations, to demand an improvement in the conditions of their internal university housing, and the re-establishment of the system of payment of monthly dues to them by the Ministry of Higher Education in the regional government, which stopped years ago.
However, observers believe that the violence that permeated the demonstrations by the security authorities, leads to a complication of the scene, amid talk of intruders among the students to divert the compass of their demanding demonstrations, towards destinations that serve the political agendas of some parties.
Over the past two days, in many areas, the demonstrators attacked a number of government and party headquarters and public property, setting them on fire, including the public library building in the Bireh Makron district of Sulaymaniyah governorate.
And in its latest repercussions, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi entered the crisis line, Thursday, through a tweet on his Twitter account, in which he said: “The recent painful events in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, especially in the dear Sulaymaniyah, call for a responsible position from everyone, to protect social peace and stop the deterioration. Peaceful demonstrations are a right. It is constitutionally guaranteed, and assaulting demonstrators, as well as assaulting public or private property, are both unacceptable.”
Commenting on all these developments, Kawa Jamal Rashid, Vice President of the University of Sulaymaniyah, said in an interview with Sky News Arabia: “Unfortunately, what happened is condemnable violence from us, and we are in absolute solidarity with the students’ legitimate demands and calls related to securing their rights and improving their educational conditions, and from Our side at the University of Sulaymaniyah, has always addressed us to the regional government, demanding the re-disbursement of the monthly dues to students, especially since economic conditions are now in the process of improving, and in our perception it is necessary to respond to and meet the student’s calls.”
And the Vice President of the University of Sulaymaniyah adds: “On the other hand, we denounce and denounce the violence and assault on public facilities that accompanied some student demonstrations. We believe that those who carried out acts of sabotage and violence are often not university students who should be an example in adhering to the values of peaceful civil demonstration, away from mob behaviour. Public service institutions and facilities are a form of anarchy, lack of responsibility, and recklessness that is not appropriate for students who are supposed to be role models for civilized behavior and rational dealing with problems and crises.
According to Rashid, things are heading towards re-working on regular payment of the students’ monthly dues, which will contribute to improving their conditions and dispelling their concerns, which had been suspended since 2014.
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