Is people power emerging in Iraq?
Thousands of protesters, demanding an end to corruption, storm parliament, but will it bring about lasting change?
After months of relatively peaceful protests, anti-government demonstrations in Baghdad have turned violent.
A state of emergency was declared across the Iraqi capital following the storming of the Green Zone.
The heavily fortified area, home to government headquarters and foreign embassies, has been closed to most Iraqis for 13 years.
On Saturday, angry citizens tore down walls, called government leaders corrupt and cowardly, and demanded their immediate resignation.
The demonstrators said that they were tired of waiting for Haider al-Abadi, the prime minister, to follow through on his promise to form a new government.
Can they help end the political crisis? Or will they make it worse?
Presenter: Fauziah Ibrahim
Guests:
Dhiaa al-Asadi – Iraqi MP and head of Al-Sadr’s Al-Ahrar Parliamentary Bloc.
Ghassan al-Atiyyah – Head of the Iraqi National Initiative and author of The Making of Iraq.
Patrick Cockburn – Middle East correspondent for The Independent newspaper and author of Muqtada: Muqtada al-Sadr, the Shia Revival and the Struggle for Iraq.