25/02/2011 10:37
Massive protests planned in Baghdad
Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki called on Iraqis not to participate in “march of millions” in Baghdad on Friday, describing their organizers as insurgents and loyalists of Saddam Hussein.
Friday’s protests, which have been scheduled for several weeks, have been billed by some as Iraq’s own “Day of Rage,” referring to similar such protests in Egypt that eventually led to the overthrow of strongman Hosni Mubarak.
His remarks were markedly stronger than warnings issued by Iraqi security officials, who have claimed that the protests would be infiltrated by insurgents bent on wreaking havoc. “I call upon you ...not to participate in tomorrow’s demonstration,” Maliki said in Baghdad on Thursday, The Gulf Today reports.