Author: Assistant Lecturer. Muayad Hasan
Center for strategic studies/ Political Studies Department
Translated by: Hiba Abbas Mohammed Ali
Reviewed by: Assistant Lecturer. Hussain B Abdulameer
23/7/2018
Basra, one of the Iraq’s largest cities, its history dates back to the time of the Islamic conquests. It was built by Ibn Ghazwan in 14 AH in the time of the Caliph Umar ibnal-Khattab and Basra was a camp for soldiers.
This city of Basra accompanied the troubled history of iraq up and down, it was the center of the Umayyad and Abbasid conflicts, Basra has witnessed the first revolution of liberation from slavery (the Zinj revolution), then it occupied by the Mongol Tatars, the Safavids, the Ottomans and the Englishmen.
Basra did not calmed down since the establishment of the monarchy in Iraq, passing through successive republics until the fall of Saddam Hussein by US invaders.
More than 14 years after the fall of the Saddam’s regime, the country still suffers from a lack of services, insecurity, widespread administrative and financial corruption, and Basra has an important place in Iraq’s paradoxes.
On the economic side, Basra ranks first place as the main source of Iraqi oil, which is the main nerve of the economy that accounts for more than (90%) of GDP. In addition, the city has several active ports and two border ports with Iran and Kuwait, As well as it ruins on the Arabian Gulf, the important trade corridor.
On the political side, the latest results of the parliamentary elections in May produced the fall of the ruling forces and the emerge of others ,unlike those who won the majority in the 2014 elections, hence that causing an internal tension led by old forces and groups whose financial interests and influence have been damaged within the city.
Basra, weather who live in Baghdad knows or not, is living on an idle volcano, may exploding at any moment. The social structure of the population, the presence of ethnic diversity and strong clans, refer that the miserable situation that Basra is experiencing despite its oil wealth and its eye is on the rich and wealthy Gulf neighbor, is making the matter worse and worse.
Therefore, the executive and legislative authorities should realize the importance and gravity of Basra. Every covetous in Iraq from neighboring countries, his weapon will be directed towards the habitat of welfare and the country’s portfolio and its treasury, namely Basra. On the other side, anyone who wants to tear up Iraq and break its unity will take from the parties that are far from the center’s grip, a station for its launch, especially that province, which is full of wealth and the poorness, where the mafia is submerged and suffers the lack of the simplest services such as drinking water.
So the climate has a definite impact on the lives of people and molding it negative or positive, In the case of Basra, the wave of high temperature, drought, salinity of drinking water and the blockage of the horizon for young people and clans there, played an influential role in the upheavals of Al Basra people and exceeded the demands of the demonstrators for services to overthrow the political process that produced the ruling class that mismanaged the country, and during their period Iraq has downgrade to a lower level in all fields.
From the experiences of the Arab countries, during the time of the “Arab Spring”, which showed that the use of force and the shedding of the protesters blood, led to the opposite results, As more insistent of young people led to more brutally and suppress of authorities. Hence our security forces have to take lessons from Arab countries mistakes. The fact is that, when one demonstrator have fall -especially in cities characterized by tribal tradition- that mean his clan now is in an embarrassing position, thus, if the demonstrator’s clan get silent, they will feel in shame!! And if they respond to his fall, that mean they have to drag into a clash with the armed forces, who’s in turn – the armed forces- are belong to other clans as well. The result will be a tribal conflict, which it hard to calm it down.
Finally, the wise have to intervene, before the destruction of Basra and Iraq next. If the fire is set there, it will not be able to extinguish by the (force) of the security forces, or Supreme religious authority recommendations, not even (the Air Force) of the international coalition forces. Basra people suffering by injustice, and that may explode the situation there, and the angry masses will targeting all sectors belong to the local or central authority, and the rest of the southern provinces might follow the Basra city, which suffers from the same problems of lack of services, unemployment and corruption in state institutions.
