Like millions of other Muslims, Sheikh Haider Ali Hassan is preparing to go one without food and water during daylight hours during the month of Ramadan.
However, he can no longer count on his meager air conditioning for respite from the 122 degree Fahrenheit temperatures, owing to the local government rationing electricity that has hit hard in the southern Iraqi city of Basra.
Hassan said that the Shi'ite community in Basra had suffered enough under Saddam Hussein’s Sunni government, and deserved better under the country’s Shia-led coalition.
“The people of Basra suffered a lot under the previous regime,” he told AFP.
“The electricity comes on for one hour in five and the temperature is more than 50 degrees [122 degrees Fahrenheit] in Basra—is that fair of the local or central government?”
Hassan was but one of the thousands of Basra residents who protested outside provincial offices over the power rationing on Saturday.
As the midday sun began to fray tensions, stones were thrown at the local government building and every window was broken, a spokesman for the provincial council said.
It was when police intervened to control the demonstration, that the situation began to spiral out of control.
One demonstrator was killed and two others wounded after police opened fire with live rounds, in a bid to disperse the frenzied crowd, according to media reports.
Faced with crisis, officials hurriedly issued statements assuring residents that the situation would be tackled.
A statement by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said that a delegation had been dispatched to Basra to address the problem.
“The prime minister ordered that the fuel share given to private generator owners be increased by 33 percent, to allow the production of electricity to be increased,” the statement said.
He also “ordered to punish all officials in the ministry of electricity who did not respect their commitments and promises to increase power in Baghdad and Iraq’s other provinces to nine hours a day in June.”
Seven years after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the country is still grappling with electricity shortages, and power outages are common across the country.
Hashim al-Louaibi, a spokesman for the Basra Provincial Council said that residents of the southern city receive around two hours of electricity for every five hours that it is turned off.
That is in contrast to the capital, Baghdad, where residents receive six hours of electricity on a daily basis.
Even there, residents are fuming over the rationing. A smaller protest against the cuts was held in the capital on Saturday, although it passed without incident.
In Basra, the country’s oil hub, residents carried placards that read, “We don’t want oil or medicine, we want water and electricity.”
Another read, “The people of Basra ask the authorities to provide services for citizens.”
Protesters told news agencies that there was doubt over claims from officials that there was insufficient generator capacity for the whole country.
Hassan said that his patience was wearing thin, and the same was true with thousands like him.
“This demonstration is peaceful, but if our demands aren’t met, we will take unexpected action,” he told AFP.
Hassan said that the Shi'ite community in Basra had suffered enough under Saddam Hussein’s Sunni government, and deserved better under the country’s Shia-led coalition.
“The people of Basra suffered a lot under the previous regime,” he told AFP.
“The electricity comes on for one hour in five and the temperature is more than 50 degrees [122 degrees Fahrenheit] in Basra—is that fair of the local or central government?”
Hassan was but one of the thousands of Basra residents who protested outside provincial offices over the power rationing on Saturday.
As the midday sun began to fray tensions, stones were thrown at the local government building and every window was broken, a spokesman for the provincial council said.
It was when police intervened to control the demonstration, that the situation began to spiral out of control.
One demonstrator was killed and two others wounded after police opened fire with live rounds, in a bid to disperse the frenzied crowd, according to media reports.
Faced with crisis, officials hurriedly issued statements assuring residents that the situation would be tackled.
A statement by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said that a delegation had been dispatched to Basra to address the problem.
“The prime minister ordered that the fuel share given to private generator owners be increased by 33 percent, to allow the production of electricity to be increased,” the statement said.
He also “ordered to punish all officials in the ministry of electricity who did not respect their commitments and promises to increase power in Baghdad and Iraq’s other provinces to nine hours a day in June.”
Seven years after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the country is still grappling with electricity shortages, and power outages are common across the country.
Hashim al-Louaibi, a spokesman for the Basra Provincial Council said that residents of the southern city receive around two hours of electricity for every five hours that it is turned off.
That is in contrast to the capital, Baghdad, where residents receive six hours of electricity on a daily basis.
Even there, residents are fuming over the rationing. A smaller protest against the cuts was held in the capital on Saturday, although it passed without incident.
In Basra, the country’s oil hub, residents carried placards that read, “We don’t want oil or medicine, we want water and electricity.”
Another read, “The people of Basra ask the authorities to provide services for citizens.”
Protesters told news agencies that there was doubt over claims from officials that there was insufficient generator capacity for the whole country.
Hassan said that his patience was wearing thin, and the same was true with thousands like him.
“This demonstration is peaceful, but if our demands aren’t met, we will take unexpected action,” he told AFP.
