After 15 Days, Sulaymaniyah Protesters End Hunger Strike Following Widespread Solidarity

PUKMEDIA

Sulaymaniyah Protesters End Hunger Strike.

The teachers and employees on strike in Sulaymaniyah decided to suspend their hunger strike following a large public gathering on Tuesday afternoon, 11th February 2025.

After 15 days of hunger strikes and sit-ins at a camp in Sulaymaniyah, 13 teachers and employees chose to end their protest today, in response to requests from the Fatwa Committee in the Kurdistan Region, political, social, and religious figures, as well as the people of Kurdistan. The decision was made during a large public gathering at the protest camp, attended by thousands of citizens from Sulaymaniyah and across the Kurdistan Region.

Hadi Hama Rashid, one of the protesters, announced the end of the sit-in on behalf of all the protesters, thanking the public, religious scholars, and all those who supported their civil struggle and conveyed their demands to the relevant authorities.

Over the past two weeks, various activities were organised to support the protesters and communicate their demands to the Kurdistan Regional Government, which include the organised distribution of salaries, nationalisation, and the resumption of job promotions.

On 9th February, a large group of teachers and employees set out from Sulaymaniyah to Erbil to present their demands but were stopped at the Degala checkpoint and dispersed by security forces using tear gas.

On the night of 5th February 2025, Bafel Jalal Talabani, President of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, visited the protesters’ camp to assess their health and hear their demands, reaffirming his support for their civil struggle. 

Qubad Talabani also visited the camp on 9th February and expressed his support for their cause.

On Friday 7th February, a delegation from the Iraqi parliament, including representatives from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and other parliamentary blocs, visited the protest camp, offering their support for the demands and pledging to convey them to the parliament and the relevant federal authorities.

This morning, shops in Sulaymaniyah and Halabja were closed for over an hour in solidarity with the protesters.

This afternoon, thousands of citizens gathered at the protest camp to urge the demonstrators to end their hunger strike and sit-in, after their message had reached local, national, and international communities. In response, the protesters called off their hunger strike and were taken to Shar Hospital in Sulaymaniyah for necessary treatment.



PUKMEDIA