UNAMI calls on protesters to leave Green Zone, White House calls for dialogue
Protesters outside the government’s headquarters in Baghdad. Photo: AFP
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) issued a statement on Monday calling on protesters to immediately leave Baghdad’s Green Zone, vacate all governmental buildings and allow the government to continue its responsibilities.
“Today’s developments are an extremely dangerous escalation. State institutions must operate unimpeded in service of the Iraqi people, under all circumstances and at all times. Respect for constitutional order will now prove vital,” the statement mentioned.
“UNAMI urges all to remain peaceful, cooperate with security forces and refrain from acts that could lead to an unstoppable chain of events. UNAMI also calls on all political actors to work towards de-escalating tensions and resort to dialogue as the only means to resolve differences,” the statement elaborated.
“Iraqis cannot be held hostage to an unpredictable and untenable situation. The very survival of the State is at stake,” the UNAMI statement added.
In a related development, the White House said that unrest in Iraq after powerful Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr quit politics is disturbing, and called for dialogue to ease the country’s political problems, according to Reuters.
The White House National Security Council spokesperson, John Kirby, told reporters that Washington sees no need to evacuate staff in its embassy in Iraq at this time, Reuters added.
The White House confirmed that Iraq’s security and stability should not be endangered, and stressed that the time now should be for dialogue and not for confrontation and escalation, according to Al-Arabiya News.
The White House also called on all Iraqi parties to abide by calm and stop violence, indicating that government institutions in Iraq should not stop its work, Al-Arabiya News mentioned.