Police prevent demonstration by Iraqi Constitutional Party

THI-QAR / IraqiNews.com: Thi-Qar police have prevented a demonstration organized by members of the Iraqi Constitutional Party, who wanted to call for equal job opportunities for all the residents of the province. “During a late hour on Friday (Nov. 6) night, the office received an official note from the local police saying that it would be impossible to provide protection for the demonstrators…,” the director of the party’s office in Thi-Qar, Nadhim Mohammed al-Assadi, told IraqiNews.com news agency. The party was ordered to cancel the demonstration following verbal orders from Governor Taleb al-Hassan and the chairman of the provincial council, Qusay el-Abbadi, Assadi noted. As a result, the party has organized a protest in front of its headquarters, calling for upholding the freedom of expression, which is enshrined in the Iraqi constitution, Assadi added. Thi-Qar province has the largest number of unemployed persons in Iraq, according to figures released by the Iraqi Ministry of Labor. Nassiriya, the capital city of Thi-Qar province, lies 380 km south of Baghdad. SS (P)/SR 2