Famous Iraqi singer shares protesters’ demands on stage in Lebanon

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi officials should hear the worries of citizens facing chronic electricity shortages while temperatures exceed 50 degrees Celsius in the summer, The Caesar of Arabic Song, Kathem al-Saher, expressed during a live performance in Lebanon on Saturday.

It is very rare for Saher, also dubbed “Iraq’s ambassador to the world,” to address the country’s political issues.

However, the weeks-long protests in Iraq’s southern and central provinces caught his attention and to show his solidarity with the people, he commented on the existing power crisis.

“Unfortunately, power is out in Iraq,” Saher said at the Beiteddine Palace in Lebanon during a concert and called on officials in Baghdad to “pay attention to the needs of our people in Iraq.”

Saher added that he hoped “the great Iraqi people despite their sufferings [remain] innovative and creative as well as wonderful, humane and [continue to] carry a message of love and peace to the whole world.”

Over the past three weeks, the aforementioned provinces of Iraq have witnessed intense protests over inadequate public services, constant electricity outages in Iraq’s blistering summer heat, and widespread corruption in government institutions.

Protests, labeled the “revolution of the poor” by demonstrators, continue to rage on as Iraqi politicians struggle to form a new government following the spring election which was marred by allegations of widespread fraud and prompted a manual recount of some ballot stations.

Iraq, OPEC’s second-largest oil producer, ranks high on Transparency International’s Corruption Index as corruption and mismanagement in state institutions are the most significant challenges the country has faced since the fall of the former regime nearly 15 years ago.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany