Peregraf
After ten days of hunger strike, striking teachers and government employees in Sulaymaniyah have intensified their protest by refusing medical treatment, declaring, “Either death or an answer to our demands.”
The strikers, who have been protesting against the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) failure to address their demands, announced today that they will no longer accept medical care, marking a critical and dangerous escalation in their demonstration.
Dr. Sabah Hawrami, director of health Directorate in Sulaymaniyah, warned of the severe health risks this decision entails. “A new phase will begin for the strikers today. They will lose weight, and all their body organs will become weak,” he stated.
Expressing deep concern, Hawrami urged the strikers to reconsider their decision. “We ask the strikers to continue receiving medical treatment because not receiving treatment poses a serious threat to their lives,” he said.
The striking teachers and employees have been demanding financial and administrative rights, holding the KRG accountable for ongoing salary delays and lack of response. With no resolution in sight, concerns are growing over the potential health crisis among the strikers and the government’s continued inaction.
In a broader effort to amplify their demands, a coalition of educators and government employees has been staging a sit-in outside the United Nations office in Sulaymaniyah for the past 11 days, calling for intervention from international organizations. At least twelve individuals among the protesters have initiated a hunger strike, consuming only water, tea, and coffee as their health visibly deteriorates. Protest representatives have urged the public to join in future demonstrations.
As salary delays persist without a clear resolution from the KRG, the protests show no signs of abating, raising alarms over the disruption of public services and the deepening economic crisis in the Kurdistan Region.