Iraqi Intifada (1952)
| Iraqi Intifada | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | 23 August - 23 November 1952 | ||
| Location | |||
| Parties | |||
| |||
| Lead figures | |||
no centralized leadership | |||
TheIraqi Intifada(Arabic:انتفاضة العراق) was a series of national strikes and violent protests against the rulingHashemite monarchyand theAnglo-Iraqi Treaty.Inspired by theEgyptian RevolutionandIranian Prime MinisterMohammad Mosaddegh'snationalization of oil,the revolutionaries wanted to forceFaisal II's abdication, transform the state into a republic, and assert Iraq's full independence from Britain by assuming control over its own foreign affairs.[1]
Port workers inBasrawent on strike on 23 August 1952. Students at Iraq's College of Pharmacy followed suit on 26 October. TheIraqi Communist Party,which had been behind the1948 riots,played a leading role in the disturbances.[2]Though the protesters were emphatically anti-monarchical, they were positively disposed to the military, a symbol of national unity and Iraqi independence.[3]Faisal II's uncle, ruling Regent'Abd al-Ilah,replacedMustafa Mahmud al-Umariwith GeneralNureddin Mahmudon 23 November but he made no concessions to the protesters. Protesters denounced Mahmud and demanded his resignation in favor of theNational Democratic Party'sKamil al-Chadirchi,who had briefly served asBakr Sidqi's Economic Minister after the1936 revolution.[4]Mahmud cracked down, instituting martial law and a curfew, shutting down political parties and newspapers, and detaining leading protesters.[1]In 1953,Jamil al-Midfai,a civilian politician, was elected to succeed Mahmud. In May, Faisal II became an adult and assumed the role and responsibilities of the king.
In 1958, Army officersoverthrew the monarchyin a coup d'état, murdering the royal family.
References
[edit]- ^abJames DeFronzo (2009).The Iraq War: Origins and Consequences.Westview Press. p. 37.
- ^Bassam Yousif (2013).Human Development in Iraq: 1950-1990.Routledge. p. 27.
- ^Ibrahim Al-Marashi and Sammy Salama (2008).Iraq's Armed Forces: An Analytical History.Routledge. p. 69.
- ^Beth K. Dougherty and Edmund A. Ghareeb (2013).Historical Dictionary of Iraq.Scarecrow Press. p. 140.
