Editorial: Good thing the prime minister is defending protesters right?

 Since May 7th, Mustafa al-Kadhimi has been the prime minister of Iraq.  Even before he became prime minister, he made noises about protecting the protesters.

So why are they still being targeted?

"Activist Tahseen Osama is assassinated while Turke..." brought the news that Tahseen Osama had been assassinated:

Tahseen Osama: A peaceful demonstrator from Basra / Iraq, Iran's militias in Basra killed him by firing 20 bullets at him, tahseen wanted a free state, he wished punished killers of peaceful protesters in Iraq, his assassination caused anger of all revolutionaries in Iraq. RIP

9:33 PM · Aug 15, 2020

When there is a response from the prime minister, it seems like it's just not enough.  Ruba Ali al-Hassani notes:

#Iraq PM Kadhimi relieves #Basra Police Chief Rashid Fleih of his position. This comes after the assassination of activist Tahseen Osama and the targeting of more activists. Of course, this is not enough, and the people want accountability. #IraqProtests

Two more were targeted today.  Yousif al-Hashimi Tweets:

JUST IN: A ‘failed’ assassination attempt to the activists, Lodia Raymond and Abbas Subhi, by unknown gunmen #Basra at the same time of an ongoing protest condemning the killing of activist Tahseen Osama.

10:03 AM · Aug 17, 2020

That's two who were targeted today.  A third turned the table on her assailants.

Ruqayya Al-Dossari, an engineer and activist in the protest movement, survived from an assassination attempt today in Basra after confronting the militias with her own gun. . #WAS #help !

1:06 PM · Aug 17, 2020

When does the government plan to start leading?