# I want_My_ dinar ... Iraqis on Twitter demand the return of the dinar to its previous value

A number of Iraqis demanded that their country's currency be returned to its normal state and raised its value against the US dollar, which made the hashtag # I want_Denary among the most discussed topics on Twitter in Iraq. The Central Bank of Iraq announced a reduction in the exchange rate of the Iraqi dinar against the US dollar, last December, in the first such measure in half a decade, and coincided with a stifling financial crisis plaguing the country as a result of the collapse of oil prices.

A statement by the Central Bank of Iraq stated that the new price of the dinar against the US dollar was set at 1450 dinars instead of the previous rate of 1190 Iraqi dinars per US dollar. And the Ministry of Finance promised, at the time, that "the decision to amend the exchange rate will be a one-time only and will not be repeated in the future."
After the issuance of the decision last year, the Iraqi government reassured its citizens about the decision to reduce the value of the official currency, stressing that it would not affect the classes that depend on local goods, but experts and observers criticized the move and believed that it would increase the already high poverty rates in a country experiencing the worst economic crisis in decades . The Iraqi Ministry of Finance attributed the decision to the government's attempts to address the stifling crisis that Iraq is witnessing as a result of low oil prices, to ensure the protection of the economy and to achieve the reforms that it promised several months ago.

The decision sparked a wave of anger in the Iraqi street, but Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi defended his government's move and said that he had two options, "either the collapse of the system and the entry into complete chaos, or we enter into a Caesarean section for reform."

​Since the collapse of oil prices earlier this year, Iraq has faced an unprecedented liquidity crisis. The oil-exporting country was forced to borrow from the bank’s reserves in dollars to pay off nearly $ 5 billion a month, representing public sector salaries and pensions.

---