Mr Ayala, Secretary General Socialist International.
Dear comrades in the Socialist International Working Group on the Kurdish Question.
I would like to start by expressing my joy and gratitude for the opportunity to discuss the Kurdish question and its status in the Middle East. The Middle East region is full of conflicts and crisis. Terrorism and religious extremism are huge threats against peace and stability of this region. At the same time a range of opportunities are emerging to draw a broad and comprehensive roadmap for a bright future in the region and in this context the Kurds, as an undeniable factor of such a scenario, are one of those opportunities.
Today the Kurdish question is an important factor, especially in those countries which the Kurdish nation has been divided between. The peaceful context of the Kurdish struggle which is deeply rooted in universal principles of freedom, human rights, democracy, civil and national rights, should be considered as an opportunity for peace and stability of the region.
The Kurdish people I Iran, who has been struggling for decades for its legitimate and human rights, has always believed in a peaceful solution of the Kurdish question. But the Islamic Republic has always reacted on the contrary. After the Iranian revolution (in 1979), the Kurdish political movement presented the Kurdish people’s legitimate demands peacefully, but the regime did not respect the Kurds’ peaceful approach to negotiations. The Islamic regime attacked Kurdistan militarily and a long and bloody war was imposed on the Kurdish people, which in different forms, it continues even today.
During more than four decades, the Islamic Republic has followed an unchanged policy towards the Kurdish people which consists of: Oppression, terror, execution, arresting and imposing harsh sentences on political and civil society activists, and at the same time through security measures discriminates Kurdistan. The Kurdish movement and Kurdistan Democratic Party have suffered immensely from the Islamic Republic’s policy, particularly from its terror actions. The Kurdish movement has always followed a non-violence policy and considered negotiations as the best tool to find a democratic solution for the Kurdish question. Kurdistan Democratic Party as a member of Socialist International, profoundly believes in democracy and freedom and has always respected human life, coexistence, and equal rights for all.
Until the question of the ethnic groups (among them the
Kurds), the freedom and social rights of the people are not resolved, Iran would not reach peace and stability. Therefore, it is necessary to view the Kurdish question in Iran, not as a threat but as an opportunity for peace and stability. The Iranian ethnic minorities’, above all the Kurdish people and Kurdistan Democratic Party’s expectation from the international community, especially the Socialist International, is that to support the Iranian people against a regime which takes no responsibility for its people and the international law.
The Islamic Republic is trying to use the nuclear issue as an extortion means against the International Community and in this game, it has taken the Iranian people, its community and the country as hostage. The Iranian regime has previously shown that it used JCPOA only to escape those crisis and conflicts which threatens its existence on international level.
We reiterate our position that the nuclear issue is an international agenda, but the real issue is the domestic crisis and the conflict between the people and the Islamic Republic regime. We believe that Iran’s main issue is the political regime with power over the people of the country and which violates their rights and denies them their universal rights and freedom.
The international community and the media’s huge focus on the nuclear negotiations only, has unfortunately diverted the international attention from human rights abuse and the social and economic situation inside the country. At the same time the Corona pandemic and the regime’s incompetence in handling the situation, has put an extra burden on the people.
We urge our friends in the Socialist International to supervise the Islamic Republic’s handling of the Kurds in Iran and bring the Kurdish question on international level. We ask the Socialist International to play a more proactive and significant role in the current regional issues and support the Kurdish question in the Middle East. We propose that the Socialist International to arrange a meeting between all members parties among them the Kurdish parties in the Middle East to discuss the crisis in this region, according to the values and charters of the Socialist International.
Thank you for your attention!
Khalid Azizi
Secretary General of Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP-Iran)