http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iran/02102014
ERBIL,— A Kurdish rebel group’s battles with Iran is drawing a mixed response from other opposition groups that have pledged to lay down their arms against the Islamic Republic.
The Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI’s) fights with the Iranian military in Iran last month marked the first clashes between the two in years. Several Iranian Kurdish rebel groups including KDPI are based in South Kurdistan, but most agreed to respect the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) demand that they not carry out armed operations against the Islamic Republic.
KDPI, however, has claimed responsibility for the recent battles just over the border in Iran and announced that they are deploying their fighters to Iran for “political activities,” apparently in defiance of the KRG’s stance.
The fighting, which began in mid-September, has mostly occurred outside of the Kurdish Iranian cities of Sardasht and Piranshahr and has killed at least five Iranian soldiers and several Kurdish rebels. An Iranian army commander and a KDPI fighter were killed and several others wounded last week in a clash in Shino.
Despite the concerns of the KRG, which has allowed KDPI and other Iranian Kurdish opposition groups to use the region as a base for decades, KDPI senior official Omer Balaki announced the group will not retreat from the Iranian Kurdistan.
He said KDPI’s fighters “have been inside Iranian Kurdistan and they are conducting political activities. It is very normal that the Iranian government won’t stand for this. We will continue our path,” Balaki added.
In a sign of increased tensions with the KRG, KDPI officials have recently refused to meet with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) which runs security along the Iraqi side of the border in the north.
Officials from Iraq’s Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), which has strained relations with Iran but brokered a major peace deal between the Islamic Republic and Kurdish rebels in 2011, have refused to comment the uptick in fighting.
Other Iranian Kurdish opposition groups are split on the KDPI’s new armed campaign against Iran.
Karim Karimi, a senior official with the Kurdistan Tailors’ Movement, said his group is ready to fight.
“We will support any Kurdish political parties that fight the Islamic Republic,” he said.
Last year, KDPI fighters called for attacking Iran but the party’s leadership rejected the proposal.
The Kurdistan Revolutionary Tailors’ Movement, another Iranian Kurdish opposition group, supports civil resistance against the Islamic Republic but is not speaking out against KDPI.
Senior leader Anwar Mohammadi said, “Each party will decide for itself on its form of struggle.”
The Kurdistan Freedom Party, which has fought along with Peshmerga against Islamic State militants in the South Kurdistan, believes that thewww.Ekurd.net current environment is “not appropriate” for armed activities and such activities would damage the interests of the South Kurdistan, said Rizgar Abaszade, a member of the party’s leadership.
Haji Jundi, a prominent KDPI commander currently based in Germany, said the time is right for armed struggle but the parties don’t have enough experienced fighters. He said he expects the fighters could suffer losses in the early stages but will gradually gain experience.
Kamil Nuranifard, a member of the Kurdistan Struggle Agency leadership committee, told Rudaw, “We support any armed activities against the Islamic Republic.”
As to whether the Kurdistan Struggle Agency is willing to fight Iran, Nuranifard said, “Why not? If we have a good opportunity we will resume armed struggle.”
jueves, 9 de octubre de 2014
They Did Not Ask "Am I My Brother's Keeper?"
At present, the East Kurdish Parties (PDKI, Komala, PJAK, and others) have all risen to the call to help defend the people of South Kurdistan against ISIS. What Kenny Young says here can well be said of all the groups from all the regions of Kurdistan who have joined the war effort. Kurds have also been at the forefront in rescuing and organizing defense for Christians, Yezitis, Assyrians, and all the other minorities who were otherwise defenseless.
(From the PDKI website.)
The PDKI didn’t ask “am I my brother’s keeper?”
by PDKI | on August 14, 2014 | in Articles | Like it
By Kenny Young
On paper, our sister party in Iranian Kurdistan – the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) is similar to the Labour Party. The PDKI was founded with “an explicit commitment to democracy, liberty, social justice and gender equality”. They share the values we prize in a region whose regimes are often lacking in all of the above. When you look for bastions of democracy and progress in the Middle East, our comrades in the PDKI are a good place to start. But that’s a longer article for a gentler time.
Over the past few weeks, thousands of Kurds have joined the PDKI’s Peshmerga units and have marched south to face Islamic State (IS) fanatics in towns and villages across northern Iraq/southern Kurdistan. Veterans from Kurdistan’s wars against the Iranian regime’s repression; new recruits; women fighters as well as men, have all put aside old factional disputes with other groups to stand alongside the Kurdish Regional Government’s forces against an enemy universally agreed to be cruel and murderous.
The Islamic State was made to look unstoppable, because the Iraqi army melted away in the face of a group that has made terror and extreme, almost maniacal, violence its trademark. After liberating a village from IS control in Gewar, one PDKI Peshmerga is reported as saying “we do not fear these terrorists”. Perhaps one side-effect from standing almost alone against Iranian regime oppression is that it has bred a particularly hardy volunteer force, dedicated to tolerance and the idea of a safe, secure Kurdistan.
After gaining air support, Peshmerga forces have proven an effective bulwark against the fanatical hatred of this misnamed “Islamic State”, but it is still extremely early days. PDKI statements say they have liberated several villages and handed IS prisoners over to the Government. Following this success, it now looks as though PDKI units will be used as reserve forces, standing behind Kurdish Regional Government troops – on alert but back from the frontline for now.
It remains to be seen what further contribution the Socialist International’s comrades in Iranian Kurdistan will make during this crisis, but I was able to speak to my friend Loghman Ahmedi, the PDKI’s Head of International Relations, over the past few days. He was clear that IS forces pose a threat to Kurdistan as a whole, but also that:
“It is our duty to both protect the defenceless civilians in the region against this brutal organisation and to preserve the democratic and progressive government in Iraqi Kurdistan.”
So it’s a war of necessary survival, but it’s also about standing against crimes that – in principle – we assume are beyond the pale: beheadings; forced starvation; torture; rape and genocide. They are only beyond the pale if someone will stop them.
Chronicles of our time will mark the killings in Rwanda and the atrocities of Srebrenica as events that happened because nobody would step in. It remains to be seen what will happen in Kurdistan and Iraq. We do not yet know if the torture inflicted on the Yazidi will end in a completed genocide, but what we do know is that the men and women of the PDKI didn’t ask “am I my brother’s keeper?”.
They marched to the front line – some reports say with 60 bullets each – not because it was expedient, nor because they share a faith with all of those being victimised, but because they were in a position to do something and they wouldn’t stand by.
As the crisis continues, the world must give them – and the other Kurdish forces they fight alongside – the support they need to continue protecting civilians from IS forces.
Kenny Young previously worked as press officer for Gordon Brown and Ed Milliband of the Labour Party in the United Kingdom
(From the PDKI website.)
The PDKI didn’t ask “am I my brother’s keeper?”
by PDKI | on August 14, 2014 | in Articles | Like it
By Kenny Young
On paper, our sister party in Iranian Kurdistan – the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) is similar to the Labour Party. The PDKI was founded with “an explicit commitment to democracy, liberty, social justice and gender equality”. They share the values we prize in a region whose regimes are often lacking in all of the above. When you look for bastions of democracy and progress in the Middle East, our comrades in the PDKI are a good place to start. But that’s a longer article for a gentler time.
Over the past few weeks, thousands of Kurds have joined the PDKI’s Peshmerga units and have marched south to face Islamic State (IS) fanatics in towns and villages across northern Iraq/southern Kurdistan. Veterans from Kurdistan’s wars against the Iranian regime’s repression; new recruits; women fighters as well as men, have all put aside old factional disputes with other groups to stand alongside the Kurdish Regional Government’s forces against an enemy universally agreed to be cruel and murderous.
The Islamic State was made to look unstoppable, because the Iraqi army melted away in the face of a group that has made terror and extreme, almost maniacal, violence its trademark. After liberating a village from IS control in Gewar, one PDKI Peshmerga is reported as saying “we do not fear these terrorists”. Perhaps one side-effect from standing almost alone against Iranian regime oppression is that it has bred a particularly hardy volunteer force, dedicated to tolerance and the idea of a safe, secure Kurdistan.
After gaining air support, Peshmerga forces have proven an effective bulwark against the fanatical hatred of this misnamed “Islamic State”, but it is still extremely early days. PDKI statements say they have liberated several villages and handed IS prisoners over to the Government. Following this success, it now looks as though PDKI units will be used as reserve forces, standing behind Kurdish Regional Government troops – on alert but back from the frontline for now.
It remains to be seen what further contribution the Socialist International’s comrades in Iranian Kurdistan will make during this crisis, but I was able to speak to my friend Loghman Ahmedi, the PDKI’s Head of International Relations, over the past few days. He was clear that IS forces pose a threat to Kurdistan as a whole, but also that:
“It is our duty to both protect the defenceless civilians in the region against this brutal organisation and to preserve the democratic and progressive government in Iraqi Kurdistan.”
So it’s a war of necessary survival, but it’s also about standing against crimes that – in principle – we assume are beyond the pale: beheadings; forced starvation; torture; rape and genocide. They are only beyond the pale if someone will stop them.
Chronicles of our time will mark the killings in Rwanda and the atrocities of Srebrenica as events that happened because nobody would step in. It remains to be seen what will happen in Kurdistan and Iraq. We do not yet know if the torture inflicted on the Yazidi will end in a completed genocide, but what we do know is that the men and women of the PDKI didn’t ask “am I my brother’s keeper?”.
They marched to the front line – some reports say with 60 bullets each – not because it was expedient, nor because they share a faith with all of those being victimised, but because they were in a position to do something and they wouldn’t stand by.
As the crisis continues, the world must give them – and the other Kurdish forces they fight alongside – the support they need to continue protecting civilians from IS forces.
Kenny Young previously worked as press officer for Gordon Brown and Ed Milliband of the Labour Party in the United Kingdom
Former Peshmerga killed by Iran- Ferhad Mohammadi
A former Peshmerga has been murdered, the PDKI says- at present this release from them is all that is known but any updates will be posted:
A former PDKI Peshmerga by the name of Ferhad Mohammadi was brutally murdered by individuals affiliated with Iran's Basij forces in the Soma Bradost region outside the Kurdish city of Ourmye. Mohammadi was beheaded and his heart was cut out of his body and left next to his body according to witnesses.
Iran spread miss information and claimed it was ISIS that beheaded former PDKI Peshmerga Ferhad Mohammadi. All Kurdish witnesses in the region state that it was individuals affiliated with Iran's Basij force that brutally kille Mohammadi. http://nisannews.net/?p=2587
(Some background on the Basij:
http://iranprimer.usip.org/resource/basij-resistance-force
http://www.ncr-iran.org/en/ncri-statements/terrorism-fundamentalism/16496-iran-senior-irgc-commander-130-000-trained-basij-forces-waiting-to-enter-syria)
A former PDKI Peshmerga by the name of Ferhad Mohammadi was brutally murdered by individuals affiliated with Iran's Basij forces in the Soma Bradost region outside the Kurdish city of Ourmye. Mohammadi was beheaded and his heart was cut out of his body and left next to his body according to witnesses.
Iran spread miss information and claimed it was ISIS that beheaded former PDKI Peshmerga Ferhad Mohammadi. All Kurdish witnesses in the region state that it was individuals affiliated with Iran's Basij force that brutally kille Mohammadi. http://nisannews.net/?p=2587
(Some background on the Basij:
http://iranprimer.usip.org/resource/basij-resistance-force
http://www.ncr-iran.org/en/ncri-statements/terrorism-fundamentalism/16496-iran-senior-irgc-commander-130-000-trained-basij-forces-waiting-to-enter-syria)
miércoles, 8 de octubre de 2014
Round up of News in East Kurdistan- Oct. 7
Iranian Kurdistan News in brief
October 7, 2014
Mariwan - Mehabad - Sanandaj (Sne) - Baneh - Saqiz - Paweh- Kermanshan - Urmiyê (Orumiye), Nowsud, Sardasht, Bokan, Paweh, west Azerbaijan, [Eastern Kurdistan, Iranian Kurdistan]
A Kurdish civilian was killed by IRGC forces
Iran's IRGC forces opened fire on a number of Kurdish Carrier man (Kolrbar) and killed Pedram Mohammadi, 19, at the scene. According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), on Monday, 29th September, Revolutionary Guard’s “Border Guard troops” at the border checkpoint, called Jaleh, in Bayngan region of “Markheyl” opened fire towards a group of Carriers men, Kolbaran. A 19-year-old young man, Pedarm Mohammadi son of Anoshirvan, from Serias village in Iranian Kurdistan (Rojhelat) was killed instantly and four others who were with him were detained. A local source identified those four people as following: Reykot Mohammadi, Arash Hosseini, Shirzad Hosseini and Horman Hosseini. Kolbaran (carriers) are a group of edgy workers who have to earn their living expenses by carrying goods. They mostly work in the provinces of West Azerbaijan, Kurdistan and Kermanshah. They are perforce to carry these items and sell them for a meager wages. They transport these foreign goods outside of the official customs. hra-news.org | Ekurd.net
Security forces threatened a Kurdish family in Dehgolan
The intelligence service has investigated the house of Mohammad Hossain Panahi and threatened the people inside the house. According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), intelligence forces with cooperation of Basij headquarter of Gharv-Chay village, the suburbe area of Dehgholan, rushed in Mohammad Hossain Panahi’s house and investigated the house for long time and threatened the family. Mohammad Hossain Panahi is the father of Anvar Hossain Panahi who is a civil right activist of Kurdistan and was arrested by security forces in Autumn 2007 and in Spring was sentenced to death by revolutionary court of Sne (Sanandaj) in Iranian Kurdistan (Rojhelat) . This sentence was reduced to six years in prison after international human rights organizations protested at it. He is now released from prison, but is banned from going back to Kurdistan and lives in exile in Tehran. hra-news.org | Ekurd.net
"40 Percent of Political Prisoners in Iran are Kurds"
http://m.basnews.com/en/News/Details/40-Percent-of-Political-Prisoners-in-Iran-are-Kurds-/34021
BasNews, New York
The Secretary-General of the United Nations said that the Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani’s consideration of human rights in Iran remains symbolic, with serious efforts for improvement yet to be seen.
In his annual report about human rights in Iran, Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary General of the United Nations, expressed concern that execution rates in Iran have risen.
’President Rouhani has pledged to decrease restrictions on freedom of expression and to ensure security for the press,’ the report said.
’Unfortunately, those promises have not yet led to significant improvements, and restrictions on freedom of expression continue to affect many areas of life,’ added the UN report.
Ban Ki-moon added that journalists still have obstacles ahead of them and different ethnic and religious minorities continue to face persecution.
Meanwhile, human rights activists in Iran claim that 40% of political prisoners in Iran are Kurds. Among this contingent, 15 face execution.
They also announced that in the past two months, 140 people in Kurdish cities have been arrested, 111 of which were by security forces.
According to media reports, there were between 624 and 727 executions in Iran last year. Estimates for 2012 executions range from 314 to 580.
Release from the PDKI:
Four Kurdish political prisoners in Ourmye prison stage a hunger strike in solidarity with Kobani. The names of the political prisoners on hunger strike are Mohammed Abdullahi, Keiwan Dawodi, Mansor Arwand and Molod Yezdanpenah
October 7, 2014
Mariwan - Mehabad - Sanandaj (Sne) - Baneh - Saqiz - Paweh- Kermanshan - Urmiyê (Orumiye), Nowsud, Sardasht, Bokan, Paweh, west Azerbaijan, [Eastern Kurdistan, Iranian Kurdistan]
A Kurdish civilian was killed by IRGC forces
Iran's IRGC forces opened fire on a number of Kurdish Carrier man (Kolrbar) and killed Pedram Mohammadi, 19, at the scene. According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), on Monday, 29th September, Revolutionary Guard’s “Border Guard troops” at the border checkpoint, called Jaleh, in Bayngan region of “Markheyl” opened fire towards a group of Carriers men, Kolbaran. A 19-year-old young man, Pedarm Mohammadi son of Anoshirvan, from Serias village in Iranian Kurdistan (Rojhelat) was killed instantly and four others who were with him were detained. A local source identified those four people as following: Reykot Mohammadi, Arash Hosseini, Shirzad Hosseini and Horman Hosseini. Kolbaran (carriers) are a group of edgy workers who have to earn their living expenses by carrying goods. They mostly work in the provinces of West Azerbaijan, Kurdistan and Kermanshah. They are perforce to carry these items and sell them for a meager wages. They transport these foreign goods outside of the official customs. hra-news.org | Ekurd.net
Security forces threatened a Kurdish family in Dehgolan
The intelligence service has investigated the house of Mohammad Hossain Panahi and threatened the people inside the house. According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), intelligence forces with cooperation of Basij headquarter of Gharv-Chay village, the suburbe area of Dehgholan, rushed in Mohammad Hossain Panahi’s house and investigated the house for long time and threatened the family. Mohammad Hossain Panahi is the father of Anvar Hossain Panahi who is a civil right activist of Kurdistan and was arrested by security forces in Autumn 2007 and in Spring was sentenced to death by revolutionary court of Sne (Sanandaj) in Iranian Kurdistan (Rojhelat) . This sentence was reduced to six years in prison after international human rights organizations protested at it. He is now released from prison, but is banned from going back to Kurdistan and lives in exile in Tehran. hra-news.org | Ekurd.net
"40 Percent of Political Prisoners in Iran are Kurds"
http://m.basnews.com/en/News/Details/40-Percent-of-Political-Prisoners-in-Iran-are-Kurds-/34021
BasNews, New York
The Secretary-General of the United Nations said that the Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani’s consideration of human rights in Iran remains symbolic, with serious efforts for improvement yet to be seen.
In his annual report about human rights in Iran, Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary General of the United Nations, expressed concern that execution rates in Iran have risen.
’President Rouhani has pledged to decrease restrictions on freedom of expression and to ensure security for the press,’ the report said.
’Unfortunately, those promises have not yet led to significant improvements, and restrictions on freedom of expression continue to affect many areas of life,’ added the UN report.
Ban Ki-moon added that journalists still have obstacles ahead of them and different ethnic and religious minorities continue to face persecution.
Meanwhile, human rights activists in Iran claim that 40% of political prisoners in Iran are Kurds. Among this contingent, 15 face execution.
They also announced that in the past two months, 140 people in Kurdish cities have been arrested, 111 of which were by security forces.
According to media reports, there were between 624 and 727 executions in Iran last year. Estimates for 2012 executions range from 314 to 580.
Release from the PDKI:
Four Kurdish political prisoners in Ourmye prison stage a hunger strike in solidarity with Kobani. The names of the political prisoners on hunger strike are Mohammed Abdullahi, Keiwan Dawodi, Mansor Arwand and Molod Yezdanpenah
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