"Turkey is attacking the Zap region, citing PKK as pretext, to eliminate all Kurdish gains. Their aim is to gain military superiority and eliminate the Federal Kurdistan Region completely or control it. The most effective weapon in this plan is the KDP."https://t.co/OoC88rl8jy pic.twitter.com/vFGD7sR5wC
— MedyaNews (@1MedyaNews) August 23, 2023
Amed Dicle
The following short video is of Khomeini, the leader of the Islamic revolution in Iran. Many evils were done by the Islamic regime after it came to power in Iran in July 1979. But one of the greatest evils was what they did to the Kurds. Immediately after the Islamic Revolution, Khomeini issued a death warrant for the Kurds. This is called a ‘fatwa’ in Islamic literature. Khomeini gave this speech on 19 August 1979. That was one month after the revolution. And after this speech, a systematic massacre of Kurds began in the Kurdistan region of Iran. At least 10,000 Kurds were massacred.
Qasimlo’s legacy and KDP’s complicity
During these years, the Kurds waged a struggle against the Iranian regime under the leadership of the “Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan”. The leader of this party was Abdurrahman Qasimlo. Qasimlo, the legendary Kurdish leader, was a very important politician who gained sympathy not only in Iran but also in Kurdistan and around the world. With his military, political and diplomatic skills, Qasimlo had great power to lead the Kurds. During these years, the PKK movement was still in its infancy in Turkish Kurdistan, but after the military coup of 12 September, the movement was forced to retreat to Syria-Lebanon to regroup. The Iranian regime under Khomeini planned to use other Kurds to suppress the Qasimlo movement. And the Iraqi KDP, led by Barzani, was used in the same way as Turkey is doing now against the PKK and the YPG. The following video is just one example. In the video, Iranian state television gives a microphone to armed men from the KDP. The name of the person speaking is Ali Awni. He is still alive and a member of the KDP Central Committee. He is one of the closest people to Massoud Barzani. This video was made in the mid-1980s. Ali Awni, speaking into a microphone, refers to the Iranian Kurds and Qasimlo as “enemies” and says “We have repelled them”. “In cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran, we have struck and will strike blows against the enemy (Kurds)”.
These attacks, which also involved the Barzani dynasty and the KDP, gave the Iranian regime an advantage over the Kurds. Indeed, the legendary leader Abdurrahman Qasimlo was assassinated in Vienna on 13 July 1989 as the result of a conspiracy by Iranian agents. Shortly before his assassination, he had released a video message about the Barzani KDP’s attack on the Kurds.
After Abdurrahman Qasimlo, the Iranian Kurdish organisations suffered a big blow. In fact, not only the Kurds, but all the peoples of Iran have come under the regime’s turmoil. This is the subject of another article. Let us return to the role of the KDP. Immediately after Qasimlo’s assassination, KDP leader Massoud Barzani went to Qasim Soleimani and they took a photo together. This was an important message because it was Soleimani who planned Qasimlo’s assassination. And he has risen within the Iranian regime because of his ‘successes’ in these attacks on the Kurds.
From historical manipulations to current geopolitical manoeuvres
There are many similar examples in recent history. But let’s look at the current situation with a recent example. The following video was recorded in the middle of August this year. It is a live broadcast from a KDP-owned TV channel. And the speaker is calling on the Turkish state to kill PKK leaders. He says you can shoot them by tracking their cars with drones. He gives the names of some regions. For example, he says the name of a place called Ahmadawa on the Iranian border near Halabja. It is a picnic spot visited by thousands of people from Iran and Iraq every day. But the KDP official calls on the Turkish state to carry out massacres there with drones.
And who is this person? As most of you will have guessed, Ali Awni. Central Committee member of the KDP. Yes, the same person from our second video. The same person who in the mid-1980s openly declared that he was killing Kurds on behalf of the Iranian regime is now advising the Turkish state how to kill Kurds.
Ali Awni himself is not an important person and his ideas and statements are not his own. These ideas belong directly to Masoud Barzani. Barzani makes Ali Awni say what he does not want to say himself. Therefore, Ali Awni is not important, but the words he uses are important and should be taken into consideration.
In 2016, Masoud Barzani announced his decision to act in Ankara’s favour in Turkey’s war against the Kurds. He travelled to Turkey to visit the “Special Forces” that destroyed Kurdish cities and fought alongside ISIS against the Kurds in Syria. This was a clear message. Undoubtedly, there was a time before, but especially in the last eight years, the KDP took an active part in the war.
Operation Zap: Turkey’s militarised ambitions
As a continuation of this war concept, Turkey has been launching intensive attacks on Southern Kurdistan since 2021. The centre of these attacks is the Zap region. Indeed, this is the territory of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. High mountains and a steep geography. These are areas that PKK guerrillas had previously taken over as part of the “peace talks” between Turkey and the PKK and with the consent of both Erbil (Hewler) and Baghdad. There is no possibility of posing a direct threat to Turkish territory from these areas. It is physically difficult. However, Turkey is attacking these areas because it aims to eliminate all Kurdish gains. It is attacking them by citing the PKK as a pretext. Their aim is to gain military superiority in these areas and then to eliminate the Federal Kurdistan Region completely or to control it in the way they want. Unfortunately, the most effective weapon in this plan is the KDP.
Last week, PKK leader Murat Karayılan drew attention to this situation and appealed to Barzani: “What are you going to achieve if the PKK is destroyed?” Barzani did not respond to this question. However, many political observers believe that Barzani is willing to let Turkey take control of Kurdistan in order to protect his family dynasty.
In fact, the Kurdistan federal region we are talking about is already the domain of the Barzani family. A dysfunctional government, an unauthorised parliament, symbolic institutions. This status that the Kurds won with thousands of lives has turned into an entity where the Barzani family is enriched. The most authoritative institutions are headed by men with the surname Barzani. At the top, Massoud Barzani’s only goal is to guarantee the family dynasty after him. For him it is Masrour Barzani, and after Masrour it is his son. He has even neutralized his own nephew Nechirvan Barzani with symbolic duties.
As things stand, there is no political will or a properly functioning federal district system. Of course, there are many issues worth considering. The problems between the parties there, the problems with Iraq, etc. However, the most fundamental problem is the usurpation of the gains of a family, a people, and the appropriation of these gains by the Kurdish-hostile Turkish state. It would be insufficient to ignore this vital fact and explain the situation with political-military-economic developments.
Turkey’s new Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will visit Erbil on 23 August and meet with the Barzanis’ top three. The main agenda of these meetings is Zap and Rojava. It will be remembered that immediately after the May 28 elections, Masrour Barzani went to Ankara and met with Erdoğan, Fidan and Yaşar Güler. Immediately after this meeting, Defence Minister Yasar Guler said “good things will happen in practice, you will see it soon”. The “good things” Güler was referring to was the attack on Zap. On July 21, the attacks started and still continues. This operation was planned with Masrour Barzani. Hakan Fidan’s visit on 23 August 23 is largely a continuation of this.
Kurdish unity at stake
The Turkish army attacked the same areas on 17 April 2022, but failed to gain the upper hand despite months of effort. There were no weapons left unused there. Despite all their technical superiority, they could not succeed against the guerrillas who took the war underground. This year they attacked the same place. Unlike this time, the KDP was more active in the field. Despite this, there is no progress. When the Turkish military cannot advance, the armed forces of the KDP move inland towards possible points where the guerrillas are. And this situation is dragging the tension between the KDP and the PKK into a direct war. This is what all Kurds are worried about in the current situation. Hakan Fidan’s visits to Erbil and Baghdad are related to this situation.
If what is feared happens here and the war that no Kurd wants to see breaks out, all Kurds will lose and the Turkish regime, which hates the Kurds, will win. For this reason, all reasonable Kurds are calling for ‘sensitivity’ to these provocative moves of the KDP that want to start a war. It is difficult to predict how this situation will unfold, but we should be reminded that there is a very deadly danger waiting for us at the door.
Amed Dicle was born and raised in Diyarbakır, Turkey. He has worked for Kurdish-language media outlets in Europe including Roj TV, Sterk TV and ANF. His career has taken him to Rojava, Syria, Iraq and many countries across Europe. Follow him on Twitter.
