Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) based in Sulaymaniyah (Silêmanî) in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), under pressure from Iran, has demanded that all three factions of the Kurdish-Iranian Komala Party immediately evacuate bases located in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). However, the Komala parties and civil-political activists in Kurdistan and the diaspora are strongly opposed to this request.
According to KRI media reports, the PUK’s Asayish (internal security forces) recently warned the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan, the Organisation of the Toilers of Kurdistan and the Komala Organisation of Iranian Kurdistan to immediately evacuate their camps in the Zr Gwezala (Zir Giwez) region of the KRI’s Sulaymaniyah governorate. The warning indicates that they will be forcibly removed if they do not comply. The Komala factions have refused this demand, stating they will stay in Zr Gwezala and will not leave their camps no matter what pressure is brought to bear.
Since the Jin, Jiyan, Azadî (Woman, Life, Freedom) uprising began in September 2022, the Iranian government has intensified pressure on Iranian Kurdish parties by applying leverage to the two main Kurdish parties in the KRI, the PUK and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). It is likely that the recent demand from the PUK for Komala to vacate their camps is connected to the two-day visit of Iran’s Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ali Bagheri, to Erbil (Hewlêr) and Baghdad on 13-14 June. Iran sees this move as a way to neutralise the threat posed by Kurdish parties.
According to a report by the Hawlati newspaper in Sulaymaniyah, senior members of Komala have confirmed the receipt of the new warning from the PUK. Serveh Naseri, head of public relations for the Komala-Communist Party of Iran, acknowledged the request to vacate their camps, viewing it as a resumption of previous pressure applied by the Islamic Republic. She pointed out that the parties of Iranian Kurdistan (Rojhilat) “have stopped all military activities”, adding that “the psychological impact of the PUK’s decision is substantial”. She further explained that evacuation is not a viable option, with families and civilians residing in these camps.
Abdullah Azarbar, a leader in the Komala Organisation of Iranian Kurdistan, also confirmed that the PUK had informed them that under the security agreement between Iraq and Iran, all three organisations must relocate together, either to Surdash or to Arbat, both also in Sulaymaniyah governorate, but further from the Iranian border. He added that “Due to the pressures applied last year, the camps of the Rojhilat parties have become home to the families and civilians of our Peshmerga (Kurdish fighters) while the Peshmerga themselves have moved to other, more remote areas.”
Azarbar also highlighted severe restrictions imposed by the KDP-controlled Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on the Iranian Kurdistan parties, probably referring to the disarming of the parties, and restrictions in publication and sharing of footage of their Peshmerga among other things. He added that they did not wish to create any problems for the KRG and understood its conditions.
The Association of Kurds Living in France has also released a statement regarding the KRG’s recent actions against the Iranian Kurdistan parties, arguing that they “are not beneficial to the KRG and will ultimately undermine its power and achievements.”
Another part of the association’s statement addresses the pressures from the Islamic Republic of Iran on the Iranian Kurdistan parties. It emphasises that these parties and organisations always consider the sensitivities and interests of the people and the KRG, as well as the demands of the Iraqi government and the KRG. While respecting the KRG’s right to establish diplomatic relations with neighbouring countries, the security of the Iranian Kurdistan parties and organisations, which also protect the people and the government, should not be compromised.
“Therefore, we believe the KRG authorities, the PUK, and the Asayish in Sulaymaniyah should reduce their pressure on the parties, organisations and civilians of Rojhilat living in Bashur (Iraqi Kurdistan or KRI),” the statement reads.
As street protests intensified in Iran and Iranian Kurdistan following the murder of (Mahsa) Jina Amini by morality police in Tehran, the Islamic Republic of Iran accused the Iranian Kurdistan parties of organising these protests. Consequently, on 28 September 2022, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps bombed the bases of these parties in Koysinjaq (Koye), Alton Kopri and Zr Gwezala in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. These attacks prompted the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), the Kurdistan Organisation of the Communist Party of Iran and the Kurdistan Parties Cooperation Centre to call for a general strike in Iranian Kurdistan. On Saturday 1 October 2022, there were widespread strikes in protest against Iran’s actions.
Following repeated attacks, Iran, exerting direct pressure on the KRG and through the central government of Iraq via a security agreement, demanded the disarmament of Iranian Kurdistan parties and the closure of their camps. While all Iranian Kurdistan parties other than PJAK disarmed under the intense pressure, Ehwen Chiako, a leader of the PJAK in Belgium, claimed in an exclusive interview with DW Farsi that “the Islamic Republic of Iran cannot even dream of seeing us disarm and settle down. Kurdish parties are deeply rooted in their society and have been fighting against the Islamic Republic of Iran for decades. The actions and threats are not new and cannot stop our struggle.”
The fragile state of the KRG following the 2018 referendum, ongoing political disputes between Sulaymaniyah and Erbil, and the neglect of Kurdish interests in recent years have enabled both Turkey and Iran to escalate their direct military attacks and interventions in the region.
