Resolution of the Consultancy Conference of East Kurdistan
Within the context of national consultancy, the Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) organised an intensive conference on 14-15 September in Stockholm with a view to evaluating the latest development in East Kurdistan (Rojhelat). It was attended by representatives of political parties, institutions, experts of wide-ranging issues, lawyers, representatives of civil and cultural institutions, and a considerable number of independent Kurdistanian personalities.
The Conference started on Saturday with reading of the KNK’s message and holding of a minute of silence for the martyrs of Kurdistan. Later, social situations and structures of East Kurdistan, the economic and class conditions, women, human rights, political situations, and solution methods of these issues discussed. Within the two days, the guests and participators aired their views and with their questions and answers, they discussed the current situations of East Kurdistan from all aspects. On Sunday the 15th of September, the conference ended with a resolution.
East Kurdistan suffers from the colonial practices of the Islamic Republic of Iran. For more than 40 years, the regressive Iranian regime have been violating the rights of the Kurdish people, silencing voices of the liberationists, and responding the Kurds’ demands with war and bloodshed. Social conditions in East Kurdistan have been deteriorating with each passing day, and drug addictions among the youth have turned into the regime’s special war against the Kurdish people. Women deprived of their human rights while economic conditions are at the brink of collapse. Money extortion, theft, selling human body parts, fraud and corruption have permeated society pushing it into a crisis. The working class and the poor in particular experience their hardest time.
Its interference in the internal affairs of the regional countries such as Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen pushed Iran into a dangerous international crisis. In dealing with this situation, the Islamic Republic have reinforced its military strongholds and continued to arm herself. Its nuclear program has turned into a new international crisis. In addition to this, the manufacture and employment of military drones along with missiles that have used in Syrian, Lebanon, and Yemen against Israel, Saudi Arabia and American allies have elevated the risk of a regional war to its highest level.
In the last two years, the Islamic Republic have used most of its advanced weapons against its political opponents in East Kurdistan. On 8 September 2018, it launched a missile attack on the headquarters of the Democratic Party of Kurdistan, martyring 16 cadres of the party and 2 pêşmerges of Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI). At the same day, the colonial Iranian regime executed three Kurdish political prisoners for been democratic activists: Ramin Hussien Penahi, Zaniyar Muradi and Luqman Muradi. This all shows that the terror of the Islamic regime on our people practices beyond territories.
Other than politics and society, the Islamic Republic have neither spared Kurdistan’s environment. Last year, people working for the regime set fire to the forests and plantations in various places. While trying to put out a deliberate fire setting by the regime, four environmentalist actives, Sherif Bacur, Umid Koneposhi, Rehmet Hekiminiya, and Mihemed Pejuhi lost their lives. This is why the protection of Kurdistan’s environment must be as a national duty.
From economic aspect, the regime has deliberately deprived Kurdistan from all kinds of industrial and productions developments so the unemployment is very high. Owing to this, many people have only insignificant seasonal jobs often geographically very far or have no option but to opt for the unenduring and perilous work of back-carrying goods across the border. Despite this, the regime does not even allow them to do this arduous work, killing hundreds and wounding many more of them until now.
It has been years that arbitrary arrest, murder, pressure and attack on civil organisations have been a major policy of the Iranian regime in East Kurdistan. In addition, outside the borders of East Kurdistan the Iranian regime has played a lethal role against the Kurds and the Kurdistanian movements. If an opportunity rises for the Kurds to achieve their rights in any other part of Kurdistan, the Islamic Republic mobilises all its resources to eliminate it, not allowing the Kurds to be a part of a democratic achievement. Iran’s collusion with Turkey in Sochi summits against the interests of the people of Rojava, its collusion with Hashd al-Shabi and other extremist groups in Iraq against the people of South Kurdistan, its direct involvement with Turkey against the liberation movement of the Kurd’s in North Kurdistan, are clear examples of Iran´s anti-Kurdish policies.
Against the aggressive colonial practices of the Islamic Republic, the national liberation movement of East Kurdistan have from the outset carrying a liberationist struggling. Heroically it has elevated the national struggle to a level that everyone now considers the Kurds. In order to make this struggle triumphant, it is required that Kurdish political establishments in East Kurdistan come together, find common goals and a common strategy; and open the way for a constructive involvement of all individuals and groups of the Kurdistan movement.
Envoys and personalities, who took part in the national consultancy conference of East Kurdistan, after long discussion of the aforementioned issues, suggested the following points to the public:
1. Iran is a multinational and a multi-religion county with wide-ranging belief systems. Therefore, any future “Iranian Republic” not to be formed around a single nation or a single religion. Iran must become a democratic, pluralist, secular, free and just county.
2. The current conditions of the Kurdish people in East Kurdistan are unacceptable. The Kurdish people as all other free nations must enjoy fundamental rights; including the right to self-determination.
3. The East Kurdistan´s political parties and institutions must engage themselves in a democratic constructive dialogue in order to form an inclusive national platform and to avoid detrimental competition as it only producing advantages for the colonial states.
4. Through their cooperation and coordination all East Kurdistan’s political parties and institutions will stop the colonial states of taking advantages of Kurdish internal political disputes or Kurdish ideological, organisational or political differences. A ground for common work must be set.
5. The conference calls upon all political parties, institutions and individuals of East Kurdistan to stand up for West and South Kurdistan. They must also support the Kurdish struggle in North Kurdistan.
6. To facilitate the participation of women in society and politics of East Kurdistan, political parties and institutions must eliminate all obstacles and difficulties that emerge. They should stand against all social traditions that impede women activism. We have to acknowledge and secure the rights of women in all aspects of life; and prepare the grounds for the development of women´s freedom movement.
7. The Conference supports the struggle and endeavor of women in both Kurdistan and Iran for the achievement of freedom, justice and democracy.
8. The Conference supports and stands up for all political prisoners, and condemns the policy of arbitrary arrest, torture and execution practiced by the Islamic Republic.
9. The Iranian regime practices the policy of destruction, elimination and looting of Kurdistan historical sites. That is why the protection of historical sites stands as a national duty. The Kurdish people must hinder the distortion of its cultural heritage.
10. The Conference is of the opinion that the legitimate struggle of the people of Kurdistan will not achieve its ultimate aim without the erosion of the Islamic Republic and its substitution with a democratic and just alternative. That is why the Kurdish struggle for freedom in East Kurdistan should act in coordination and cooperation with the freedom-seeking struggle of the peoples of Iran for the erosion of the Islamic Republic.
11. The Conference calls upon all democratic establishments and liberationist forces of Iran to come together and engage in common work for the creation of a free, democratic and just Iran where the problems of national and religion entities are no longer exist.
12. The Conference calls upon the international community, human rights institutions, civil society activists, and members of UN Security Council to support the freedom struggle of the Kurdish people as it’s a just and a democratic struggle.
In order to follow up with the implementation of these calls, the Conference elected a volunteer committee that will work in association with the KNK’s Executive Council.
We are of the opinion that this Conference will strengthen the Kurdish struggle for peace and freedom and pave the way for a national unity.
Greetings!
The consultancy conference of East Kurdistan
Kurdistan National Congress/ KNK
15th September 2019
kongrakurdistan@gmail.com
