Iranian Kurdish parties support protests in Iran

Mustafa Shalmashi, Head of Foreign Committee and Member of the Politburo of Democratic Party of Kurdistan-Iran (KDP-I), denied in a interview that the KDP-I and PAK boycotted the Iranian elections. He says that they support the demonstrations in Iran, because they see it as ‘actions for democracy’ (see also this KDP-I press statement).

Iranian Kurdish soldiers with Kurdish clothes in Iran’s army (Fars agency)

But he says other parties that boycotted the elections do not support the demonstrations. Kurds also demonstrated in several Kurdish cities. “Including Urmiye, Sena, Saqez, Kermanshah and other cities. But in Kurdistan it’s more difficult to protest, because Kurdistan is totally militarized and the regime always strikes harder in Kurdistan.”

But why don’t we hear anything about unrest in ethnic minority area’s? Shalmashi says that the focus is especially on Teheran due to lack of interest of the foreign media and pan-iranism. He says ‘already 5 people were killed in Kermanshah. There were also big protests in Urmiye and Sinne.” Shalmashi also criticized the decision of the Iranian branch of the PKK, PJAK, to boycott the elections at the last moment and doesn’t think they are support by America. Still the KDP-I official hopes Kurdish nationalist parties get more united and worked together as a front. Still this seems unlikely, due to the huge ideological differences.

On Twitter there were rumours spread that Kurdish organizations will organize strikes coming Tuesday. But @Tehranbureau tweeted that in ‘Kurdistan they don’t want to fuel regime’s fire so they are staying home’. The PKK-general Duran Kalkan said that Iranian Kurds are on the verge on ‘explosion’ due to resentment to the governments ‘terror’. But according to Iranian Ayatollah Khamenei the Kurds are loyal to the Islamic republic and America is trying to set up conspiracies against the Iranian state.

The Iranian-Kurdish PJAK released a press statement supporting civil disobedience. There haven’t been many news items about unrest in Kurdish cities. This could also be the result of limited PR efforts by Kurdish political parties and the lack of interest of journalists in the region. Organized attacks on Iranian targets by Kurdish parties could be used by the Iranian government to crack down on opposition members.

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