Iranian Kurdish parties reject PJAK’s call for unity
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Parties in Iranian Kurdistan have rejected a call for unity issued by the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), an armed group affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
PJAK called for greater coordination between the various Kurdish parties of Iran to present a united front against the Islamic republic. In a statement published on Sunday, the group called for a joint commission to resolve their rivalries, a combined armed force, and a shared media platform.
However, the project was branded “impossible” by other Kurdish factions.
PJAK’s plan envisaged a joint commission to end internal rivalries between the political parties, the formation of a national democratic council open to a wider base of supporters, the formation of a joint military force, a military council, a joint diplomatic council, joint media, and the formation of a strategic research center of Kurdistan in Europe.
“If we, as the active political parties of Iran on the ground and in the political arena of Kurdistan, did not have dialogue and coordination in the past, none of these points can be put into practice and it will just remain a beautiful project on paper,” Ibrahim Ali Zada, the head of Komala, told Rudaw.
An official from the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) echoed the sentiment, saying PJAK’s project does not match its own strategic goals.
“We have to reach an agreement on the projects with national dimensions within the context of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its collapse,” Fuad Khaki Baki, head of the KDPI relations department in Sulaimani, told Rudaw.
The party’s roadmap for the future of Iranian Kurdistan is “completely different” to its own, he added.
Kurdish parties have coordinated in the past to foil the Islamic republic’s activities against them.
Five Iranian Kurdish opposition groups formed a joint commission for intelligence sharing in early January to face security threats against their members and forces. PJAK was excluded.
The commission set out to protect the various party bases, particularly those inside the Kurdistan Region, where the bulk of their staff are stationed.
The armed wings of Kurdish parties operate in the mountainous border region between the Kurdistan Region and Iran. They have resumed their armed activities against Iran after almost two decades of ceasefire, promising to push closer to the Kurdish towns and cities in Iran — near their families.
PJAK called for greater coordination between the various Kurdish parties of Iran to present a united front against the Islamic republic. In a statement published on Sunday, the group called for a joint commission to resolve their rivalries, a combined armed force, and a shared media platform.
However, the project was branded “impossible” by other Kurdish factions.
PJAK’s plan envisaged a joint commission to end internal rivalries between the political parties, the formation of a national democratic council open to a wider base of supporters, the formation of a joint military force, a military council, a joint diplomatic council, joint media, and the formation of a strategic research center of Kurdistan in Europe.
“If we, as the active political parties of Iran on the ground and in the political arena of Kurdistan, did not have dialogue and coordination in the past, none of these points can be put into practice and it will just remain a beautiful project on paper,” Ibrahim Ali Zada, the head of Komala, told Rudaw.
An official from the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) echoed the sentiment, saying PJAK’s project does not match its own strategic goals.
“We have to reach an agreement on the projects with national dimensions within the context of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its collapse,” Fuad Khaki Baki, head of the KDPI relations department in Sulaimani, told Rudaw.
The party’s roadmap for the future of Iranian Kurdistan is “completely different” to its own, he added.
Kurdish parties have coordinated in the past to foil the Islamic republic’s activities against them.
Five Iranian Kurdish opposition groups formed a joint commission for intelligence sharing in early January to face security threats against their members and forces. PJAK was excluded.
The commission set out to protect the various party bases, particularly those inside the Kurdistan Region, where the bulk of their staff are stationed.
The armed wings of Kurdish parties operate in the mountainous border region between the Kurdistan Region and Iran. They have resumed their armed activities against Iran after almost two decades of ceasefire, promising to push closer to the Kurdish towns and cities in Iran — near their families.