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The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI; , HDKA; ), also known as the Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), is an armed leftist separatist movement of
Kurds Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...
, exiled in northern
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
with branch offices in Europe. It is banned in Iran and thus not able to operate openly. The group calls for either
separatism Separatism is the advocacy of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, regional, governmental, or gender separation from the larger group. As with secession, separatism conventionally refers to full political separation. Groups simply seekin ...
in Iran or a
federal system Federalism is a mode of government that combines a general level of government (a central or federal government) with a regional level of sub-unit governments (e.g., provinces, states, cantons, territories, etc.), while dividing the powers o ...
. Since 1979, KDPI has waged a persistent guerrilla war against
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
. This included the 1979–1989 Kurdish insurgency, its 1989–1996 insurgency and recent clashes in 2016.
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also known as the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, is a multi-service primary branch of the Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces, Iranian Armed Forces. It was officially established by Ruhollah Khom ...
officials have called the party a
terrorist organization Several national governments and two international organizations have created lists of organizations that they designate as terrorist. The following list of designated terrorist groups lists groups designated as terrorist by current and former ...
. Hyeran Jo of
Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...
classifies KDPI as "compliant rebels", i.e. rebels that kill fewer than 100 and refrain from killing for more than half of their operating years. According to Jo, in order to gain domestic and international legitimacy, the KDPI denounces violence against civilians, claiming commitment to the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal D ...
and Geneva Convention Article 3, and as of 2007 is one of the signatories to the
Geneva Call Geneva Call is a non-governmental organization based in Geneva, Switzerland. It is currently focusing its efforts on banning the use of anti-personnel mines, protecting children from the effects of armed conflict, prohibiting sexual violence in ar ...
's ban on anti-personnel mines.


History


Early years

Qazi Mihemed founded the PDKI in
Mahabad Mahabad () is a city in the Central District of Mahabad County, West Azerbaijan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Etymology Mahabad first became the name of the city after World War I, during the ...
,
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
, on 16 August 1945. On 22 January 1946, Qazi Mihemed declared a Kurdish Republic of Kurdistan, of which he formally became president. The Republic lasted less than a year: after the
USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
retreated from the area, the Imperial Iranian army under
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980) was the last List of monarchs of Iran, Shah of Iran, ruling from 1941 to 1979. He succeeded his father Reza Shah and ruled the Imperial State of Iran until he was overthrown by the ...
first reclaimed
Iranian Azerbaijan Azerbaijan or Azarbaijan (, , ), also known as Iranian Azerbaijan, is a historical region in northwestern Iran that borders Iraq and Turkey to the west and Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the Azerbaijani exclave of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republ ...
, followed by Mahabad on 15 December 1946. After the fall of the Republic, many of the PDKI leaders were arrested and executed, effectively ending the party.


Against Unification of Iran

The PDKI cooperated with the Tudeh party and saw a short revival under the anti-
Shah Shāh (; ) is a royal title meaning "king" in the Persian language.Yarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII, no. 1 (1989) Though chiefly associated with the monarchs of Iran, it was also used to refer to the leaders of numerous Per ...
administration of
Mohammad Mosaddegh Mohammad Mosaddegh (, ; 16 June 1882 – 5 March 1967) was an Iranian politician, author, and lawyer who served as the 30th Prime Minister of Iran from 1951 to 1953, elected by the 1950 Iranian legislative election, 16th Majlis. He was a membe ...
(1951–53), but this ended after Shah
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980) was the last List of monarchs of Iran, Shah of Iran, ruling from 1941 to 1979. He succeeded his father Reza Shah and ruled the Imperial State of Iran until he was overthrown by the ...
took full control again in the
1953 Iranian coup d'état The 1953 Iranian coup d'état, known in Iran as the 28 Mordad coup d'état (), was the overthrow of Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh on 19 August 1953. Led by the Iranian army and supported by the United States and the United Kingdom, the co ...
. In 1958, the PDKI was on the verge of unifying with the Iraqi
Kurdistan Democratic Party The Kurdistan Democratic Party (), usually abbreviated as KDP or PDK, is the ruling Political party, party in Iraqi Kurdistan and the senior partner in the Kurdistan Regional Government. It was founded in 1946 in Mahabad in Iranian Kurdistan. ...
(KDP), but was then dismantled by the SAVAK secret police. The remains of the PDKI continued to support the KDP, but this changed as the Shah started aiding the KDP, which fought against the Iraqi regime that had overthrown the royal Hashemite dynasty. In return for the Shah's aid, the KDP decreased its support for the PDKI. The PDKI reorganised itself, marginalising its pro-KDP leader Abdullah Ishaqi (also known as Ehmed Tewfiq), adding new Communist and nationalist members, and forming the Revolutionary Committee to continue the struggle against the Iranian regime. The Committee began an unsuccessful revolution in March 1967, ending after 18 months. After reforms by a new leader, Abdulrahman Ghassemlou, the PDKI fought alongside Islamic and Marxist movements against the Shah, culminating in the 1979
Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...
. Khomeini's new Islamic Republic, however, refused the Kurdish demands, suppressing the PDKI and other Kurdish parties. The PDKI continued its activities in exile, hoping to achieve "Kurdish national rights within a Democratic Federal Republic of Iran".


Against the Islamic Republic

In January 1981, Iraq supported the party in the Iranian cities of Nowdesheh and Qasr-e Shirin and provided weapons supplies to the PKDI. This move was made so as the party stops Tehran from using the Tehran-Baghdad highway. The PKDI hoped as well to establish a level of autonomy in the area. However, the Iranian forces staged a series of debilitating attacks against the KDPI, leaving them a "marginal military factor during much of the
Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...
". In 1997, the party's call for abstaining the
presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...
remained largely ignored by Kurdish citizens in Iran and amid a high turnout in Kurdistan Province, a large number voted for
Mohammad Khatami Mohammad Khatami (born 14 October 1943) is an Iranian politician and Shia cleric who served as the fifth president of Iran from 3 August 1997 to 3 August 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture from 1982 to 1992. Later, he was critic ...
. In 2016, the organization announced it was reviving its armed struggle following death of Farinaz Khosravani and subsequent Mahabad riots.Return to Arms: Hadaka
26 Apr 2017. ''Al Jazeera''. Retrieved 15 November 2017.


Mykonos restaurant assassinations

Sadıq Şerefqendi's murder became an international incident between Germany and Iran. On 17 September 1992, PDKI leaders Sadegh Sharafkandi, Fettah Abduli, Humayûn Erdelan and their translator Nûri Dêkurdi were assassinated at the Mykonos Greek restaurant in
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. In the Mykonos trial, the courts found Kazem Darabi, an
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
ian national who worked as a grocer in Berlin, and Lebanese Abbas Rhayel, guilty of murder and sentenced them to life in prison. Two other Lebanese, Youssef Amin and Mohamed Atris, were convicted of being accessories to murder. In its 10 April 1997 ruling, the court issued an international arrest warrant for Iranian intelligence minister Hojjat al-Islam
Ali Fallahian Ali Fallahian ( , born 1949)FALLAHIAN, ALI (1949– ), in ''The A to Z of Middle Eastern Intelligence'', Ephraim Kahana and Muhammad Suwaed, pp. 85-86, 2009 is an Iranian cleric, judge and politician. He was Iran's second Minister of Intelligen ...
after declaring that the assassination had been ordered by him with knowledge of Grand Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei Ali Hosseini Khamenei (; born 19 April 1939) is an Iranian cleric and politician who has served as the second supreme leader of Iran since 1989. He previously served as the third President of Iran, president from 1981 to 1989. Khamenei's tenure ...
and President
Ayatollah Rafsanjani Akbar Hashemi Bahramani Rafsanjani (25 August 19348 January 2017) was an Iranian cleric, politician and writer who served as the fourth president of Iran from 1989 to 1997. One of the founding fathers of the Islamic Republic, Rafsanjani was the ...
.


2006 Partysplit

from 1992-2004 Abdullah Hassazadeh was the secretary-general for the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan PDKI and after 2004 Mustafa Hijri took in charge. During Mustafa Hijri's time as the
secretary-general Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...
there was several members all over the world that were members of the PDKI and in
Iraqi Kurdistan Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan () refers to the Kurds, Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of Greater Kurdistan in West Asia, which also includes parts of southeastern Turkey (Northern Kurdist ...
that wasn't satisfied with his work as the secretary-general for the PDKI. So during the 13th congress in november 2006 members told him to back down as his position as the secretary-general for the party, but Mustafa Hijri rejected to back down as the secretary-general for the party and this led to big talks for a whole month where members tried to avoid getting a partysplit and to get a deal with Mustafa Hijri but he still rejected and 1 December 2006 the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan PDKI suffered a partysplit and the Kurdistan Democratic Party HDK was founded.


Vienna assassination

On 13 July 1989, the then PDKI leader Abdurreman Qasımlo arrived in Vienna with his delegation to have talks with Iranian diplomats regarding the terms of reconciliation between the central government in Tehran and the Kurds. Those were not the only talks with Iran held in Vienna. After they entered the conference hall and the talks started, the Iranian "diplomats" took out automatic weapons and murdered all of the members of the Kurdish delegation, including Abdurrahman Qasımlo.


2016 bomb attack

The year 2016 an Iranian agent had planted a bomb near the
Castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...
which led to 6 HDK and KDPI members getting killed.


2018 missile attack on the Democrat Castle

On the 8th September 2018 the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force launched seven
Fateh-110 The Fateh-110 ( "conqueror"), also known as NP-110, is an Iranian solid-fueled surface-to-surface missile, surface-to-surface ballistic missile produced by Iran's Iran Aviation Industries Organization, Aerospace Industries Organization since 2 ...
missiles at the Democrat Castle in Koya while a HDK meeting was underway. The missiles got a direct hit on where the meeting was taking place at the Democrat Castle killing a total of 18 HDK and KDPI members. 50 HDK/KDPI members were injured, including HDK leaders Xalıd Ezizi and Mustafa Mewlûdi. A number of important members and commanders were killed, including Mihemed Hesenpûr, Nesrin Hedad and Rehman Piroti.


2022 Attack on the Rojhelat primary school and the September - October attacks

In 2022, the IRGC and the
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also known as the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, is a multi-service primary branch of the Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces, Iranian Armed Forces. It was officially established by Ruhollah Khom ...
sent ballistic missiles and several Shahed drones which attacked a school at Azadi Settlement and the
ballistic missile A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are powered only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) typic ...
nearly hit the school but instead got a hit beside the school which killed 17 teachers and parents and thereafter killing 1 child. After the attacks on the school Iranian military helicopters were flying around the area and threw down triangle spikes which made it hard for cars to drive between the school, Azadi Settlement, Amiriya Settlement and Democrat Castle. Thereafter on September 28 the U.S that also had shot down a Qods - Mohajer-6 drone with a F-15 after it posed a threat to U.S. forces in the area. Some similar incidents continued in the coming days, and casualties had increased to 18 deaths and 62 injuries on October 4. On November 14, Iranian airstrikes on the Democrat Castle operating in
Iraqi Kurdistan Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan () refers to the Kurds, Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of Greater Kurdistan in West Asia, which also includes parts of southeastern Turkey (Northern Kurdist ...
continued, killing at least two people and injuring 10 other KDPI members. With these attacks 72 Kurdish and KDPI members were injured and 37 Kurdish and KDPI members were killed. Further
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
ian missile strikes on 21 November 2022 destroyed more houses in Koya.


PDKI congresses

The PDKI has held seventeen congresses. These occurred in 1945, 1964, 1973, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1992, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2018, 2022 and 2025. During the 20th Congress of the
Socialist International The Socialist International (SI) is a political international or worldwide organisation of political parties which seek to establish democratic socialism, consisting mostly of Social democracy, social democratic political parties and Labour mov ...
, held at the
headquarters of the United Nations , image = Midtown Manhattan Skyline 004 (cropped).jpg , image_size = 275px , caption = View of the complex from Long Island City in 2021; from left to right: the Secretariat, Conference, and General Assembly buil ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
(9–11 September 1996), the PDKI was given the status of ''observer member''. In 2005, the PDKI's membership was elevated to ''consultative'' status.


PDKI Headquarters over the years

PDKI has had a lot of different headquarters including in both Iranian Kurdistan and Iraqi Kurdistan, here is a list of all the Headquarters that PDKI has had over the years: *
Mahabad Mahabad () is a city in the Central District of Mahabad County, West Azerbaijan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Etymology Mahabad first became the name of the city after World War I, during the ...
(1945 - 1968) * Qandil Mountains (1968 - mid 1993) * Degala Settlement (1993 - 1998) estimated * Democrat Castle (1993 - 2023) * Koy Sinjaq (1993–present)


Secretaries-General

*
Qazi Muhammad Qazi Muhammad (, ; 1 May 1893 – 31 March 1947) was an Iranian Kurdish Islamic cleric and political leader who founded the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) and was the first president of the short-lived, Soviet-backed, though in ...
(1945–1947) * Ahmed Tewfiq (1947–1973) * Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou (1973–1989) * Sadegh Sharafkandi (1989–1992) * Abdullah Hassanzadeh (1992–2004) * Mustafa Hijri (2004–)


Military wing

The military wing of the PDKI is named PDKI Peshmerga.


Reunity

Both wings of PDKI and HDK reunited on August 21, 2022 and build the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan once again.


New leading team

The leading team until the joint Congress calls Executive Board. This board has 12 members leading by Mustafa Hijri. The leading team abroad or Executive Board Abroad has 6 members who are: Kwestan Gadani, Azad Azizi, Mohammad Rasoul Karimi, Aso Saleh, Kawe Abdali and Rahim Mohammedzadeh.


References


External links


The PDKI English language homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran 1945 establishments in Iran Banned political parties in Iran Banned Kurdish parties Banned socialist parties Consultative member parties of the Socialist International Federalist parties in Iran Kurdish nationalism in Iran Kurdish nationalist political parties Kurdish political parties in Iran Left-wing militant groups in Iran Members of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization Militant opposition to the Islamic Republic of Iran Militant opposition to the Pahlavi dynasty Organisations designated as terrorist by Iran Parties of one-party systems Political parties established in 1945 Political parties of the Iranian Revolution Progressive Alliance Secularism in Iran Social democratic parties in Iran Social democratic parties in Kurdistan