The Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan ( ku, , Komełey Şorrişgêrrî Zehmetkêşanî Kurdistanî Êran, lit=Society of Revolutionary Toilers of Iranian Kurdistan), commonly shortened to Komalah ( ku, Komełe; fa, کومله), is a
social-democratic
Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...
ethnic party of
Kurds in Iran
Kurds in Iran ( ku, کورد لە ئێران, translit=Kurdên Îranê, fa, کردها در ایران) constitute a large minority in the country with a population of around 9 and 10 million people.
Geography
Iranian Kurdistan or Eastern Ku ...
. Formerly with
Marxist-Leninist and
communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
ties, the Komalah is a well established party with a history of more than five decades. The Komala party's headquarters are presently in the
Kurdistan Region of
Iraq. They have an armed wing that has a history of leading the Kurdish resistance. The Komalah advocates for anti-imperialism and Kurdish self-determination.
The group is classified as a
terrorist organization by Iran and Japan. Since 2018, it is a registered
lobby in the United States.
Komala has been engaged in guerrilla warfare against the Iranian government, notably during the
1979 Kurdish rebellion and the
Iran–Iraq War. It was also
involved in armed conflict against the
Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan
The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI; ku, حیزبی دێموکراتی کوردستانی ئێران, Hîzbî Dêmukratî Kurdistanî Êran, HDKA; fa, حزب دموکرات کردستان ایران, Ḥezb-e Demokrāt-e Kordest� ...
(KDPI) during the 1980s and early 1990s. After a long time ceasefire, in 2017 the organization declared to have resumed
armed conflict with Iran.
History
It is not known when exactly the organization began its activity. According to the account of Abdullah Mohtadi, he co-founded the group on 27 October 1969 at a secret initiation meeting together with six other Kurdish students in
Tehran. This is disputed by Hussein Moradbegi and Iraj Farzad, two co-founders who state that the group was officially born on 26 January 1979.
Abbas Vali
Professor Abbas Vali (born 1949) is a Kurdish political and social theorist specialising in modern and contemporary political thought and modern Middle Eastern Politics.
Biography
Vali was born in 1949 in Mahabad, Iran. He received his primary an ...
argues the latter view is correct, as the 1969-established organization had no specific ethnic identity and had no position on Kurdistan, and Kurdish members of the former –
Foad Mostafa Soltani
Foad Mostafa Soltani ( fa, فؤاد مصطفی سلطانی; 1948 – 31 August 1979) was one of the founders of the Revolutionary Organisation of the Toilers of Kurdistan, popularly known as Komala.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mostafa Soltani, ...
, Mohammad Hossein Karimi, Abdollah Mohtadi, Tayeb Abbas Ruh Illahi, Mohsen Rahimi,
Ibrahim Alizade, Sa’ed Vatandoust, Hussein Moradbagi, Omar Ilkhanizadeh and Iraj Farzad– created an offshoot.
The organization initially operated underground, and went into public after the
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...
in 1979.
Shortly afterwards, they boycotted
March 1979 referendum, as well as the next
referendum of December 1979.
Ladislav Bittman
Lawrence Martin-Bittman (14 February 1931 – 18 September 2018), formerly known as Ladislav Bittman, was an American artist, author, and retired professor of disinformation at Boston University. He was best known for his 1983 book, '' The KGB an ...
wrote in ''
The KGB and Soviet Disinformation
''The KGB and Soviet Disinformation: An Insider's View'' is a 1983 non-fiction book by Lawrence Martin-Bittman (then known as Ladislav Bittman), a former intelligence officer specializing in disinformation for the Czech Intelligence Service and ...
'' that Komala was part of
KGB's network in Iran, and was founded under financial and ideological influence of
Soviet Union.
Edgar O'Ballance states that Komala received "help" from the Soviet KGB.
In 1981, Komala refused to join the
National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).
In September 1983, the group underwent organizational changes and patterned itself as an orthodox communist party, eventually joining
Communist Party of Iran, as its
Kurdish wing.
In 2000, the faction led by Abdullah Mohtadi split from the latter and styled itself as the "original" Komala.
During
George W. Bush administration, the group's leader met American officials in 2005 and 2006 amidst approval of
Iran Freedom and Support Act budget. While it is unclear which groups have been funded through the program, Mohtadi welcomed an aid in 2008 and stated "If you’re a political movement that is part of an opposition, you need help from abroad... We're not ashamed to admit it." In 2006, the party set up its Sweden-based satellite television named Rojhelat TV. Turkish
NTV reported that the channel has been established with financial assistance from the United States.
On grounds that politburo acts non-democratic, the faction led by Omar Ilkhanizade split in October 2007, founding
the faction of reform.
On 29 April 2008, another faction led by Abdulla Konaposhi accused Mohtadi of "non-democratic management", and expressing dissatifcation to a policy of a cooperation with
monarchists including
Reza Pahlavi Reza Pahlavi may refer to:
* Reza Shah (1878–1944), Reza Shah Pahlavi, Shah of Iran from 1925 until 1941
* Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980), Shah of Iran from 1941 to 1979, son of Reza Shah
* Reza Pahlavi, Crown Prince of Iran
Reza Pah ...
, split from the group to establish
the reunification faction.
Ideology
The group is ideologically
Marxist–Leninist, therefore it saw itself
revolutionary
A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor.
...
and transcending ethnic boundaries, unlike rival
Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan
The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI; ku, حیزبی دێموکراتی کوردستانی ئێران, Hîzbî Dêmukratî Kurdistanî Êran, HDKA; fa, حزب دموکرات کردستان ایران, Ḥezb-e Demokrāt-e Kordest� ...
.
It was predominantly
Maoist during first decade of its activity
and adopted it as a mobilization strategy to recruit from peasantry and lower urban class.
Michael Gunter says that inspired by
Chinese Communist Revolution, they became Maoists and viewed
Kurdish nationalism as
parochial.
However at its first congress held in 1979, the ideology was renounced due to being "inappropriate to Kurdish conditions in Iran".
In 1981, the group initiated
self-criticism of its past and concluded that what it needs is "strong links with the
proletariat
The proletariat (; ) is the social class of wage-earners, those members of a society whose only possession of significant economic value is their labour power (their capacity to work). A member of such a class is a proletarian. Marxist philo ...
".
In 2000, when the party claimed reestablishment, it criticized some reports to the 8th congress of the CPI in 1995 for not being correct from the Marxist viewpoint and giving more privileges to the
bourgeois nationalist groups. Sabah Mofidi described the party's position on political spectrum in 2016 as "
radical left", adding that "in the line of the created changes in the practical thought of Marxism and indeed the indigenous Marxism accommodated with the place-time conditions of various societies, it has become more
pragmatic and taken steps to realism".
It is currently a member of the
Progressive Alliance which was formed in 2013 as an international association of social democratic and socialist parties.
Armed activities

Following
Iran–Iraq War, the group were stationed inside
Iraqi soil and were supported by
Saddam Hussein and his
Ba'athist regime, who was willing to leverage insurgent groups against Tehran.
Saddam gave the group money, logistical support and arms. After 1991, they found more secure sanctuaries under ''de facto'' autonomous
Kurdistan Region.
Headquarters of the group is currently located in an installation in Zergwez, about a 20-minute drive southeast of
Sulaymaniya
Sulaymaniyah, also spelled as Slemani ( ku, سلێمانی, Silêmanî, ar, السليمانية, as-Sulaymāniyyah), is a city in the east of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, not far from the Iran–Iraq border. It is surrounded by the Azmar, Go ...
.
A European mission reported in 2012 that the camp has strict security measures at the entry gate.
Their previous camp was located in the vicinity of
Halabja, near
Iran–Iraq border, but after they suffered from attacks by
Iranian Armed Forces, they moved to the current place.
James Martin of ''
The Jerusalem Post'' who visited the camp in 2007, wrote that Komala guerillas were equipped with
AK-47s and
RPG RPG may refer to:
Military
* Rocket-propelled grenade, a shoulder-launched anti-tank weapon
**''Ruchnoi Protivotankoviy Granatomyot'' (Russian: ''Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт''), hand-held anti-tank grenade laun ...
s, and are also trained in using anti-aircraft guns.
A report published by
Combating Terrorism Center in 2017, estimated that the group has less than 1,000 members.
Designation as a terrorist organization
Iran
and Japan have listed Komala as a
terrorist organization.
Lobbying activities
In September 2018, the group opened an office in
Washington D.C., and formally registered as a
lobby organization in the United States, while it was reported to hold meetings with Congressmen from both parties since at least 2015.
According to filed reports, Komala spent $7,500 in 2018 and in the next year, penned a $4,000 per month contract with the firm AF International, along with another worth $40,000 with Cogent Law Group. One-fourth of latter included working on an
op-ed
An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page", is a written prose piece, typically published by a North-American newspaper or magazine, which expresses the opinion of an author usually not affiliated with the publication's editorial board. O ...
, advise to establish a charitable foundation in the U.S., and "develop" Wikipedia page.
See also
References
{{Iranian exiled parties
2000 establishments in Iraqi Kurdistan
Banned communist parties
Banned Kurdish parties
Banned political parties in Iran
Communism in Kurdistan
Communist militant groups
Communist parties in Iran
Communist parties in Iraq
Kurdish political parties in Iran
Kurdish political parties in Iraq
Left-wing militant groups in Iran
Lobbying organizations based in Washington, D.C.
Maoist organisations in Iran
Marxist parties
Militant opposition to the Islamic Republic of Iran
Organisations designated as terrorist by Iran
Organisations designated as terrorist by Japan
Political parties established in 2000
Political parties in Kurdistan Region
Political parties of the Iranian Revolution
Social democratic parties in Iraq