NEWS CENTER –  Representative of the PAK (Kurdistan Freedom Party) Şemal Pîran has said that unity among Kurdish political forces is “essential” amid continuing protests in Iran and the Kurdish-majority region known as Rojhilat (Eastern Kurdistan).

 

Protests have continued across Iran, including in Kurdish-majority areas, with demonstrators calling for greater freedoms and rights. Kurdish political groups have also intensified coordination efforts. Seven parties announced they would begin active work under a newly formed Inter-Party Cooperation Dialogue Centre for Rojhilat, although the initiative has not yet been formally established.

 

Şemal Pîran, PAK’s Foreign Relations Representative and Head of Organisation, said Iran had effectively declared Rojhilat a “militarised zone” following recent protests. Pîran claimed that at least a thousand people had been killed in Rojhilat, according to information his party had verified, and that thousands more had been injured. He also alleged that Iranian authorities had detained thousands in the provinces of Ilam, Kermanshah and Lorestan, and were continuing pressure on the families of those killed or arrested.

 

Pîran said the Iranian government had pursued a different policy in Kurdish regions compared with other parts of the country, describing Rojhilat as effectively militarised. “There is a heavy security atmosphere over the Kurdish population” he said, adding that the authorities had responded to demonstrations with arrests and what he described as violent repression. Iranian officials have consistently rejected accusations of systemic repression and have described security operations as necessary to maintain order.

 

'IRAN IS AWARE OF ITS ROLE AS AN OCCUPYING FORCE IN ROJHILAT'

 

“Kurds see the Iranian state as an occupying power. Likewise, the Iranian state sees Kurdistan as a colonised and occupied territory. That is why its policy towards our people in Rojhilat is hostile,” he said. Pîran argued that Kurdistan and the Kurdish people have always been viewed as a threat by states that have controlled the region over the past century, and that Iran’s policies toward Kurdistan differ from its approach in other regions.

 

Pîran also referred to a 2023 agreement between Iran and Iraq, after which Kurdish groups in Rojhilat faced increased pressure. Despite repeated attacks on bases belonging to what he called the Kurdistan National Army (KNA), he said that the resistance continues. He described the current cooperation between seven Kurdish political parties in Eastern Kurdistan as the result of “long-term effort, struggle and sacrifice”, calling it a significant political achievement. “Nothing is more important than preserving and strengthening this unity,” he said. 

 

“As PAK, we believe nothing is more important than preserving and strengthening this unity,” he said, particularly under what he described as conditions in which the Islamic Republic is entering a period of dissolution and collapse.

 

‘KURDS MUST BE ONE VOICE AND ONE FORCE'

 

Pîran stated that Western countries prioritise their own interests and are reluctant to fully recognise the Kurdish right to self-determination. He said Western governments fear that the collapse of Iran’s clerical regime could trigger international conflict, including potential clashes between Kurds and Turks, Kurds and Arabs, or Persians and other groups.

 

Pîran added that there are also concerns about the possible re-emergence of extremist groups such as Islamic State, as well as fears of a large refugee influx into Europe.

 

For that reason, he argued, international actors prefer that all sides remain within Iran’s current framework. However, he also said that European countries increasingly acknowledge that Iran is a multi-national state and that the national rights of all peoples must be considered.

 

PAK advocates independence, and Pîran said the party believes that the Kurdish issue cannot be resolved unless the Kurdish people achieve their own state, political authority and national sovereignty. He outlined two essential factors in this process, the international factor and the internal factor.

 

The international factor, he said, involves active Kurdish participation on the political stage in a way that presents Kurds as an independent nation and Kurdistan as a single, unified geographical entity. The internal factor depends on Kurdish unity and maintaining cohesion within Kurdish ranks. “If Kurds succeed in implementing these two factors,” Pîran said, “achieving our goals will undoubtedly become easier and less costly.”

 

MA / Ceylan Şahinli