The congress re-elected Babashekh Hosseini as the general secretary of the organization and approved its main strategy again which is to realize the right of autonomy for the Rojhelat people, while the other main Rojhelat parties including the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan demand federalism for the Iran’s future.

the bureau of a panel of the congress, April 7, 2017. source: sazmanixebat.com

By: The Kurdistan Voice

The sixth congress of the Organization of Iranian Kurdistan Struggle was terminated after five days on April 7. The organization founded on August 27, 1980, is seen as one of the main political parties of Rojhelat (eastern, Iranian) Kurdistan. In an announcement related to termination of the congress, the party declared four objectives discussed and approved by the congress including adding a special organ, organizing the activities inside the country, increasing the number of women in the leadership and trying to intensify the military activity of its Peshmargas inside Rojhelat.  

The congress re-elected Babashekh Hosseini as the general secretary of the organization and approved its main strategy again which is to realize the right of autonomy for the Rojhelat people, while the other main Rojhelat parties including the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan demand federalism for the Iran’s future.

”The Organization of Iranian Kurdistan Struggle believes the rights of self-determination with all of its related materials and the ways of its realization, but as the same time, it believes the right of autonomy as one of the sorts of self-determination is suitable for the current situation. We do not reject federalism, but by getting attention to the Iran’s multi-national structure and the necessity of all structures’ accepting, we think it is still early to propose federalism for the Iran’s future. Our strategy does not cause taking some distance between our organization and other political parties, because in the end, this is our belief in the right of self-determination that links us together, said Babashekh Hosseini to the Kurdistan Voice.      

the process of voting in the congress, April 7, 2017. source: sazmanixebat.com

The Organization of Iranian Kurdistan Struggle is a close ally of the People’ Mujahedin Organization which it is one of the main Iranian opposition groups. The Mujahedin Organization had to leave its bases in Iraq under the pressure of the Islamic Republic of Iran two years ago. Related to that topic, we asked Mr. Hosseini about the discussion of the congress on this topic. He answered: “We are a near ally of the People’ Mujahedin Organization of Iran and also the National Council of Resistance of Iran, but we are not a member of the National Council. Concern to the change of the military activity of a member or transferring a member of this Council to another country, our congress did not see it as a disputable matter to talk about, because we do not think this kind of changes would affect negatively on the Council or even more it is not a new matter.” He added: “We believe the Council and the People’s Mujahedin will have a big role in the events in the case of any political change in Iran.”   

Iran will hold the presidential election on May 19. “We believe all of the election processes in Iran, which is governed by the Mullas, are meaningless. We think a real and justice election will not be held as long as Iran has the current constitution, is governed by the Willayat Faqih system and also has the Approval system and the Guardian Council. Consequently, the formal politic of the Organization of Iranian Kurdistan Struggle will be to boycott the elections as long as those criterions are existed”, said Babashekh Hosseini to the Kurdistan Voice.

The Organization of Iranian Kurdistan Struggle had the both Islamic and national perspectives in the beginning, but it seems it has been changed over the time. “Our organization came to the pro-liberalization fighting of Iranian Kurdistan’s field with the national and Islamic thoughts 37 years ago. The declaration of the Struggle Organization with those thoughts and beliefs was affected by the necessity of filling the related political and intellectual vacuum of Iranian Kurdistan in that period.”

Mentioning a change in the Islamic name and thoughts of the organization in its third congress in 2005, he said: “We approved that we are not a reactionary party and will be renewed and updated alongside with the changes of today. It has been a patriotic and national organization for 12 years, it means any belief and any member of the minorities in Iranian Kurdistan could join us.”

Concern to the political changes in the region and Iran, he said: “In fact, we think a big shift in the region and the world will be occurred; and the latest U.S. elections which follow by taking the office by the Trump administration is the main point of the shift. Trump is different from Obama in many aspects. Obama had been implemented a tolerant policy on Iran for eight years and signed the worst Nuclear Deal with Iran. But Trump has implemented a so different policy and has denounced the Iran’s rulers from the first days of his administration.”

He called Iran as “the element of the universal terrorism” and said “the possibility of implementing a serious and hard policy towards the arrogant actions of this clerical regime is so strong. We believe after destroying ISIS, the Iran’s problem would get the super-power countries’ attention more and Iran would be confronted with more restriction in case of its interference in most of the regional countries’ affairs.”