Regarding the current situation in Iran, Hijri described it in terms of a multifaceted crisis which will eventually erode the ruling sectarian theocracy’s grip on power. “Hence the Iranian’s regime’s main means of holding on to power is repression,” Hijri emphasized in the interview with Hawlati.

The impact of international sanctions, Hijri said, is only one contributing factor to this state of affairs. Long before the impact of recent rounds of international sanctions, ideological, political, economic and social crises in the country had undermined the limited popular base that the regime enjoyed in some segments of society following the revolutionary period. An important indication of this, Hijri reminded, was the disillusionment with and subsequent abandonment of the ideological foundations and objectives of the sectarian theocracy by some of its former ideologues and prominent clerics.

Although the joint impact of the regime’s failed economic policies and international sanctions on the Iranian economy and the lives of ordinary people are evident, the sanctions do have an impact on the regime as well, he argued. The opaque nature of the regime and lack of transparency in the political system make it possible for the regime to conceal this, however. The broadening and deepening of international sanctions – which target the oil sector and banking system – have accelerated the processes of popular disenchantment and the sectarian theocracy’s legitimacy crisis.

“For these reasons, [the regime] cannot continue to rule for a long period of time, although this doesn’t mean that that its downfall is imminent. In my opinion, efforts to form a unified and strong opposition should be accelerated in order to provide a viable alternative to [the ruling sectarian theocracy], one which people in Iran could rely on for the purpose of rising up against the regime,” Hijri emphasized. To this end, PDKI has taken important steps to pave the way for greater unity among Kurdish political forces. PDKI has signed a strategic agreement with Komala in order to coordinate the struggle against the regime in Tehran and its oppressive policies in Iranian Kurdistan. PDKI has also engaged a group that broke away from the party in 2006 in pursuit of reuniting with them.

Regarding the popular uprising in Syria, Hijri said that once the regime in Damascus is overthrown, it will have great geopolitical implications, affecting Iran and Iraq in particular and shifting the balance of power in the Middle East.

As to the political impasse in Iraq, the General Secretary of PDKI expressed his dismay at the lack of commitment by political forces in the country to resolving pressing disputes within the existing institutional framework and in a democratic manner. He described the problems in Iraq as very serious and having, as it were, sectarian dimensions which, in his view, make the prospects of resolving them look grim.

Hijri emphasized the importance of transcending the sectarian divides in Iraq and said that the Kurdish forces could play a constructive role in that regard by avoiding entanglements in sectarian conflicts between Shiites and Sunnis and by advancing the democratic experiment in Iraqi Kurdistan.

A witness told Kurdistan Media that before the Revolutionary Guards arrested Husseini, they searched the homes of several residents in the village.

According to witnesses, the Revolutionary Guards were looking for posters and flyers disseminated on the anniversary of the establishment of the Republic of Kurdistan.

When the Guards did not find any posters or flyers, they went into Husseini’s house and arrested him. They also confiscated his computer and several other personal belongings.

Abdullah Abbasi, who is a Kurdish Sunni cleric, was taken in for an interrogation with Iran’s intelligence service. The agents that interrogated the cleric threatened him to stop his religious activities.

This is the fourth time Abbasi has been interrogated due to his religious activities.

In an interview with the news agency, Mr. Tase, who was a student at Alama Tebatebai in Tehran, revealed that the Ministry of Intelligence had denied him from studying for the second time.

Tase was informed in a letter that he would not be allowed to continue his university studies due to a decision by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence.

The reason for being banned from continuing his studies is, according to the ministry, Tase’s role in organizing student rallies in protest of executing Kurdish political prisoners.

Hiwa Tase was in his second term of a master’s program in economics when he was informed of the decision that he would not be allowed to continue his studies.

Copy of the letter banning Hiwa from continuing his studies

Following the amputation, Ali Alghasi, Shiraz’s public prosecutor, announced that sentences against criminals would become increasingly severe, without explaining why.

Amputation, whipping, and even death by stoning are all legal forms of punishment under Iran’s Islamic penal code.

The eleven journlists, who were taken into custody late on Sunday, are from six different news organizations, including four daily papers, a weekly and the semi-official ILNA news agency, the AP reported.

According to reports Bokani told his fellow political prisoners in Karaj that if he was not transferred back to Karaj after two weeks he would stage a hunger strike.

Evin Prison is the most notorious prison in Iran, many of the Kurdish political prisoners are imprisoned in Evin.

Kerimi was brought in for an interrogation after that he was stopped outside his shop. He was later arrested during the interrogation. It is unclear what Kerimi was charged with.

Panirak is originally from Broshkhovaran village outside Salmas. He was sentenced to prison on charges of “acting against national security”.

The Republic of Kurdistan was proclaimed on January 22, 1946. The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, which was established one year earlier, formed the first and only government during the short-lived republic.

Qazi Mohammad, the first leader of PDKI, was the republic’s President. Three years earlier, the founding members of the PDKI had established an organization called Komalay Ziyanaway Kurd (Society for Kurdish Resurrection). The PDKI was founded to replace Komalay Ziyanaway Kurd for the purpose of creating a modern, well-organized and popular political party with an explicit commitment to democracy, liberty, social justice and gender equality. These were the values upon which the Republic of Kurdistan was founded.

For the first time in modern history, the Kurdish people, like other nations in the Middle East, attained freedom, human dignity and a political framework to protect their national rights. Following the establishment of the Republic of Kurdistan, the Kurds achieved many political objectives in spite of unfavorable domestic and international conditions.

For example, Kurdish children and students received free education in Kurdish; a number of newspapers and magazines were published; Peshmerga Forces were formed for the purpose of safeguarding the security of the Kurdish people and to protect Kurdish national rights and interests; the Kurdish flag, an important symbol of the Kurdish nation, was flying on government buildings etc.

Equally noteworthy from a historical perspective, gender-segregated schools were abolished and Kurdish women in urban areas of Kurdistan actively took part in politics. In many respects, the Republic of Kurdistan, which only survived for 11 months, was unique in a region of the world that even to this date has not experienced genuine liberty, democracy, and gender equality.

In a speech at the event in Hawler on January 21, the current leader of the PDKI, Mustafa Hijri, underlined that “the republic has become part of our identity, not only in the east [of Kurdistan] but in all parts of Kurdistan.”

Hijri added, “The republic has thought us that we can only attain our rights by exercising our right to self-determination and through the establishment of a political framework that respects individual and national rights.”

“The Republic [of Kurdistan] signifies freedom, and this freedom is a source of social and political rights for the Kurds. In this sense, national rights and freedom are interlinked and part of the Kurdish people’s identity,” Hijri said in another part of his speech.

Celebrating the anniversary of the Republic of Kurdistan every year is not only a celebration of a crucial moment in modern Kurdish history, but also an affirmation of the Kurdish nation’s right to self-determination and a commitment to progressive political values in the face of policies of denial by the clerical regime in Tehran.

Click here to watch some pictures from the event.

Video from the event (audio in Kurdish)