Congress of Nationalities for a Federal Iran Held a Conference in Germany

The Congress of Nationalities for a Federal Iran, CNFI, held a conference in Frankfurt, Germany. Representatives of various opposition groups, in particular those of the different nations in Iran, attended the conference.

Mustafa Hijri, the leader of PDKI, gave a speech at the conference. Hijri called for the formation of strong opposition capable of replacing the current Islamist regime in Iran with a secular, democratic and federal system of government that respects the rights of its citizens and is at peace with the outside world.

The conference was organized around two panels. Iranian opposition figures and experts participated in both panels. The aim of the conference was to provide a venue for democratic dialog as well as to facilitate consensus on strategic issues pertaining to the future of Iran.

While expressing different opinions on some matters, the panelists shared a common vision centred on liberty, democracy, federalism and equality between the various nations in Iran.

The conference was well-attended by members of various opposition groups, including members of PDKI.

The first panel was devoted to regional dynamics in the Middle East and the future political role of the oppressed nations in Iran.

The second panel addressed the overlooked connection between the Iranian regime’s destabilizing policies abroad and oppression at home.

In his speech, Mustafa Hijri said that it is not realistic to expect that the different oppressed nations can achieve their rights under the current Islamist regime. He argued that this is a conclusion one arrives based on the experience of the past three decades, but he also highlighted that “it is antithetical to the very nature of the current regime in Iran to grant the oppressed nations their rights.” Had this not been the case, they would not have been oppressed in the first place, Hijri reminded the audience.

PDKI’s leader further argued that the Iranian regime only backs down and compromises when faced with countervailing force. Hijri cited the Iranian regime’s willingness to sign a truce with Iraq in 1988 following defeats on the battlefield, as well as compromises on its nuclear program as a result of crippling international sanctions.

Hijri explained that the PDKI has embarked on a new strategy of turning the party’s Peshmerga Forces into a formidable force; of linking the struggle of the Peshmergas in the mountains with the resistance of people in the cities; and of forging new alliances, in Iran and internationally, in pursuit of the shared goal of replacing the current regime with a secular, democratic and federal system of government.

PDKI’s leader hailed the sacrifices of the party’s Peshmerga Forces this summer and called on other opposition groups to set aside petty differences and be willing to undertake a serious struggle against the Islamist regime in Tehran by joining forces and making the necessary sacrifices to that end.