Joint Statement by PDKI and Komala on Iranian Regime’s Crackdown on Peaceful Protesters

In a joint statement, PDKI and Komala call on the international community and human rights organizations to take a stance against the Iranian regime’s crackdown on peaceful demonstrators in several cities and towns across Iran. PDKI and Komala also warn of reprisals against demonstrators arrested by the Iranian regime, as well as terrorist attacks against Kurdish organizations and refugees from eastern (Iranian) Kurdistan residing in southern (Iraqi) Kurdistan.

In recent weeks, people in Iran, including the oppressed nations in the country, staged peaceful demonstrations against the Islamist dictatorship in Tehran. People in Iran seek freedom, democracy, better economic conditions and an end to the squandering of massive sums of money in the regime’s proxy wars in Syria, Yemen and elsewhere in the Middle East.

True to its ideology and consistent with its past practices, the Islamist dictatorship in Tehran responded to the legitimate demands of demonstrators with force. The clerical regime’s propaganda painted the demonstrations as a foreign conspiracy, while supreme leader Ali Khamenei denounced the protesters as “beasts” and foreign agents. Khamenei has also ordered further punitive measures against the demonstrators.

Thousands of peaceful demonstrators have been detained, while numerous others were killed and injured by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards and other paramilitary forces during the past weeks.

The PDKI and Komala call on the international community to condemn the Iranian regime’s violent crackdown on peaceful demonstrators. Considering past treatment of detained protestors in the Islamic Republic, the PDKI and Komala are concerned about the well-being of protesters recently detained and call on the international community and human rights organizations to put pressure on the regime to release them.

In the midst of the peaceful demonstrations in Iran, the head of Iran’s intelligence agency threatened to attack Kurdish organizations from eastern (Iranian) Kurdistan currently based in southern (Iraqi) Kurdistan.

Citing past terrorist attacks by the Iranian regime against the Kurdish opposition parties based in Iraqi Kurdistan, where thousands of refugees from eastern Kurdistan reside, the PDKI and Komala are concerned about renewed terrorist attacks against their headquarters.

PDKI and Komala therefore call on the international community to take a stance against the Iranian regime’s aggression and international terrorist activities. A firm stance against the regime’s threats of terrorist attacks against Kurdish opposition groups and refugees residing in Iraqi Kurdistan can help dissuade Iran from carrying out such threats.