Mustafa Hijri’s Speech at the Danish Parliament
On March 1st, Mr. Mustafa Hijri, the head of the PDKI’s executive center, presented the following speech at the Danish Parliament.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Since the beginning of the 20th century, the dominant model of state-building in the multinational and multi-religious countries of the Middle East have been premised on the forced assimilation and violent oppression of national, linguistic, cultural and religious minorities.
This, in turn, has mandated rejection of democracy and reliance on state violence by successive authoritarian regimes.
Therefore, the following point needs to be emphasized: a century of state violence in Iran and elsewhere in the Middle East clearly indicates that rejection of democracy is intertwined with the oppression of non-sovereign nations, women and other marginalized segments of society.
Consequently, genuine democratization is not possible without recognition of and respect for Iran’s multinational diversity!
Since the establishment of the Islamic Republic — which is a sectarian Islamist regime — the oppression of women and minorities have increased and is religiously justified.
However, state repression and violence in various forms by the Islamist regime in Iran have not subdued the oppressed nations’ in their struggle for their rights and human dignity. Nor has the Islamist regime succeeded in silencing women.
On the contrary, the oppressed nations and women in Iran have continued their struggle for liberality and democracy in the face of systematic state violence.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As the world witnessed in September 2022, following the murder of Zhina Amini, a popular movement emerged in Iran. “Women, Life, Freedom” was the main slogan of this movement.
The movement originated from the Kurdistan region of Iran and gained momentum by spreading to all over the country and was unprecedented in resisting the Islamic Republic.
However, the Kurdish movement’s struggle for national rights, democracy and gender equality has persisted for almost a century.
Kurdish national identity has an objective basis, including a common territory, language, culture and shared history. On this basis, the Kurdish nation has articulated its quest for liberation and political sovereignty on its own territory in Iranian Kurdistan.
The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan has been an indispensable and major actor in the Kurdish national movement since 1945, as well in the struggle against dictatorship in Iran.
Our party opposes any kind of authoritarianism and dictatorship. We are committed to peaceful coexistence between the various national, ethnic and religious communities of Iran.
We consider the oppressed nations of Iran — the Azeri Turks, the Baluch, the Turkmen, the Arabs and others — as our allies and maintain friendly relations with Iranian organizations that are committed to the principles of national rights and decentralization of political power and democracy.
We are committed to peace and democracy. Nevertheless, our party was declared “illegal” by the previous regime. The Islamic Republic has pursued the same policy.
Our party has been the target of state violence and systematic campaigns of terror in Iran as well as abroad. Two of our leaders, Dr Ghassemlou and Dr Sharadkandi, were assassinated by diplomats and agents of the Islamic Republic on European soil.
Since the beginning of the revolution of 1979 — which was a popular revolution in which the Kurdish nation and other nations participated but was hijacked by the Islamists — our party has tried to find a peaceful and democratic solution to the Kurdish national question through dialogue.
However, our calls for negotiation and peace have repeatedly been met with violent state repression.
Ayatollah Khoemnei, the founder of the Islamic Republic, even declared “jihad” or “holy war” against the Kurdish movement and the Kurdish nation.
As a result of the authoritarian policies of the Islamic Republic, the regions of the oppressed nations, in particular the Kurdistan region of Iran, are virtually under military occupation.
During its reign for the past 45 years, the Islamist regime has pursued a policy of denial of our national identity and rights. In the regions of non-Persian nations, in particular in Kurdistan, policies of securitization and death have been pursued to deprive the populations of these regions of their rights.
The Kurdistan region of Iran has since 1979 experienced exploitation of its natural resources and wealth, forced migration as well attempts at demographic change.
The Kurdish nation has experienced massacres and forced assimilation. State policy has targeted the Kurdish language and Kurdish culture. Kurdistan’s economy has deliberately been put in a state of underdevelopment. Unemployment is staggeringly high in Kurdistan.
According to data by Human rights organizations, the Kurdistan region of Iran has the highest rate of executions, but also imprisonment, deportation and torture. For example, in 2023 alone, 839 people were executed in Iran; 199 of them were Kurds.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Kurdistan has always been more tolerant toward women. This explains why the Zhina Amini movement originated in Kurdistan with the slogan “Women, Life, Freedom.”
This movement’s objective was to replace the oppressive Islamist regime with a democratic government that respects the rights of women, but also safeguards human freedom and guarantees dignified life for all Iranian citizens of diverse national, ethnic and religious backgrounds.
The uprising, led by women and youth, united activists and protesters in Kurdistan and Iran. A majority of Iranian citizens know that as long as the Islamist regime remains in power, no one can lead a free and dignified life.
Almost two years since the emergence of Zhina’s movement, we have witnessed increased killings, repression and imprisonment in Kurdistan. Human rights activists and environmentalists are still executed or sentenced to life imprisonment for defending freedom and the right to dignified life.
The Zhina Amini movement demonstrated that an increasing number of Iranian citizens have come to the realization that the struggle for liberty and democracy in Iran cannot succeed without acknowledging that not only is oppression of them intertwined, but so is their fate.
The ideology of the Islamic Republic, which is based on narrow nationalism, cannot solve Iran’s pressing issues, especially the Kurdish issue. The same goes for other ideologies, whether religious or secular, so long as they are committed to authoritarianism.
We as Kurds believe that voluntary coexistence within the geographical boundaries of Iran is not possible without recognition of the country’s national, ethnic and religious diversity, as well as a genuine commitment to shared sovereignty and democracy.
Our vision for the future of Iran is a multinational federal democracy.
We are well aware that democracies, including multinational federal ones, have their own problems and internal tensions.
However, in democracies, dialogue and compromise have proved to be better means of solving pressing issues. By contrast, policies of denial and violence in authoritarian regimes prolong conflicts.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
If sovereignty in Iran is only reserved for the Persian nation, the cycle of repression and violence will be repeated even if the Islamic Republic is succeeded by another regime. And the non-Persian nations will be deprived their human dignity and democratic rights.
The symbols, principles and form of government in Iran must be redefined. This, of course, must go beyond the longstanding tradition of centralization of power to pave the way for shared sovereignty and genuine democratization.
We therefore call upon the free and democratic countries to support Iranian liberation movements and democratic opposition groups in their struggle to establish a democratic system in Iran.
To repeat, unless the intertwined nature of the oppression of non-sovereign nations, women, ethnic and religious minorities are acknowledged and unless a future democratic government is established that constitutionally recognizes and safeguards Iran’s diversity, authoritarianism will be reproduced.
Thank you for your attention.
