PDKI Executive Center Statement on the Second Anniversary of the Jina Movement
Two years ago, on September 16, 2022, the killing of a Kurdish girl from the city of Saqqez named Jina Amini by the Islamic Republic’s morality police in Tehran led to the rise of a popular movement known as the “Jina Movement”. This movement, which started in Kurdistan with the slogan “Woman, Life, Freedom”, quickly spread to most of the cities in Iran, especially to the deprived areas of the country, and extended to the streets and public squares of foreign countries, attracting the attention of most of the international community and organizations.
The origin of the Jina Movement, which was the result of the long and just struggle of the people of Kurdistan, the explosion of the people’s hatred and disgust against the regime and the accumulation of the unmet demands of the peoples of Iran for decades, was Kurdistan. In other words, the Jina movement started in Kurdistan and spread to other cities and regions of Iran with the central slogan chanted in the streets of Kurdistan. The support for Kurdistan in the early days of the movement led people in other parts of Iran to join the movement. This was a golden political opportunity for Kurdistan and its just struggle, which had been viewed from a security perspective for decades and had been subjected to numerous false accusations.
The modern, just and civilized nature of the Jina Movement in Kurdistan led people in other parts of Iran to join in with supportive slogans such as “Kurdistan, Kurdistan, we support you” and “Kurdistan, Kurdistan, the eye and light of Iran”. This broad support and solidarity were unacceptable to the Islamic Republic, which has consistently pursued a security-focused policy against Kurdistan and its political and national aspirations since the beginning of its rule. The regime has long sought to undermine Kurdish identity and political issues. In response, it orchestrated a violent crackdown on revolutionaries in Kurdistan and launched rocket attacks on the headquarters and bases of the PDKI and other Kurdish parties. This was part of a broader plan involving the security forces, labeled “separatism” and accompanied by extensive propaganda and the mobilization of a cyber-army to discredit the movement and falsely associate it with “foreign elements”.
The aim of the Islamic Republic in these repressions and attacks, especially the attack on the Kurdish political parties, was to divert public opinion in other parts of Iran, to find an excuse for further repressions, to instill fear in the people and a part of the opposition with the illusion of “separatism and the collapse of Iran”, a plan that, as mentioned, the regime had prepared under the code of “separatism”.
The peoples of Iran, united and with the participation of all segments and classes of the society and with the support of Iranians living abroad, continued their daily participation in the streets and various scenes of struggle against the dictatorship and autocracy of the Islamic Republic for more than three months during the Jina Movement, despite the regime’s repression that resulted in hundreds of martyrs, thousands of injured and tens of thousands of demonstrators imprisoned.
Although the Woman, Life and Freedom Movement did not achieve its main goals, such as fundamental change and the establishment of a new Iran, due to a combination of internal, external and oppositional reasons, it was, as stated by the PDKI, “the largest and most powerful civil protest movement in the history of the Islamic Republic’s rule, which created unity among the people both inside the country and among Iranians abroad, and also attracted the attention of the global community”.
On the second anniversary of the Jina Movement and to gain experience for the future of this movement, it is appropriate to critically examine this historic event of the just struggle of the peoples of Iran against the religious dictatorship of the Islamic Republic of Iran and to point out some of the deficiencies and shortcomings of this movement:
1. Despite the oppression and tyranny of the regime, Iranian societies have not yet reached the level of solidarity and unity necessary to consolidate their mass power against the dictatorship and strive for a common goal. Many segments, classes, cities and regions took part in the Jina Movement, but it could not achieve the popular majority necessary to force the regime to retreat. There are intrinsic and hidden reasons for this, which need attention and mobilization to inform them about the overall phase and space of achieving a contemporary life based on justice.
2.The lack of an alternative to the Islamic Republic is one of the main reasons that have unfortunately kept this regime in power until now. During the Jina Movement, the Iranian opposition abroad not only failed to become a source of hope for the movement and to encourage the people to unite and stay in the field, but instead became a weakness of the movement! The Iranian opposition front, due to reasons such as its distance from the society and the people’s demands, and above all its adherence to an all-encompassing and centralized outlook that denies the diversity and plurality of the national structure in Iran and insists on centralization, is practically moving against the political reality in the country and the messages of the Jina Movement. The failure of the opposition to overcome its internal organizational problems and to navigate in the midst of outdated issues and discourses unfamiliar to today’s generations has led to public mistrust of these trends and currents. Therefore, it seems that in the future, due to the unfavorable conditions and disappointment with the opposition abroad, the question of an alternative and replacement to the regime will be considered and reviewed within the country itself.
3. As for the Kurdish political parties and forces, although the political parties from Iranian Kurdistan have managed to be close to their society and people in terms of their presence on the ground as well as their discourse, it became clear during the Jina Movement that they are not without problems and shortcomings. In the early stages of the Cooperation Center of the Iranian Kurdistan’s Political Parties, which was later suspended due to behavioral and discourse conflicts, they played a good and effective role in the Jina Movement. Unfortunately, due to a series of unrealistic views and hasty, individualistic actions, which the PDKI had predicted as fruitless and harmful from the very beginning and had taken a clear stand against, the opportunity that had been created for the political movement in Kurdistan was not fully utilized.
4.The international community, especially the Western governments, have shown a consistent approach in their relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran over the past two decades, especially on the nuclear issue. The attitude of these governments, as expected by the PDKI, did not see the events in Iran, including the Jina Movement, as an opportunity for regime change or a transition away from the Islamic Republic. Instead, the limited support provided by European governments, such as meetings with a few prominent figures, was due in part to the lack of a real and programmatic alternative. This lack of substantive support indicated that the movement did not have the necessary international support.
Despite all that has been said and for many other reasons, the brutal repression of the people by the security and repressive forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran has also caused significant losses and costs to the movement; hundreds of people have been martyred in the streets, tens of thousands have been injured and imprisoned, and in retaliation for the significant participation of students, thousands of students, especially girls, have been poisoned, and these repressions continue with heavy and long prison sentences and even the execution of prisoners.
In the Jina Movement, which significantly changed the political landscape of Kurdistan and Iran, many groups played a decisive role. Among them were the families of the movement’s martyrs, merchants and shopkeepers, doctors, teachers, prominent political and social figures, women, youth, students, dedicated clerics in Kurdistan, and the Kurdish diaspora abroad. PDKI recognizes and honors their invaluable contributions. Going forward, the PDKI believes it is essential to continue to harness the strengths and potential of these groups to advance the cause, and to effectively organize and coordinate their efforts.
On the anniversary of the Jina Movement, the Executive Center of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) expresses its appreciation for the contributions of all sectors and classes of peoples of Iran and honors the memory of those who lost their lives in the movement. The PDKI emphasizes the need to evaluate past shortcomings and strengthen positive aspects by focusing on harnessing the energy and potential of society and fostering unity among political forces and civil society within the country. To capitalize on future opportunities, the PDKI is preparing a roadmap and a special platform for envisioning Iran’s future. The party is also ready to collaborate and form alliances with progressive and democratic forces both within Iran and abroad.
Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan
The Exekutive Center
September 202
