Arash Saleh, representative of PDKI to the United States, participated in the annual conference of the Association for the Study of Middle East and Africa (ASMEA) on October 29\u201331 in Washington, DC. Along with other Kurdish political figures and academics, Mar. Saleh highlighted the role of the Kurdish nation in the Middle East as an important factor in the struggle for democracy, tolerance, and lasting stability.<\/p>\n
In his speech, Arash Saleh addressed the factors that reproduce authoritarian government and instability in the Middle East. He attributed both tyranny and instability to the suppression of national, ethnic and religious diversity in the states and societies of the region.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn many Middle Eastern states,\u201d Mr. Saleh said, \u201cone ethnic, religious or sectarian group dominates state institutions and society, while other communities are suppressed.\u201d The root cause of this problem, he said, is in the idea of \u201cone nation, one language, and one culture\u201d in the multiethnic, multicultural, and multinational societies of the Middle East. It is this suppression of diversity, the PDKI representative argued, which reproduces tyranny and perpetuates instability.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs long as ruling political elites in the Middle East deny national, ethnic and religious diversity, they will have to resort to suppression and violence to maintain the status quo,\u201d Mr. Saleh stressed.<\/p>\n
PDKI believes that neither democracy nor stability will be in reach if the ruling elites in the Middle East, as well as the international community, do not consider the will of all the national, ethnic and religious communities who have been oppressed for decades or, in some cases, centuries.<\/p>\n
To this end, Mr. Saleh added, two goals must be realized. First, authoritarian regimes must be changed and replaced with democratic and inclusive governments. Second, the right to self-determination of peoples must be recognized to pave the way for just solutions of longstanding conflicts, as well as to ensure peaceful coexistence among the various communities of the Middle Eastern countries.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only way out of the vicious cycle of suppression, violence, dictatorship and recurring wars in our region is to embrace democracy, toleration of diversity, protection of minority rights, and gender quality,\u201d Mr. Saleh concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Arash Saleh, representative of PDKI to the United States, participated in the annual conference of the Association for the Study of Middle East and Africa (ASMEA) on October 29\u201331 in Washington, DC. Along with other Kurdish political figures and academics, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4856,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/PDKI-Representative-Participated-in-ASMEA.jpg?fit=620%2C412&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p12yuy-1cD","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6560,"url":"https:\/\/pdki.org\/english\/pdki-concludes-two-day-symposium-on-the-future-of-kurdish-diplomacy-in-switzerland\/","url_meta":{"origin":4627,"position":0},"title":"PDKI Concludes Two-Day Symposium on \u201cThe Future of Kurdish Diplomacy\u201d in Switzerland","author":"Ali","date":"October 27, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The Department of Foreign Relations of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (PDKI) successfully hosted a two-day symposium titled \u201cThe Future of Kurdish Diplomacy: Challenges and Opportunities\u201d on October 24\u201325, 2025. The event, held in Switzerland, brought together party officials, academics, and international experts to explore strategies for advancing Kurdish\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Latest"","block_context":{"text":"Latest","link":"https:\/\/pdki.org\/english\/category\/latest\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/92331_w920.jpg?fit=920%2C518&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/92331_w920.jpg?fit=920%2C518&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/92331_w920.jpg?fit=920%2C518&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/92331_w920.jpg?fit=920%2C518&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5126,"url":"https:\/\/pdki.org\/english\/a-delegation-of-iranian-nationalities-met-with-congressman-steve-king\/","url_meta":{"origin":4627,"position":1},"title":"A Delegation of Iranian Nationalities Met With Congressman Steve King","author":"Admin English","date":"October 9, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"A delegation from the Congress of Nationalities for a Federal Iran (CNFI) met with Congressman Steve King on October 5 to seek support for a federal and democratic vision for Iran\u2019s future. The delegation consisted of Arash Saleh, PDKI\u2019s representative in the USA, Nasser Boladai, secretary general of the Baluchistan\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Foreign Relation Activities & Reports"","block_context":{"text":"Foreign Relation Activities & Reports","link":"https:\/\/pdki.org\/english\/category\/foreign-relation\/activities-reports\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/22256407_854317328061537_2027445407232648844_o.jpg?fit=1080%2C1080&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/22256407_854317328061537_2027445407232648844_o.jpg?fit=1080%2C1080&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/22256407_854317328061537_2027445407232648844_o.jpg?fit=1080%2C1080&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/22256407_854317328061537_2027445407232648844_o.jpg?fit=1080%2C1080&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/22256407_854317328061537_2027445407232648844_o.jpg?fit=1080%2C1080&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7117,"url":"https:\/\/pdki.org\/english\/pdki-representative-meets-austrian-mp-scherak\/","url_meta":{"origin":4627,"position":2},"title":"PDKI Representative Meets Austrian MP Scherak","author":"Ali","date":"February 20, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"On Wednesday, February 18, 2026, Mohammad Faqi Ali, representative of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) in Austria, met with Dr. Nikolaus Scherak, Austrian MP and Head of International Relations for the Liberal Democratic Party (NEOS). 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During the meeting, Taimouri outlined the current situation in eastern (Iranian) Kurdistan. 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Dear Mr. Secretary General! Members of the presidium of the Socialist International! Dear participants of the council meeting! I am delighted\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Latest"","block_context":{"text":"Latest","link":"https:\/\/pdki.org\/english\/category\/latest\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IMG_9274.jpeg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IMG_9274.jpeg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IMG_9274.jpeg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IMG_9274.jpeg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IMG_9274.jpeg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4627"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4627"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4627\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4857,"href":"https:\/\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4627\/revisions\/4857"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4856"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}