{"id":5642,"date":"2019-07-15T10:11:34","date_gmt":"2019-07-15T10:11:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pdki.org\/english\/?p=5642"},"modified":"2019-07-15T10:12:25","modified_gmt":"2019-07-15T10:12:25","slug":"carol-prunhuber-our-demand-has-never-changed-we-insist-that-justice-be-done","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pdki.org\/english\/carol-prunhuber-our-demand-has-never-changed-we-insist-that-justice-be-done\/","title":{"rendered":"Carol Prunhuber: Our demand has never changed. We insist that justice be done"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 13th of July marks the 30th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. A. R. Ghassemlou, one of the prominent leaders of the Kurdish nation and former General-Secretary of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), along with his aide Abdullah Ghaderi-Azar, PDKI\u2019s representative in Europe.<\/p>\n

On the 13th of July, 1989, negotiations between the PDKI and Iran took place at the initiative of the Iranian government in Vienna, Austria. Dr. Ghassemlou and the Kurdish delegation went to the negotiating table in good faith, believing that after nearly a decade of war, the Iranian regime was interested in finding a peaceful solution of the Kurdish question. However, the Iranian diplomats assassinated Dr. Ghassemlou and the other members of the Kurdish delegation.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, instead of prosecuting the perpetrators of this crime, the Austrian authorities escorted the terrorists to Vienna airport to facilitate their return to Iran.<\/p>\n

Carol Prunhuber, a writer and journalist born in Caracas, Venezuela to a well-known Venezuelan actress and an American father in 1956, met the Kurdish leader Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou in 1983. Through the French agency\u00a0Gamma TV, Carol traveled to Iranian Kurdistan, via Baghdad in 1985 to film the struggle of the Kurds in Iran. Following three years of detailed research and interviews, Carol completed the writing of\u00a0The Passion and Death of Rahman the Kurd<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

On the 30th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. A. R. Ghassemlou and Abdullah Ghaderi-Azar, Carol sends the following message to the PDKI and the Kurdish people:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>30 years, 30 years of impunity and obstruction of justice<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

30 years ago, Dr. A.R. Ghassemlou, Abdulla Ghaderi-Azar, PDKI\u2019s representative in Europe and another member of the Kurdish delegation were murdered in Vienna while negotiating a peaceful solution to the Kurdish situation in Iran.<\/em><\/p>\n

This tragedy was a trap meant to silence a charismatic man who had led his people in a long struggle against a terrorist, criminal regime. Ghassemlou had become a respected and valued interlocutor for many Western governments.<\/em><\/p>\n

Truthfully, we are here today, not only to denounce once again this political assassination – but to point out the silence and complicit of a democratic western country. When Oswald Kessler, chief of the Austrian Staatspolizei, the national security police force, arrived on the crime scene, he said: \u201cWe\u2019ve got dead Kurds and surviving Iranians. The matter is clear. The rest will be politics.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

And politics it was. The Austrian authorities held-up the investigation through the breach of normal procedures: Two of the assassins were prematurely released, the case was taken away from Kessler and then given to the local police. Thus, the investigation was laid to rest. There it has stayed for the last 30 years. <\/em><\/p>\n

Our demand has never changed. We insist that justice be done. The Austrian authorities must release whatever findings they had\u2014until they decided to put the case to sleep in oblivion. The perpetrators, as well as the top leadership and intelligence services of the Islamic Republic of Iran, must all be brought to justice.<\/em><\/p>\n

For the last 30 years I have written and spoken about Dr. Ghassemlou\u2019s life, his work and his assassination. It has been an honor to have known this visionary man and seen his profound love for his people. The regime thought that by shooting him, they could erase his legacy. They were wrong\u2014for his struggle to gain rights and dignity for the Kurds as well as liberty and democracy for Iran and the region continue to burn strong in the hearts of his nation.<\/em><\/p>\n

Dreaming Kurdistan<\/strong> – The Life and Death of Kurdish Leader Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou –\u00a0<\/strong>Carol Prunhuber<\/strong><\/p>\n

This book follows the life and brutal assassination of Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou, the Iranian Kurdish leader who was killed while negotiating a supposed peace accord for his people with Iranian government emissaries in Vienna, Austria 1989. Countless elements remain unresolved in this political assassination. The culpability of the Iranian government is clearly spelled out, yet jurisdiction has never been passed on the perpetrators.<\/p>\n

Combining historical and political analysis with journalistic testimony, this story depicts real events reconstructed through political documents and speeches, police reports, taped material, letters, interviews, and the author\u2019s own first-hand knowledge of Ghassemlou. His destiny brought him to significant events of the twentieth century that laid the groundwork for his future role: the Soviet occupation of northeast Kurdistan in 1941; the coup d\u2019\u00e9tat organized by the CIA and the British secret services against the Iranian Prime Minister Mossadeq in 1953 and the installment of the Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran; the end of the Spring of Prague with the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet tanks in 1968; the beginnings of a certain autonomy in Iraqi Kurdistan in 1970 and the ensuing negotiations between the Kurdish leader, Mustapha Barzani and Saddam Hussein. Preeminent in this list is the determined rebellion of the Iranian Kurds against Khomeini in 1979.<\/p>\n

The new and revised version of Dr. Ghassemlou\u2019s biography Dreaming Kurdistan: The Life and Death of Kurdish Leader Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou <\/em><\/a>has just been published in the United States by Peter Lang Publishing.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 13th of July marks the 30th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. A. R. Ghassemlou, one of the prominent leaders of the Kurdish nation and former General-Secretary of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), along with his aide […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":5644,"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":[21,41],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/about_carol1.jpg?fit=600%2C402&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p12yuy-1t0","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5613,"url":"https:\/\/pdki.org\/english\/gathering-in-brussels-to-demand-justice-in-the-case-of-dr-ghassemlous-assassination\/","url_meta":{"origin":5642,"position":0},"title":"Gathering in Brussels to demand justice in the case of Dr. Ghassemlou’s assassination","author":"Ali","date":"June 27, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The 13th of July marks the 30th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. A. R. Ghassemlou, one of the prominent leaders of the Kurdish nation and former General-Secretary of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), along with his aide Abdullah Ghaderi-Azar, PDKI\u2019s representative in Europe. On the 13th of\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\/2019\/06\/ARG4.png?fit=814%2C573&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/ARG4.png?fit=814%2C573&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/ARG4.png?fit=814%2C573&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/ARG4.png?fit=814%2C573&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5862,"url":"https:\/\/pdki.org\/english\/the-31th-anniversary-of-the-assassination-of-dr-ghassemlou\/","url_meta":{"origin":5642,"position":1},"title":"The 31th Anniversary of the Assassination of Dr. Ghassemlou","author":"Ali","date":"July 13, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The 13th of July marks the 31th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. A. R. Ghassemlou, one of the prominent leaders of the Kurdish nation and former General-Secretary of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), along with his aide Abdullah Ghaderi-Azar, PDKI\u2019s representative in Europe. On the 13th of\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\/2020\/07\/ghassemlou.jpg?fit=843%2C832&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/ghassemlou.jpg?fit=843%2C832&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/ghassemlou.jpg?fit=843%2C832&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/ghassemlou.jpg?fit=843%2C832&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5302,"url":"https:\/\/pdki.org\/english\/pdki-supports-the-u-s-departement-of-states-statement-on-irans-assassination-of-dr-ghassemlou\/","url_meta":{"origin":5642,"position":2},"title":"PDKI Supports The U.S. Department of State’s Statement on Iran\u2019s Assassination of Dr. Ghassemlou","author":"Admin English","date":"July 9, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"In a statement, the Executive Board of PDKI welcomes and supports the United States recent efforts to raise international awareness on the global assassination campaign and other terrorist activities of the Islamic Republic of Iran from 1979 to the present. In particular, PDKI welcomes and supports U.S. efforts to remind\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Press Release"","block_context":{"text":"Press Release","link":"https:\/\/pdki.org\/english\/category\/pressrelease\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/23579.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/23579.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/23579.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/23579.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/23579.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4687,"url":"https:\/\/pdki.org\/english\/from-london-to-washington-kurds-condemned-iranian-state-terrorism\/","url_meta":{"origin":5642,"position":3},"title":"From London to Washington, Kurds Condemned Iranian State Terrorism","author":"akamr","date":"July 14, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Every year, on July 13, Kurds in the diaspora commemorate the anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Ghassemlou. This year, Kurds in London, Berlin, Olso, Stockholm, Paris, Vienna and Washington staged demonstrations to condemn Iranian state terrorism. Kurds and their European and American friends also demanded justice for Dr. Ghassemlou,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/pdki.org\/english\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/From-London-to-Washington.jpg?fit=620%2C412&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/From-London-to-Washington.jpg?fit=620%2C412&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/From-London-to-Washington.jpg?fit=620%2C412&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4677,"url":"https:\/\/pdki.org\/english\/general-strike-launched-in-kurdistan\/","url_meta":{"origin":5642,"position":4},"title":"General Strike Launched in Kurdistan","author":"akamr","date":"July 12, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday, July 11, PDKI called on the Kurdish people in eastern (Iranian) Kurdistan to stage a general strike to commemorate the assassination of Dr. Ghassemlou. The strike has been launched in the major cities of eastern Kurdistan. 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R. Ghassemlou, a distinguished leader of the Kurdish nation and former General-Secretary of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), and his aide Abdullah Ghaderi-Azar, the PDKI's representative in Europe. 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