Kurdistan Free Life Party
Kurdistan Free Life Party Partiya Jiyana Azad a Kurdistanê (PJAK) پارتی ژیانی ئازادی کوردستان | |
---|---|
Leader | Zilan Vejin and Siamand Moeini |
Founded | 2004 |
Armed wing | Eastern Kurdistan Units (YRK) |
Women's armed wing | Women's Defence Forces (HPJ) |
Ideology | Democratic confederalism Kurdish Nationalism |
Political position | Left-wing |
International affiliation | Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) |
The Kurdistan Free Life Party, or PJAK (
The PJAK is aligned with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) through the Kurdistan Communities Union, an umbrella group of Kurdish political and insurgent groups in Turkey, Iran, Syria, and Iraq.[5][6][7]
PJAK spokespersons have repeatedly told visiting media that its armed wing, the Eastern Kurdistan Units (YRK), has approximately 3,000 active members - half of them women - however estimates from academic specialists over the years point to more conservative figures such as 1,000.
PJAK has been designated as a
Policies - structure - branch
Members of the PKK from Iranian Kurdistan founded the PJAK in 2004 as an Iranian equivalent to their leftist-nationalist insurgency against the Turkish government.
The PJAK is a member of the
The PJAK also has sub-divisions:[20]
- Armed wing - Eastern Kurdistan Units (Kurdish: Yekîneyên Rojhilatê Kurdistan, YRK), formerly known as the Eastern Kurdistan Forces (Kurdish: Hêzên Rojhilatê Kurdistan, HRK)[21]
- Women's armed wing - Women's Defence Forces (Kurdish: Hêzên Parastina Jinê, HPJ), led by Gulistan Dogan.[22]
- Youth and student branch
According to the
The PJAK leadership claims that the group's goals are principally focused on replacing
Pjak has undergone several divisions so far. The first split took place in Pjak in 2005, and members of the split, such as (Osman Jafari, Shiva Kargar, Habib Tahmasabi, Yusuf Hatami and....,) founded the Democratic Union of Kurdistan.
Armed conflict and arrests
Eastern Kurdistan Units Yekîneyên Rojhilatê Kurdistan (YRK) | |
---|---|
Leader | Abdul Rahman Haji Ahmadi |
Dates of operation | 2004–Present |
Motives | To establish autonomous regional entities or Kurdish federal states in Iran, Turkey and Syria,[24] and establish a democratic confederalist system as theorised by Abdullah Öcalan. |
Active regions | Iraq, Turkey and Iran |
Ideology | Secularism, Jineology, |
Status | Active |
Part of | Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) |
Opponents | Iran Turkey |
2004–2010
The Kurdistan Free Life Party, has been engaged in an armed conflict with the Iranian authorities since 2004.
Istanbul's Cihan News Agency claimed that over 120 members of the Iranian security forces were killed by PJAK during 2005.[25]
PJAK killed 24 members of Iranian security forces on 3 April 2006, in retaliation for the killing of 10 Kurds demonstrating in Maku by Iranian security forces.[18] On 10 April 2006, seven PJAK members were arrested in Iran, on suspicion that they had killed three Iranian security force personnel. PJAK set off a bomb on 8 May 2006 in Kermanshah, wounding five people at a government building.[26]
As early as mid-2006, the Iranian security forces have confronted PJAK guerrillas in many occasions along the border inside
On 24 April 2009, PJAK rebels attacked a police station in
2011 _ 2012
On 16 July 2011, the Iranian army launched a major offensive against PJAK compounds in the mountainous regions of northern Iraq. According to the Revolutionary Guards dozens of rebels have been killed.[6][31] According to the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency on 26 July, PJAK militants were killed in clashes in several towns in West Azerbaijan province. Kurdish media reported that at least five Revolutionary Guards were killed.[32]
PJAK spokesperson Sherzad Kemankar announced in an interview with the Iraqi Kurdish newspapers Hawlati and Awene that the Iranian forces attacked PJAK strongholds on July 16, however PJAK succeeded in pushing back the Iranian military to their original positions and 53 Iranian soldiers were killed in the battle while PJAK lost two fighters. Sherzad Kemankar also pointed out that Iranian forces were carrying out a joint operation with Ansar al-Islam using heavy weaponry.[33] Iranian media later reported that General Abbas Asemi, one of the most senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders in the holy city of Qom along with at least 5 other Revolutionary Guard soldiers were killed in clashes with Kurdish rebels near the Iraq border.[34]
The Iranian government blames the PJAK for sabotage attacks on gas pipelines and ambushing its troops, according to Reuters, aid agencies say shelling by the Revolutionary Guard has "killed some civilians and forced hundreds to flee their homes" in the area. The Revolutionary Guard denies the charge.[6]
On 8 August 2011, during a lull for Ramadan in the IRGC offensive, PJAK leader Haji Ahmadi, told an interviewer his group is prepared to negotiate with Iran and maintained that Kurdish issues need to be solved through "peaceful means". Haji Ahmadi acknowledged that in some cases compromise is inevitable and indicated that PJAK is willing to lay down its arms. He said fighting may not help Kurds secure political and cultural rights in Iran.[35] However, the Guards resumed their offensive on September 2 and rejected any ceasefire call by PJAK, saying the Kurdish rebels have no choice but to lay down arms or leave the border areas. On 19 September, Iran's ground forces commander, Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan, told the Vatan-e-Emrooz newspaper his forces would finish off armed Kurdish Iraqi-based rebels in the "coming days".[36]
The rejection of ceasefire offer by PJAK led to new skirmishes between the two sides. On 2 September, after a one-month lull in fighting, IRGC began a new round of ground operations against PJAK. On 9 September 2011, Iranian media reported that
On 30 September 2011, Deputy Commander of the Ground Forces of Iran's IRGC, Brigadier General Abdullah Araqi announced that after the Iranian military captured the Jasosan heights, the PJAK conceded defeat and agreed to retreat one kilometer away from the Iranian border and to refrain from military activities on Iran's soil and recruitment of Iranian nationals.[38] According to Iranian media, 180 PJAK militias were killed and 300 wounded during the last operations seizing PJAK's headquarters in Jasosan heights in the Northwestern border regions of Iran.[39]
On 25 April 2012, Iranian media reported that four members of elite Revolutionary Guards were killed and four others were wounded during an attack by PJAK rebels near Paveh in Kermanshah province in western Iran.[40]
Alleged Turkish–Iranian cooperation
In 2011, PJAK leader Rahman Haj Ahmadi, in an interview with the conservative activist Kenneth R. Timmerman, claimed that elements in the units of the Turkish military or Turkish government had deliberately aligned with Iranian forces to suppress the secular PJAK in Iran.[citation needed]
Designation as a terrorist organization
The following countries have listed PJAK as a terrorist organization.
Iran | [13] |
Japan | [41] |
Turkey | [14] |
United States | [1] |
PJAK and the United States
Both the
On April 18, 2006,
From November 2006 to June 2008, journalist
In the wake of this incident, high-ranking PKK commander
In 2007, the Washington Times claimed that Haji Ahmadi, the leader of PJAK, visited
On 4 February 2009,
References
- ^ a b c d "U.S. brands anti-Iran Kurdish group terrorist". Reuters. February 4, 2009. Retrieved February 9, 2009.
- ^ Iraq's other Kurdish rebel group, BBC, Dec. 19, 2007.
- ^ About PJAK, PJAK Official Website.
- ^ Interview with the Secretary general of PJAK Archived 2016-12-08 at the Wayback Machine, Chris Kutschera, September 2008.
- ^ Turkey says it will stage raids with Iran against Kurdish rebels, Al Jazeera
- ^ a b c d Iran says killed dozens in push on Kurdish rebels, Reuters (August 17, 2011).
- ^ Freedman, Benjamin; Levitt, Matthew (December 8, 2009). "Contending with the PKK's Narco-Terrorism". The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Retrieved 2016-02-26.
the Treasury Department also listed the Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK), which is under the control of the Kongra-Gel
- ^ Vera Eccarius-Kelly, professor of Comparative Politics, Siena College, speaking to Rudaw, 2014. <https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iran/23012014>
- ^ "Iranian-Turkish deal to fight PKK risks harming stability of Iraq's Kurdish region". Middle East Eye.
- ^ "Turkey, Iran agree to take steps against terrorist PKK". www.aa.com.tr.
- ^ "Iraq: Iranian Kurdish refugees alarmed by 'assassination' of activist". Middle East Eye.
- ^ Iranian Repression of Kurds Behind Rise of Militant PJAK Archived January 24, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Narina, E (2010-01-30). "Kurdish prisoner executed in Iran". WashingtonTV. Archived from the original on 2019-01-12. Retrieved 2013-12-25.
- ^ a b "Turkey, Iran step up fights on PKK, PJAK". Hürriyet Daily News. 26 July 2011. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- ^ Treasury Designates Free Life Party of Kurdistan a Terrorist Organization (press release), U.S. Department of the Treasury, (February 4, 2009).
- ^ Graeme Wood. "The militant Kurds of Iran". Jane's Security News. Archived from the original on 2008-12-11. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
- ^ .
- ^ Washington Times, April 3, 2006
- ^ "Meet the Kurdish guerrillas who want to topple the Tehran regime". Slate Magazine. 12 June 2006. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
- ^ "İran karakoluna saldırıyı HRK üstlendi". Archived from the original on 2017-10-10. Retrieved 2015-02-22.
- ^ "Îran xwe ji êrişên nû re amade dike". www.nefel.com. Nefel-Rûdaw. Nefel. 19 July 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
- ^ "The PKK, PJAK, and Iran: Implications for U.S.-Turkish Relations". The Washington Institute. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
- ^ OPPEL Jr, RICHARD A. (October 23, 2007). "In Iraq, Conflict Simmers on a 2nd Kurdish Front". The New York Times. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
- ^ Partlow, Joshua. "Shelling Near Iranian Border Is Forcing Iraqi Kurds to Flee". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
- ^ Iran Arrests 7 PKK Archived 2011-06-05 at the Wayback Machine, April 10, 2006, Cihan News Agency/zaman.com
- ^ "Defence & Security Intelligence & Analysis". IHS Jane's 360. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
- ^ a b "Trouble on the Iran-Iraq Border – Newsweek: World News – MSNBC.com". Retrieved 23 April 2017.[dead link]
- ^ "PJAK helikopter düşürdü". Archived from the original on 29 May 2007. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ Death toll 26 in battle with rebels Archived 2011-06-06 at the Wayback Machine, Gulf Times, May 2009.
- ^ Iran helicopters strike Iraq Kurd villages, AFP, May 2009.
- ^ Kurd rebels kill Basij militiaman: Iran agency| AFP| 29 July 2011
- ^ Deaths Reported in Fighting Between Iran, Kurd Rebels| voanews.com, 26 July 2011
- ^ PJAK fighters push back Iranian army, Kurdistan Tribune, July 17, 2011.
- ^ Iran says senior security official killed, Al-Jazeera, Jul 22, 2011
- ^ Rozh Ahmad (2011-08-08). "PJAK Leader: We're Prepared To Negotiate With Iran". Rudaw. Archived from the original on 12 April 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ "Iran to finish off Kurd rebels in 'days': commander". AFP. 19 September 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ "IRGC officer martyred in fight with PJAK". Tehran Times. 9 September 2011. Archived from the original on 22 February 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ "PJAK Terrorist Group Surrenders, October 1 2011". Archived from the original on 22 February 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ PJAK Surrenders to Iran, September 29 2011
- ^ "4 IRGC personnel killed in clash with PJAK terrorists". Mehr News Agency. April 25, 2012. Archived from the original on 11 May 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ "Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan, Kurdistan Free Life Party" ペジャーク(PJAK) (in Japanese). Ministry of Justice of Japan. Archived from the original on 9 March 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
- ^ "Treasury Designates Free Life Party of Kurdistan a Terrorist Organization". www.treasury.gov. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
- ^ Kucinich Questions the President On US Trained Insurgents In Iran: Sends Letter To President Bush Archived 2006-05-25 at the Wayback Machine, Dennis Kucinich, April 18, 2006
- ^ Hersh, Seymour M. (November 20, 2006). "The Next Act". The New Yorker.
- ^ a b Agence France Presse (AFP). "PKK commander says Washington 'has contact' with Kurdish rebels fighting Iran". The Daily Star Newspaper - Lebanon. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
- ^ "#07ANKARA2918". WikiLeaks. 1 September 2011. Archived from the original on 18 March 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- ^ "Kurdish leader seeks U.S. help to topple regime". The Washington Times. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
- ^ "PJAK statement accuses U.S. of supporting Turkey-Iran joint military operations". Washington Post. September 2011. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- ^ "U.S. brands anti-Iran Kurdish group terrorist". Reuters. 4 February 2009. Archived from the original on 11 November 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2016.