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East
Kurdistan-London (KurdishMedia.com) 10 March 2004: Large
pan-Kurdish demonstrations have taken place in eastern
(Iranian-occupied) Kurdistan in recent days.
After the signing of the new Iraqi constitution, which
specifically recognized the establishment of a Kurdish federal
unit with an explicitly Kurdish government in Article 53,
spontaneous pan-Kurdish demonstrations broke out in various cities
throughout eastern Kurdistan, including Mahabad, Sanandaj,
Mariwan, Bana, and Sardasht. Crowds of Kurds took to the streets
to raise Kurdistan flags and sing the Kurdish national anthem.
In some cities, these demonstrations lasted until midnight.
According to the estimates of the Democratic Party of Iranian
Kurdistan (PDKI), there were approximately 50,000 involved in the
demonstration in Mahabad and 10,000 in Mariwan.
The most sizable demonstration took place in Mahabad, where a
group of demonstrators visited the grave of Qazi Mohammed. A major
incident took place in Mariwan, where demonstrators toppled a
statue erected by the Islamic regime of a young man who blew
himself up during the Iran-Iraq war. Supporters of the regime
believed that this young suicide bomber was a model of patriotism.
The Iranian regime’s forces tried to disperse the demonstrators,
in some cases opening fire and seriously wounding an unknown
number of them demonstrators. An unknown number of demonstrators
were also detained by the regime’s forces, and cities were put
under curfew and transportation between cities has been
restricted.
This is the second time in just over a month that the masses in
eastern Kurdistan have publicly responded to events in Iraqi
Kurdistan with patriotic actions. Following the Hewler terrorist
attacks of 1 February 2004, large memorial services were held in
eastern Kurdistan in honor of the martyrs of this attack, and
these events were attended by some Kurdish members of the Iranian
parliament.
Unfortunately, the world media has chosen not to focus on the
recent developments in eastern Kurdistan as the Kurds under the
occupation of the Islamist dictatorship of Iran fight for human
rights and freedom. As the Iranian regime faces increasing
pressure from the outside due to its weapons programs and from the
inside as the masses are more eager to fight their oppressors, it
is apparent to all that the days of the Islamist regime are
numbered. The statue in Mariwan is not the last to fall in
Iranian-occupied Kurdistan. |