PDKI’s Politburo Statement Remembering the Loss of Dr. Sadegh Sharafkandi, the Party’s Secretary-general and His Associates Ten Years Later

 September 2002

17^th of September 2002, 10 years has elapsed from the assassination of Dr. Sadegh Sharafkandi, the Secretary-general of PDKI, Fatah Abdouli, a member of Central Committee and the Party’s international representative, Homayoun Ardalan, the Party’s representative in Germany, and Nouri Dehkurdi a friend of the Party by the mercenaries of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

In the evening of Tuesday September 17^th, while a few hours after the completion of the Socialist International’s sessions in Berlin Dr. Sharafkandi and his associates were discussing the circumstances of the country and the need for further alliance of the Iranian forces with a number of Iranian opposition figures in a restaurant,  were attacked and gunned down by several trained terrorists of Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) with the direct decree and order of the highest authorities of the regime.

Dr. Sharafkandi had taken on the Party’s top position after the assassination of Dr. Ghassemlou, then the Secretary-general.  In this position with his ability and creativity, he very soon proved that he really deserved the succession of an enlightened and competent leader such as Dr. Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou.  Dr. Sharafkandi in this imperative responsibility acted so intelligibly and comprehensibly that in a short period, he faded away the despondency and despair from all those people that had fallen into by the loss of Dr. Ghassemlou.  At the meantime, he made the regime which believed with exterminating Dr. Ghassemlou Democratic Party will demolish or face leadership dilemma, confront another wave of apprehension.  Accordingly, the regime in Tehran without learning a lesson from its past miscalculations, ordered the elimination of Dr. Sharafkandi from its highest hierarchy, and conducted this terrorist act in Berlin by its sinful assassins. 

The assassination of Dr. Sharafkandi, no doubts, resulted in a major loss for PDKI in particular and the Kurdish resistance in general.  It also led to an enormous grief for the Kurdish nation, all the Iranian freedom activists, and all the Party’s friends world wide.  That is why it has attracted such an extensive international reflection and coverage.

The police and judicial authorities very seriously pursued the terrorists, and with the custody and prosecution of the perpetrators, they opened the files of Mykonos tragedy which attracted so much public opinion towards the case in the process that took more than 3 years.  The court at last delivered the final verdict in April 10, 1997 in regards to the crimes of the perpetrators of the terror, including the regime’s high ranking officials as the order-givers of the crime, and it revealed once and for all the terrorist image of this regime to the world public opinion.  In this way, it nullified all the regime’s attempts to derail the procedures of the court or hijack public opinion to escape the punishments of such an offence.  Rather, this time it exposed the terrorist regime’s true image of deceit with strong evidence and according to the decision of a credible court in a European country.  The initiatives of almost all the countries of the European Union to recall their embassies in Tehran in reality was the endorsement of the court’s verdict and admitting the regime’s terrorist nature.  Tehran’s threats as a counter-action to the verdict, despite having effects on the position of many of these countries, neither affected the importance of the verdict nor did it succeed in leaving the regime with any honor or respect.

Dr Sharafkandi was a patriot and a democrat who had a strong belief in democracy.  He regarded the struggle of bringing democracy to Iran as the duty of every citizen and every Iranian freedom activist.  He considered cooperation and solidarity among patriotic Iranian forces as the key to the victory of Iranian peoples and the defeat of despotism ruling Iran.  In this regard, he worked as hard as he could, and unfortunately in the course of this struggle he sacrificed himself.

Dr. Sharafkandi, with all of his heart, felt the oppression that the Kurdish people and other peoples of Iran had been facing, and regarded the struggle aimed at eradicating such an injustice as legitimate.  He had a firm belief in the rights of the peoples of Iran to self-determination in the framework of a democratic Iran.  Meanwhile, he considered the Kurdish brothers and sisters in other countries as part of a single nation, and he would always keep the interests of the nation as his priority even at the expense of the Party interests.

Dr. Sharafkandi was a devoted revolutionary and an experienced leader who supported social justice and opposed any sorts of discrimination.  In the process of establishing social justice, he believed in socialism; still, he did not view the existing socialism without any short-coming, nor did he accept the dictatorship of proletariat.  He disagreed with some of the right-leaning leftist parties and the radicalism of some others.  He never concealed such beliefs, and he would openly spell them out; as a result, he played an important role alongside our legendary Kurdish leader Dr. Ghassemlou to adopt “Democratic Socialism” as the long-term objective of the Party.  Such attributes had granted this leader with such a revolutionary and democratic image in the real sense of the word.

Dr Sharafkandi was a political-intellectual character who devoted his life serving his nation; truth and justice were the attributes that this man was known for.  It is evident that the loss of a comrade such as Dr. Sharafkandi for PDKI and any patriotic Kurd is a major impairment.  However, with the loss of Dr. Sharafkandi, PDKI once again proved this reality that it can carry heavy wounds, but it would never bow to the enemy.  It is a Party that can heal the loss of great leaders such as Ghassemlou and Sharafkandi with collective leadership to prevent the realization of regime’s cruel intentions.

It is an honour that after 10 years of Dr. Sharafkandi’s martyrdom, friends and foes can observe that how firm the Party has stood on the difficult path of struggle; furthermore, it has enjoyed such an international and domestic prestige and credibility to the extent that it has become the trusted Party of all the people of Kurdistan.  It is disappointing that the IRI despite having a gloomy record of terror and terrorism, has not been treated and punished the way it should have been by the international community at the era of the global war against terrorism; consequently, terror and turmoil have not been abandoned by the regime, rather the forms have only changed.

In regards to the appeasing policies of some countries in regards to the IRI, the people of Iran especially in the last few years have stepped into struggle in different forms for the ousting of the despotic regime to replace it with a democratic one.  Such a struggle and resistance is so much apparent that even the high ranking officials of the regime can not conceal their fretfulness over the fragileness of their reign.  Without any doubts, the broadening of such a struggle will realize the hopes of the martyrs of freedom and it will for ever force the regime to retreat.

In the tenth anniversary of Dr. Sharafkandi and his associates’ martyrdom, once again, we renew our pledges with the souls of these comrades and all the martyrs of Kurdistan that until the attainment of their wills and wishes, we remain faithful to their objectives, and keep the flag of PDKI still standing.