On Wednesday 9 November 2005, the SI Working Group on the Kurdish Question, met in London to review current developments affecting the Kurdish people, with first hand reports on their respective national situations by delegates of SI member parties from: the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, PUK, of Iraq; the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, and the Democratic People’s Party, DEHAP, from Turkey, as well as from representatives of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, KDP, of Iraq and the Komala Party of Iran which had been invited as guests.
Participants at the meeting had the opportunity to discuss in detail the outcome of the referendum on the Iraqi constitution, the implications for the Kurds in Turkey of the membership negotiations with the EU, and the grave situation affecting the Kurds in Iran following the latest repressive actions by the Iranian regime.
The Working Group recognised the key role played by the Kurdish parties in Iraq in the development and strengthening of democracy and its institutions, expressing its concern over the ongoing terrorist activities intent on destabilising the country; welcomed the advances made by the Kurdish political forces in Turkey in uniting to form one single political party, the Democratic Society Party; and deplored the latest acts of aggression and grave human rights violations carried out by the Iranian government against its Kurdish population. At the same time the Working Group welcomed the increased cooperation among the Iranian Kurdish groups and the formation earlier this year of the Congress of Nationalities for a Democratic Iran, with the common goal of seeking a federal solution for the nationalities question in that country.
A number of proposals and initiatives by the Socialist International were discussed to underline the International’s solidarity with the Kurdish people and to support their political efforts to improve the conditions in which they live today. These included fact-finding missions, the circulation of information in regard to the situation of the Kurds, and the organisation of an SI Conference on Kurdish Issues.