Kurdish Opposition Representative: Iranians Want Regime Change

Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) representative to the United Kingdom Lghman H. Ahmedi. Photo courtesy of Loghman H. Ahmedi.

LONDON, UK -- Loghman H. Ahmedi is the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) representative to the United Kingdom. In an interview with Rudaw, Ahmedi says that people in Iran are not ready to free the Iranian reformist politicians, Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, who have been under house arrest since February 2011. The Kurdish politician claims they want regime change instead.

Rudaw: Recently, the Green Movement in Iran called for demonstrations, but people didn’t answer the call. Are people not willing to risk their lives for change, or is it because of a weak opposition?

Loghman H. Ahmaedi: I believe that people in Iran in general, and particularly in Kurdistan, are ready to make tremendous sacrifices to bring about change in Iran, but the Green Movement’s call for “silent demonstrations” on the anniversary of the 25 of Bahman (Feb. 14) demonstrations failed for the same reasons the 2009-2010 demonstrations failed. First, the Green Movement does not have a leadership that people can rally behind in a way that would bring about the genuine change people desire. The call for the demonstrations the first time came in the wake of the fraudulent presidential elections in 2009. Due to the prevailing sentiment among the people who had taken part in the elections and complained that their votes had been stolen, the call for demonstrations was successful, but they didn’t yield any change.

“People in Iran in general, and particularly in Kurdistan, are ready to make tremendous sacrifices to bring about change in Iran,” This time, however, the Green Movement called for demonstrations in order put pressure on the regime to release Mousavi and Karroubi. In other words, the demands were even more modest than stolen votes. These demands do not make strategic sense given the illegitimate and undemocratic nature of the regime and in light of the fact that Mousavi and Karroubi are still adherents of the regime. Such demands naturally cannot mobilize large portions of the Iranian population. Second, the method of “silent demonstrations” has not worked before and will not work in the future either. On a related note, the goals of the demonstrations in 2009 were not clear and the goals of these new calls are too narrow and do not address the demands for democratic change. 

In short, people are ready to make sacrifices to bring about change, but they need clear objectives, effective methods and a leadership that has not been part of the ruling elite of the Islamic Republic since its establishment. Or leaders who obviously want to prolong its existence and only call for reforms in very vague terms. The root cause of the problems facing Iran, domestically and internationally, is the current regime, not specific individuals or factions within the system. As long as this is not stated unequivocally, there will be no countrywide movement with sufficient popular support for meaningful change. 

The opposition, including our party, is meeting with increased frequency to discuss these issues and we are getting closer to reaching an agreement on some common denominators. We are confident that this regime will fall and it is important that all democratic forces cooperate and work more closely to bring about change. 

Rudaw: Who do the Kurdish parties suspect of being behind the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists and government officials? Are Kurdish parties involved in the killing of government officials and security people?

Loghman H. Ahmedi: We prefer not to speculate on this issue. However, the regime in Tehran has carried out several assassinations both inside and outside of Iran, targeting dissidents and foreign state officials and citizens. For example, the regime assassinated two of our party leaders, Dr. Ghassemlou and Dr. Sharafkandi, as well as several leading members of our party on European soil. We oppose terrorism as a matter of principle. This is a widely shared principle among Kurdish opposition groups. Furthermore, our long-term objective is democracy in Iran. No organization that strives for democracy could have an interest in targeting Iranian nuclear scientists.

“We oppose terrorism as a matter of principle.”Rudaw: Iran is planning to hold parliamentary elections in March amidst tensions between the conservatives, especially the president and the supporters of the supreme leader. Do you think this could lead to new unrest? And could this unrest benefit the Iranian Kurds?

Loghman H. Ahmedi: It is hard to predict whether the elections in March will lead to new demonstrations. Most of the opposition groups, both inside and outside of Iran, have called for a boycott of the elections. Whatever the final outcome, there is no doubt that widespread demonstrations will weaken the regime and benefit the people of Iran, regardless of ethnic and religious background.   

Rudaw: What is the position of the Kurds on the upcoming elections? In the last election, many minorities supported reformist candidates despite the call for a boycott.

Loghman H. Ahmedi: The Kurds did not support any reformist candidate during the last election. There were some minor Kurdish organizations that urged people to support Karroubi because he had stated in very vague terms that he wanted to solve some of the issues and difficulties that the different nations in Iran face. However, our party and most of the other Kurdish political parties called for a boycott and we know that in Kurdistan the turnout was very low, despite claims by the regime that it was high. As I mentioned earlier, most opposition parties, including the Kurdish ones, have called for a boycott of this election. We believe that participation in an undemocratic election, in which the majority of candidates have been banned from running and the remaining ones have been handpicked by the ruling theocracy, would only lend legitimacy to the regime. 

Rudaw: Currently, there are Kurdish MPs in the Iranian Parliament. What kind of parties do they represent and do they do anything for the Kurds? Are they like the pro-Kurdish BDP party in the Turkish Parliament or the Kurdish parties in the Iraqi Parliament?

Loghman H. Ahmedi: The Kurdish members of the Iranian Majlis (Parliament) are not affiliated with any Kurdish opposition party. Apparently, some of them prefer to work within the existing system. They also have formed the Kurdish Unity Front, which in the past has been close to the reformist faction of the regime, but recently they issued a statement calling for a boycott of this election. We do not believe that they have been able to accomplish anything for the Kurdish people in Iranian Kurdistan, either economically, socially or politically. In the past, some of them have been openly critical of various aspects of the regime’s policies towards the Kurds, but these people have often lost or been banned from running again. Even though the BDP faces many difficulties in Turkey, it would be impossible to organize and run an organization like the BDP in Iran. The political, economic, social and military structures in Iran effectively exclude any meaningful participation in the affairs of the country – let alone participation for furthering Kurdish interests. If a Kurd in Iran would say or do some of the things that the BDP politicians do, they would face execution.

“If a Kurd in Iran would say or do some of the things that the BDP politicians do, they would face execution.”Rudaw: Why don’t the Kurdish and Iranian opposition follow a similar path as the Syrian opposition has; for example, creating something similar to the Syrian National Council and the Syrian Freedom Army?

Loghman H. Ahmedi: We currently have an umbrella organization that represents the different nations in Iran called the Congress of Nationalities for a Federal Iran. Kurds, Arabs, Baloch, Azeri Turks, Turkoman and Bakhtiaris are represented by 17 organizations in the congress. Unfortunately, so far there is no Persian organization in the congress. But as I mentioned earlier, we are having frequent talks and negotiations with all opposition parties to create a more united opposition movement. 

Rudaw: There is a lot of speculation going on about a possible attack against Iran. Some claim this would unite the Iranian people in favor of the regime, as happened during the Iran-Iraq war. Do you think an attack may help the Iranian government to keep its hold to power?

Loghman H. Ahmedi: Despite all the rhetoric, I really do not believe that an attack against Iran is imminent. Iran is a multinational country. A clear majority of the Iranian population has been subject to decades of brutal oppression and would never unite behind a regime that oppresses them, no matter who attacks the regime’s nuclear facilities. Why would the Kurds, Arabs, Turks, Balochis and other nations who are humiliated and oppressed on a daily basis by this regime unite behind it? In the Iranian context, such a prediction is simply wrong and defies human rationality. Even if the regime would be able to rally some portion of the population behind itself, I think such an effect would only be short-lived. If history teaches us anything, it is that dictatorships will not endure forever. The current regime in Iran is no exception to that rule. The mortal enemy of the Iranian regime is the tyrannical system of government that it rests on, which contains the seeds of its own destruction. This is the parameter that will determine the fate of the regime, but limited attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities will only be counterproductive for the opposition’s goals of bringing about regime change.