Iran’s Kurdish Factions Blame Each Other for Stalled Talks

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - After two years of talks to unify the divided Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran the process has stalled, with the two negotiating sides accusing each other of undermining the unification process.

The Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) and its breakaway Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) recently made progress in calming relations after their partition in 2006. With no date set for unification, talks came to a complete halt earlier this year, reportedly due to the publication of KDP’s so called “unification proposal.”

The two factions initially decided not to publicize the details of their agreements. But the KDP later decided to make it available to the public.

Taimour Mustafayi, a senior member of the KDPI, said the publication of the terms of agreement by the KDP had an “immediate impact” on the ongoing negotiations and “strengthened the suspicions that the KDP was not fully committed to unification.”

“We agreed earlier not to publish the details,” Mustafayi said, “since we were aware of the fact that many outside forces openly opposed the union and would try to break it.”

But the KDP leadership defended its decision of going public with the details, accusing the KDPI of being “too slow” in addressing the issue.

“We were obliged to tell the public why the unification was delayed,” said Qadir Wria, a senior member of the KDP. “We believe that the public had a right to know about the details.”

In recent years, both factions have presented different plans for a possible unification, rejecting earlier proposals put forward by the opposing side.

The KDPI states that the two factions should adopt the plans sanctioned in the party’s 13th convention, which was held before their split.

The KDP, however, discards this as “outdated” and wants the two factions to come together and set a date for the party’s 16th convention. The next step would be to decide on a new name for the unified party.

The KDPI rejects these proposals and instead requests a merger before the convention.

The KDPI’s Mustafayi agrees that the proposal contains “outdated items,” but believes the KDP should come forward and accept it “for the good of the cause.”

The KDPI seeks to keep the official name, the party logo, the flag and the official slogan, even after unification. Not surprisingly, this has been challenged by the KDP.

Despite the setbacks, Mustafayi believes talks will resume and the unification will go ahead.

“This is what everyone, including ordinary Kurds in Iranian Kurdistan and here, demand and expect us to do,” he added.

In late 2006, Iran’s Kurdistan Democratic Party split after years of internal conflict. In the following years, relations deteriorated, often as their respective media outlets directed accusations at each other.

Since 2011, regular talks have been held between the two sides for a reunification.