Mustafa Hijri, the leader of the Democracy Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) visited the United States in early June. While visiting Washington, Mr. Hijri met with members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives to discuss the recent developments in the Kurdistan region of Iran.
Mustafa Hijri & the Democracy Party of Iranian Kurdistan
Mustafa Hijri, the Secretary General of the KDPI, was born in 1945 in the West Azerbaijan province of Iran, an area heavily populated with Kurds. He was educated at Tehran University, and was part of the mass demonstrations against the Shah in 1978.
Hijri was appointed as General Secretary of the KDPI in 1992, when the preceding General Secretary was killed. He served as General Secretary of the KDPI until 1995, and was re-elected in 2002, when the KDPI’s 12th Congress convened.
Mr. Hijri and the PDKI seek “a democratic, independent and federalized Iran,” which would give a political voice to Iran’s marginalized populations. They also champion equal rights for men and women, and religious secularism in government.
The PDKI and Iranian Kurds were admitted into the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) in 2007.
2015 Mahabad Uprisings and Iranian Nuclear Deal
In late May, Kurds in the city of Mahabad demonstrated against allegations of human rights abuse by the Iranian government. The Islamic Iranian regime responded to these Kurdish uprisings in Iran by sending government troops and paramilitary units to suppress demonstrators.
In his visit to the United States, Mr. Hijri has condemned the actions by the Iranian government and encouraged American officials to “not abandon the Kurdish nation in the face of Iranian oppression.”
Mr. Hijri’s visit comes at a crucial moment when the United States is working on securing a nuclear deal with the Islamic regime in Iran. While meeting with Senators and Representatives, Hijiri has stressed that a nuclear deal with Iran would allow the Islamic regime to “pursue destructive regional policies more aggressively.”
[Read more at UNPO]
