WKI Protests Iranian Regime’s Violent Repression of Kurdish Demonstrators Calls for International Inquiry into Disturbances which Left Dozens Killed and Injured
Washington, D.C. – On February 18, 1999, thousands of Kurdish demonstrators in Teheran protested Turkey’s arrest of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan. The demonstration was allowed by Iranian authorities who hoped participants would denounce the United States and Israel for roles in Ocalan’s capture. Over the next several days, similar protests took place throughout Iranian Kurdistan. On February 20, in Sanandaj, the second largest Kurdish city of Iran, thousands of Ocalan supporters gathered in the main square, where denunciations of Turkey soon turned into slogans against the Islamic regime. Unprepared for the large and hostile crowd, Revolutionary Guards, opened fire indiscriminately.
International media sources reported gunfire in Sanandaj, yet none could confirm casualty figures. Hurriyet, a Turkish newspaper, reported six deaths and hundreds wounded in Sanandaj, indicating the disturbances led to closure of some checkpoints along Iran’s border with Turkey. A local political party reported 13 dead. Eyewitnesses who fled Sanandaj reported hospitals overflowing with dozens of dead and wounded. Hundreds were reportedly arrested or disappeared. Government buildings and property was reportedly destroyed and several soldiers killed or wounded. In the aftermath, witnesses reported government workers cleaning blood and body parts from the city square. Others confrontations and demonstrations were reported in Mahabad, Saqez, Sardasht, Bukan, Baneh, Mariavan, Kermanshah and Kamiaran. International wire services reported two deaths in Urmia.
While impossible for independent journalists to verify figures due to restricted access, it seems clear that major disturbances took place. That pro-Ocalan demonstrations erupted into protests against the Islamic regime points to both the transnational volatility of Kurdish issues and underlying dissatisfaction of Iranian Kurds with the regime.
The Washington Kurdish Institute strongly condemns the use of violence and repression by the Islamic regime of Iran. WKI calls for the release of individuals detained during the demonstrations and for abolition of all restrictive laws and decrees, especially those applied only in Kurdish regions. WKI deplores widespread discrimination against Kurds on ethnic and religious grounds (Kurds are predominantly Sunni Muslims). WKI calls on the international community and Clinton administration to investigate reports of violence and to undertake appropriate responses. Such repression must be considered by all governments in the broader context of developing bilateral relations with the Iranian regime.