Society of Revolutionary Toilers of Iranian Kurdistan (Komala)

The Society of Revolutionary Toilers of Iranian Kurdistan is a left-wing Iranian political party and militant group established in 1969 by Kurdish university students. The goal of the group was to promote Kurdish rights with a wide platform of economic and social reforms, and to advocate for an ouster of the authoritarian Pahlavi Dynasty led by Mohammad Reza Shah. The group operated underground against the monarchy and played an active role in the Iranian Revolution, despite failing to establish the socialist state they had desired. Komala merged with the Communist Party of Iran in the 1980s, before splitting again in 2000. The modern Komala has largely rejected its formerly militant approach in favor of electoral reformism towards a socialist state. The current platform espouses support for democratization, social justice, progressive labor reforms, and the rights of Kurdish citizens. One of the founders was Fuad Soltani, a Kurdish figure who was assassinated by the Islamic Regime militants in 1979. Currently, Komala is led by Abdullah Mohtadi and the party’s physical base is in Iraqi Kurdistan.