IRANIAN KURDS ORGANIZING AGAINST TEHRAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KIRKUK 000101

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

BAGHDAD FOR POL, PAO, ROL COORDINATOR, NCT, IRMO, USAID

E.O. 12958: DECL: 4/25/2016
TAGS: PINS PHUM PNAT PREF PREL PINR PGOV KDEM KCOR
KISL, IZ, IR
SUBJECT: IRANIAN KURDS ORGANIZING AGAINST TEHRAN

REF: KIRKUK 99

KIRKUK 00000101 001.2 OF 002


CLASSIFIED BY: JBIGUS, PRT LEADER, REO Kirkuk, DoS.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)




1. (C) SUMMARY. According to an Iranian journalist in hiding
in Northern Iraq, Iranian President Ahmadinejad has been
cracking down on the Kurds in Iran and has caused souring
relations between the Iranian Government and minorities. The
Iranian Government under Ahmadinejad has become more religious,
yet less respectful of civil society and human rights. Iranian
Kurds remain politically active through secret organizations and
parties. The bulk of the Iranian Kurd population is young,
politically active, and prone to revolt. Most Iranian Kurds
rely on the internet to communicate and understand developments.
END SUMMARY.


2. (C) Mahdeh Ahmadi, a freelance journalist who writes
political stories about Iranian Kurds and is now living in
northern Iraq, shared his views on the current Iranian regime
with PRT on April 4. Ahmadi has asked PRT for political asylum
in the U.S.(REFTEL). After consulting with Baghdad RefCoord,
PRT has advised Ahmadi to contact UNHCR.

Kurds Resisting Ahmadinejad Government
--------------


3. (C) Ahmadi bemoaned that Iranian President Ahmadinejad
marked the end of the reformist era in Iranian politics. He
said that while the Kurds had enjoyed more rights under the
reformists, Ahmadinejad was cracking down on the Kurds. Ahmadi
attributed the the Iranian administration's souring relations
with all minority groups to Ahmadinejad. Iranian minorities
complained that the government was more religious, yet less
respectful of civil society and human rights.


4. (C) Ahmadi believed that the Iranian Government was trying
to smother all groups that protested against the regime,
suppressing demonstrations by Kurds, Arabs, and Turkoman. He
complained that Iranian authorities were responding brutally to
Kurdish demonstrations with arrests and killings. Kurds
recently held separate demonstrations in Simr and Mako, and the
Government stifled them. He lamented that Kurdish political
parties remained outlawed. Ahmadi said the Iranian Government
had organized a committee to understand and mitigate minority
demonstrations, but it was ineffective.


5. (C) Ahmadi characterized the Kurds in Sinna and Mahabad as
highly educated and outspoken about political, social, and human
rights abuses. He claimed Iranian Kurds were organizing to
remove Ahmadinejad.

Iranian Kurds Covertly Organize Political Parties
-------------- --------------


6. (C) When asked how Iranian Kurds organized themselves
politically, Ahmadi said they were active in secret
organizations and parties. He said the KDP-I (Kurdistan
Democratic Party - Iran) was the oldest and largest Iranian-Kurd
political party inside and outside of Iran.


7. (C) As for the ties between the KDP-I and the Iraqi KDP,
Ahmadi said the two parties shared good but "complicated"
relations. The parties reportedly coordinated on the secret
level and transferred academics and other professionals back and
forth to educate and support one another. Ahmadi claimed that
KDP leader Masud Barzani was a more popular leader among the
Kurds in Iran than PUK head Jalal Talabani because of Barzani's
positions on Kurdish nationalism. Ahmadi asserted that the PUK,
however, is more popular among the educated and younger Iranian
Kurds. The PUK supported several Kurdish cultural groups and
newspapers in Iran.


8. (C) Ahmadi told us that several Iraqi Kurd political party
representatives had approached him to join their parties since
he arrived in Iraq in January, but he declined. As a
journalist, he preferred to avoid political party affiliation
because he refused to be bound by political party lines or
agendas. Ahmadi boasted that he had become a respected
journalist because he resisted the Iranian regime in jail and
was politically independent.

Mostly Young Activists Communicating Via Internet
-------------- --------------


9. (C) Ahmadi said the bulk of the Iranian Kurd population is
young and politically active. The youth are angry and prone to
revolt, while the older generation is more religious. When

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asked about future Iranian Kurdish leaders, he said there were
many Kurds becoming leaders of student unions, NGO's, and civil
society in Iran. Ahmadi noted, however, that the most popular
Kurd leaders lived outside Iran.


10. (C) Ahmadi said most Iranian Kurds relied on the internet
for communication and information about what is going on in the
world. He said that the Iranian Government prohibits Kurds
from owning satellite dishes, but those in the mountains had
dishes anyway and mostly watched "Rosh TV," which focused on
Iranian Kurdish issues. Ahmadi said Rosh TV and "Voice of
America" radio were effective outlets to circulate information.

Comment
--------------


11. (C) Ahmadi appeared familiar with U.S. positions on Iran
and on human rights and may have reported this information to
influence, as well as inform us of events on the ground. He
certainly spoke from a Kurdish minority, secular optic. He has
expressed a desire to obtain political asylum in the United
States, and may be slanting his story in hopes of maximizing his
chances. Ahmadi's view that Iranian Kurds revere Masud Barzani
as the top Kurdish leader, while preferring the PUK's political
philosophy is noteworthy. Although we have no strong reason to
doubt Ahmadi's reporting, our lack of regular dialogue with
Iranian Kurds limits our ability to verify his views.
BIGUS