According to Ersin Çaksu’s report, since its founding in 1946 the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) has taken sides against the four parts of Kurdistan, especially in Iraqi Kurdistan.
By treating the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Yazidis and North-East Syria as enemies, the KDP, in cooperation with the Turkish state, is preparing a war which will destroy all the achievements of the Kurdish people.
History of Barzani’s hostility towards the Kurds
The Barzani family’s anti-Kurd stance dates back to long before the formation of the KDP.
For much of its history, the KDP, being placed on the borders which divide Kurdistan into four parts, has been at war against Kurdish forces, who struggle for freedom, in cooperation with colonialist states in Kurdistan.
The Barzani family started its rise to prominence when the Ottoman Empire removed Kurdish principalities due to its centralisation policy in the 19th century.
From Naqshbandi membership to dynasty: Barzani family
It is estimated that the Barzani family migrated from Mosul to the Barzan region and settled there with the permission of the Nehrî family, via the Naqshbandi sheikhdom.
Abduselam took over the sheikhdom after his father or brother Taceddin, the first sheikh of the Barzan region. However, he faced Sheikh Ubeydullah Nehrî’s reaction on the grounds that he declared himself sheikh without the permission of Nehrî.
After Abdulselam ran away due to Sheikh Ubeydullah’s reaction, his son Muhammed became sheikh.
Their first target was the Kurds
The Barzani family gained strength and carried out its first wars against old Kurdish tribes in the Behdinan region. The family – who declared war against tribes such as the Zêberi, Bradosti, Surçi, Herki and Berwari – contradicted the Ottoman Empire.
Due to those contradictions, Sheikh Ebdulselam was executed in Mousol in 1916 and Ehmed became sheikh. Afterwards, he declared war against tribes in Behdinan, especially the Bradostî tribe. The Barzani family then declared war against several tribes in the region. Thus, Britain and various forces in Iraq interfered in the region.
After Britain’s attacks, Sheikh Ehmed and Molla Mistefa Barzani took shelter in the Turkish state.
Though Mollah Mistefa Barzani arrived in Iranian Kurdistan (Rojhilat) in 1945, he took a military position in the Mahabad Republic, founded in 1946. He then went to the Soviet Union when the Iranian regime sided against the Mahabad Republic.
Inspired by the Iran-KDP, İbrahim Ehmed founded the Iraq-KDP in 1946. Following Ebdulkerim Kasim’s rise to power in Iraqi Kurdistan, Mollah Mistefa Barzani returned to Iraq after 11 years in exile.
Liquidation process
After returning to Iraqi Kurdistan, Mollah Barzani launched a liquidation process in the party and sided against other Kurdish forces. Mistefa was discharged from the party in 1964 because he was accused of signing a ceasefire agreement without the approval of the politburo.
Mistefa did not recognise the decision and held a new party congress. The new congress elected a politburo consisting of his followers.
KDP’s war policies
After taking over the party, Mistefe Barzani waged war against Kurds in every part of Kurdistan, cooperating with various forces in the region. Since then, the KDP, ruled by the Barzani family, has implemented the same policies against Kurds. According to ANF’s report, the KDP has waged war against the Kurds since the first war against the Iran-KDP.
Finally, the KDP created the Sinjar agreement with the Iraqi government in October of this year, to destroy the system established by Yazidi people.
The KDP watches for an opportunity to wage war against the PKK, since the Turkish government attacked the Kurdish Freedom Movement in Iraqi Kurdistan, North-East Syria and Northern Kurdistan (eastern Turkey). Despite the warnings and reactions of the Kurdish people, the KDP is preparing a war at the behest of Turkey.
