There are some 5 million Kurds in Iran, about 7 percent of the population. They are concentrated in the northwestern part of the country. Iranian Kurds have historically suffered discrimination based on language, culture, and religion, as has the Kurdish population in Iraq, Turkey, Syria, and the former Soviet Union.

The conflicts began when Iranian police shot dead Shivan Qaderi in the city of Mahabad. Government officials claim they were pursuing the youth as a criminal, but Kurdish organizations have identified him as a Kurdish rights activist. Protests spread to at least a dozen predominantly Kurdish cities. News of Qaderi’s slaying was broadcast on Kurdish-language television from Iraq.

Estimates range from 17 to 30 Kurds killed in the protests in Mahabad, along with four to six Iranian security personnel. Hundreds were arrested. Several Kurdish activists were subsequently detained and two Kurdish-language newspapers in the city were shut down.

Alireza Jamshidi, a representative of the governor of Iranian Kurdistan, told the Iranian Student News Agency that in the city of Sanandaj a rally against police violence took place August 3, and that attacks were later carried out against government buildings. The police killed two protesters and arrested 142, of whom 100 were later released. Jamshidi also reported that markets and shops were entirely closed down in several cities on August 7.

Amin Sha’bani, a member of the majles (Iranian parliament) from Sanandaj, told the Mehr news agency in Iran that high unemployment among Kurdish youth was a factor in their joining the demonstrations. He noted that Kurds overwhelmingly belong to the Sunni branch of Islam, but that the Iranian government cabinet has not included them, only Shiites. “This is not asking for ethnic quotas,” he said, “but a Kurd can better understand the problems of the region inhabited by Kurds, and can make better decisions.”

Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Hamid Reza Asefi charged that the U.S. and British governments were intervening to inflame “separatist” protests. The Associated Press reported August 17 that Iranian state television announced the arrest of individuals accused of working with British intelligence services to incite disturbances in Khuzestan, an area of Iran populated by Arabs, another oppressed nationality. In late July government forces attacked demonstrators in the predominantly Arab-Iranian city of Ahvaz.

The response by Washington, which is waging a campaign to force the Iranian government to end its nuclear power program, has so far been muted. In an August 8 statement, the U.S. State Department said, “We call on the Iranian authorities to show restraint and to respect the peaceful exercise by the Iranian people of their democratic rights.”

Ma’mud Shirvani contributed to this article.
 
 
Related articles:
Nuclear technology is key to Iran’s efforts to expand electrification  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home