Relations between KDP and PKK

In Mahabad, 1945, Iranian-occupied Kurdistan, Qazi Muhammad formed a new party which he described as a Democratic Kurdish Party. During these times, the ongoing nationalistic powers of Rojhelat was strengthen by the forces of the Barzani clan, who was led by Mullah Mustafa Barzani, a fugitive of the Iraqi authorities after a failed coup in Iraqi-occupied Kurdistan. Looking at the relationship between Qazi Muhammad and Mustafa Barzani, it is known to have been complicated Let’s take a look at the British author David McDowall’s book “Modern history of the Kurds” page 242 where he writes that the relations between Barzani and Qazi Muhammad in reality wasn’t easy. This came after that Mustafa Barzani showed interest in forming a Barzani based dispensation of the KDP, in Bashur. the Barzanis did form a counterpart of Qazi’s party in Bashur just the opposite to what Qazi had instructed Barzani to do.

02:19 - The communists, which at the time were very powerful in Bashur, opposed Barzani’s ambition to form a KDP in Bashur, arguing for that this would lead to more fragmentation between the Iraqi-Iranian border of Kurdistan. In time though, the communists would give in, they joined the Barzanis in Bashur and KDP was formed as the party held it’s first congress in Baghdad 16th of august 1946. Mustafa Barzani was named president-in-exile. Later that year as the Mahabad republic was overthrown and Qazi Muhammad was executed by Iran Mustafa Barzani fled to the Soviet union and was years later welcomed back by the new Iraqi regime, lead by Abd Al-Karim Qasim, since then the KDP, influenced under the Barzanis, has formed a stronger and stronger grip over Iraqi- occupied Kurdistan. 30 years later in Bakur (Turkish-occupied Kurdistan), the PKK organization was formed in 1978 as a result of ongoing Turkish oppression of the Kurdish people in Bakur, Turkish-occupied Kurdistan.

03:28 - The PKK movement went into a guerilla war with Turkey in 1984 operating with bases from mainly Rojava, Bashur and Lebanon. Abdullah Öcalan, the PKK-leader got himself a holy status among Kurds, especially within his own party, after Turkey imprisoned him in 1999. But the KDP and PKK engaged with each other years before that, as early as 1981, when PKK signed an agreement with the KDP, giving the PKK free transit rights and right to build bases in KDP territory. The PKK would expand their camps in Iraqi-occupied Kurdistan, something that worried Turkey and in time, Turkish military would pressure the KDP. The two parts, Abdullah Öcalan and Massoud Barzani, son of Mustafa Barzani met in 1984 and 1985 in Damascus to discuss the current situation.

04:23 - It is, however, most commonly accepted that the two parts never agreed on anything that would bring them forward in their relationship. Instead, the PKK signed an agreement with the rival party PUK in 1988, an agreement that would hold on all the way into the first Kurdish civil war in 1994 when PKK stood on the side of PUK backed by Iran versus the KDP backed by Turkey. The Turkish support would leave traces on KDP for a long time to come. Turkey started their offensive in Bashur, Iraqi occupied Kurdistan. In the beginning of the Kurdish Civil War Turkey launched the so called Operation Steel, with the goal to extinguish the PKK from Iraqi-occupied Kurdistan.

05:25 - In may 3th, a delegation from the KDP agreed with Turkey to forbid PKK from keeping their bases in Bashur, Iraqi Occupied Kurdistan, the very next day Turkish armed forces left Bashur. For the upcoming years between 1994 and 1996, the PUK and KDP would be busy fighting each other in the first Kurdish civil war. The infamous battle of Hewler in 1996 sums up the toxic spirit between the Kurdish parties of these times. In the winter of 1997, PKK and KDP clashed again as PKK became a more involved part in the civil war. As a PUK ally still located in Bashur, the PKK were targeted by the KDP.

06:10 - Turkey saw the Kurdish civil war as an opportunity to destroy PKK. They launched Operation Hammer in the KRG in may 1997. The operation got green light from KDP and caused PKK heavy casualties but was in the end unsuccessful as PKK kept their presence in Iraqi-occupied Kurdistan. A few months later, Turkey reentered Bashur, saying that they only wanted to bring a cease-fire between KDP and PUK. The operation resulted in heavy PKK and PUK casualties.

06:48 - The civil war would in time end as US came in to negotiate a cease- fire between PUK and KDP, temporary ending the conflicts between those parties but also between Öcalan and Barzani, at least for the moment. In the negotiations between PUK and KDP, one of the main points was to prevent PKK from using areas in Bashur, something that never happened. Since we know PKK even today is present in these areas. The conflict between the PKK and KDP has become more apparent since the start of the Syrian revolution. Basically, the Kurdish Syrian opposition parties have always been supported by the PKK, the KDP or the PUK.

07:36 - Over the past three decades, the PKK has become the strongest party in western Kurdistan due to Öcalan’s presence in Rojava until 1999. The PKK has also given Rojava-Kurds prominent positions in its hierarchy, for example Dr Bahoz Erdal and Mazloum Kobane Abdi who both are from Rojava. Therefor it was unsurprising that the PYD, with it’s military wing YPG, who has ties with the PKK, became the leading Kurdish party in Syria. By now, the differences between the KDP and the PKK was clear. While the KDP preached for an independent Kurdistan in Bashur of the regions Nineveh, Dohuk, Hewler, Kirkuk, Slemani and parts of Diyala.

08:25 - The PKK for the moment renounces the independent idéa. In late 2020, the situation between PKK and KDP escalated once more. This happened after years of disagreements between the Kurdish umbrella organizations National Kurdish Council which is affiliated by KDP and the People’s council of West Kurdistan affiliated to the government in Rojava. As a result of shown reluctance to cooperate, residents in Qamishli in the north-east part of Rojava organized a demonstration, calling for unity among the Kurdish political parties. The two parts threw accusations against each other.

09:14 - The PYD was accused by Barzani to cooperate with the regime in Damaskus while the KDP was accused by Rojava of doing the same with Ankara. All of these accusations have come after that the both sides desperately tried to cooperate, not at least when they formed the Kurdish Supreme Comittée in Hewler which worked as a governing body between the KDP and the PYD with equal members from the two sides in their goal to lead the Kurdish movement together. KNC, lead by Barzani later withdrew from the cooperation because of clashes between YPG and a group of protestors in Amuda where at least 6 people were killed. In 8th of November, PKK called the relationship between KDP and AKP problematic and harmful. Turkey had by then many times fought PKK in Qandil without any response from KRG or the KDP party.

10:15 - The YPG forces stood without any backup from their alleged Kurdish brothers and sisters within Peshmerga as neither KRG or KDP defended Afrin or central northern Rojava from Turkey in 2018 and 2019. Defenders of these policies claim that the KDP has their hands tight. Arguing that they can’t stand up against a heavy power as Turkey since Turkey is way to powerful, and that this would destroy the relationship between KDP and Turkey. Critics calls KDP traitors and say that fighting against Kurds with cooperation of one of Kurds biggest enemies of all time, is a clear act of treason, which can’t be justified. The absolute recent events between the KDP and the PKK, where several fighters from both sides was injured or killed in clashes is worrying many people that we might see a second Kurdish civil war.

11:18 - Of course, every part know that a Kurdish civil war only would cause us rather than help us, and in our next video, we will discuss if we can expect a civil war or not. Until then, don’t forget to like this video, comment your opinion down below and hit the subscribe button, make sure that you don’t miss any further videos on this channel. .