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TEHRAN, Jan 2 (AFP) - 14h18 - Thousands of
ethnic Kurds in Iran, headed by a prominent former
MP, have created a movement aimed at obtaining
rights they say have been "neglected" by the Islamic
Republic during the past 26 years.
"A large number of prominent Kurdish activists and
NGOs have come together in an independent front to
peacefully demand the rights that the Kurds have
been denied," the founder of the reformist Kurdish
United Front, Bahaeddin Adab told reporters Monday.
One of the group's aims was "to raise awareness
among Kurds of their rights and help them choose the
right representatives in town councils and the
parliament as these are the only ways they can get
through to the authority," Adab said.
Adab, an outspoken former MP who was barred from
running again in 2004 when the Guardians Council
disqualified him and thousands of other candidates,
said the group had attracted around 3,000
supporters.
He insisted that the front was not a formal
political party or NGO, which need to be authorized
by the state if they are to advertise, hold meetings
and take new members.
Rights activists including the Nobel peace laureate
Shirin Ebadi have complained of obstruction by the
interior ministry that is in charge of issuing
permits for such organizations.
"The Kurds have had very little say in the decisions
made about them and they have been denied their
rights mentioned in the constitution," he said,
citing the soaring unemployment and addiction rates
in Kurdish populated provinces and the restrictions
on Kurdish language press.
One of the largest ethnic groups in Iran, more than
six million Kurds live in the western border
provinces, which are among the most underdeveloped
in Iran.
Adab said the Front would not pursue separatist
goals, unlike most Kurdish opposition parties which
seek autonomy and self-determination in a region
which has large Kurdish populations in neighboring
Iraq and Turkey.
"We insist on working within the framework of law
and avoiding violence," he said, adding that the
decision was hastened by August 2005 clashes with
authorities in at least two western provinces with a
substantial Kurdish population.
Several Kurdish rights activists and journalists
have been arrested and jailed in past years, with a
number of them given long jail sentences following
the recent clashes.
The Kurds had a high turnout at the presidential
elections that swept reformist Mohammad Khatami to
office in 1997 and 2001.
But according to Adab, "the government did not do
enough to meet the Kurds' demands and they showed
their dissatisfaction by not taking part at the
(recent) election".
He hoped the government would accept the newly
formed "peaceful" group and not try to widen the gap
by taking security measures in the region, "as it
will cost both the authority and the people".
"You cannot keep a country together by bullying. If
there is freedom and equality, separatist movements
die," he added.
Among the Kurdish parties which are banned in Iran
are The Kurdistan Organization of Communist Party of
Iran (Komala) and the Democratic Party of Iranian
Kurdistan, which are based abroad but have
sympathizers in Iran.
Iranian authorities say a Kurdish rebel group known
as Pejak is linked to the outlawed Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK) in Turkey.
AFP
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