Shafaq News- Erbil
A group of Kurdish political and academic figures from the Kurdistan Region and the diaspora called on Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Masoud Barzani to convene an urgent meeting to form a “shared and balanced” Kurdish national reference.
The organizing committee, active for several years, includes former Kirkuk Governor Najmaldin Karim, Saad al-Din al-Mulla, Hamid Nowroz Aban, Bave Naze, Hamid Gardi, Kamal Ali, Salam Bosli, and Dilair Ali.
In a statement on Thursday, the signatories described the Kurdish people —numbering more than forty million— as “the largest nation in the world deprived of its national state,” despite what they called deep historical roots and a longstanding presence in the region.
Kurdistan, rich in natural resources and strategic importance, underwent division along “colonial lines” among several states, they added, noting, “That situation did not dismantle Kurdish identity or break national commonalities among one people.”
Although a unified Kurdish state encompassing all parts of Kurdistan may appear difficult under current regional and international dynamics, they said such realities do not justify abandoning the “legitimate struggle” for national rights.
Addressing Barzani alongside other Kurdish leaders and political forces, the signatories called for launching a “democratic national project” to coordinate positions and raise the level of national demands toward consolidating political standing and advancing state-building efforts. “The absence of a state,” they warned, “keeps Kurdish national and social identity in a condition of dependency and fragmentation.”
Kurdistan broadly refers to a geographic region traditionally inhabited mainly by Kurds, spanning large parts of eastern Turkiye, northern Iraq, and western Iran, with smaller areas in northern Syria and Armenia. Iraq recognizes the Kurdistan Region as an autonomous entity, while Iran has a northwestern province named Kurdistan Province. Five Iranian Kurdish parties recently formed a political alliance aimed at unifying their ranks and strengthening Kurdish influence within Iran’s evolving political landscape.
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