Groups, Institutions, Organiza

Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (Iraq)

Written by: Masoumeh Abedini Translated by: Hadi Qorbanyar
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The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK; Yekêtîy Nîştimanîy Kurdistan in Kurdish and الاتحاد الوطني الكردستاني in Arabic) is the largest political and military organization in Iraqi Kurdistan. The PUK was founded in June 1975, just twelve days before the signing of the Iran-Iraq border and good-neighborliness agreement in Damascus. It was a coalition of three Kurdish groups, namely Al-Khaṭṭ al-ʿĀlam (the Jalaliyon), the Marxist-Leninist Movement of Kurdistan (Komala), and the Kurdish Socialist Movement of Bizotnewey. The founding committee included

Fuad Masum, Kamal Fuad, Abdul Razzaq Mirza, Nawshirwan Mustafa Amin, Omar Sheikh Mousa, and Adel Murad, who had been active around Ibrahim Ahmad and Jalal Talabani in the political bureau of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). Following the Algiers Agreement, which was signed by Muhammad-Reza Pahlavi and Saddam Hussein (then Vice President under Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr) on March 6, 1975, the group convened its first meeting in Vienna in April 1975. Convinced that the agreement between Iran and Iraq was finalized and that the Kurdish uprising led by Mullah Mustafa Barzani and the KDP was destined to collapse, they traveled to Damascus where they officially announced the PUK’s existence.

The Patriotic Union declared its strategy to be the revival of resistance, the reconstruction and reorientation of Kurdish society through modern and democratic methods, and the struggle against the Baath regime to achieve autonomy for Iraqi Kurdistan. Its founders claim to have created the first multi-party formation in Iraq. According to its charter, the PUK’s ideology combines Kurdish nationalism, democracy, and democratic socialism, and it is a member of the Socialist International. At the same time, the Union emphasizes a pragmatic and realist approach, explicitly rejecting revolutionary fundamentalism.

In keeping with this outlook, the PUK’s central slogan emphasizes that it does not seek an independent state, but rather full autonomy within the framework of the Republic of Iraq.

Organizationally, the PUK has a 32-member Leadership Council that elects the secretary-general and the eleven members of the Political Bureau. The Political Bureau is responsible for running the organization and implementing the Leadership Council’s resolutions. Jalal Talabani, widely known among Kurds as “Mam Jalal” (Mam means paternal uncle) and recognized as a pragmatic leader, was elected secretary-general in 1975. Under his leadership, the PUK launched a political and military campaign for an autonomous Kurdistan starting in 1976. After many ups and downs, and with American support, it succeeded in holding elections in the Kurdish regions of Iraq in May 1992, leading to the announcement of a federal Kurdistan Regional Government in October of that year. Talabani himself, following the second U.S.-Iraq War in 2001, was elected President of Iraq by the Iraqi National Assembly on April 7, 2005, and served two terms until 2014.

As the Iranian Revolution reached its peak in 1979 and Imam Khomeini (ra) left Iraq, the PUK sent a representative to meet him in Paris to establish ties with the Revolution’s leadership and express solidarity with the Iranian people.

With the outbreak of Iraq’s war against the Islamic Republic of Iran on September 22, 1980, Iraqi Kurds seized the opportunity to intensify their political and military struggle against the central government. The PUK expanded its sabotage operations inside Iraq and, in January 1981, attacked military centers, bases, troops, and equipment of the Iraqi army. Meanwhile, guerrilla political organizations active in Iran sought to exploit the Iran-Iraq War—with PUK support—to advance their own goals against the Islamic Republic. As attacks escalated, the Islamic Republic established a temporary command in Kurdistan, armed and organized Barzani forces and the Muslim Kurdish Peshmerga Organization, cleared the area, and managed to restrain much of the PUK’s sabotage activities.

Later, having lost the support of Syria and Libya as well, the PUK adopted a policy of reconciliation with opposition groups to regain lost ground and stabilize its position. Following the PUK’s repeated requests in 1986 for cooperation and for gaining the trust of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Tehran agreed to cooperate only if the PUK would show clear enmity toward the Baath regime. Accordingly, the Ramazan Base began military and operational cooperation with the PUK.

Iran’s acceptance of UN Security Council Resolution 598 on July 17, 1988, marked a significant defeat for the PUK and its allies. Iran informed them that, in light of obligations stemming from the resolution, it could no longer extend the direct support it had provided during the war, though it would continue to maintain political ties with the PUK and other Iraqi opposition groups.

Talabani described Iran’s agreement to the ceasefire as a wise and timely decision, stating that regional peace would benefit Muslims in the area and the nations of West Asia. He emphasized: “Preserving the Islamic Republic and the Islamic Revolution is more important than any other issue”.

About a month after Iran accepted Resolution 598, Saddam Hussein—under pressure from Moscow and Mukarram Talabani, former leader of the Iraqi Communist Party—proposed negotiations with Kurdish leaders, including the PUK, on August 18, 1988. However, on August 27, 1988, representatives of the Communist, Democratic Socialist, and Patriotic Union parties met in Syria following talks with the Baath Party’s deputy secretary-general. They rejected the proposal and, in a joint statement, emphasized the need for unity among all national and patriotic forces to liberate Iraq from the Baath regime’s ruinous rule. After receiving this negative response from the opposition groups, the Baathist Iraqi government—assuming that Iran, post-ceasefire and burdened by internal problems, could no longer support the Kurds and therefore they could be quickly suppressed—resumed the Operation Anfal in September 1988. Subsequently, by chemical bombing of villages loyal to Talabani and Barzani, it killed between 150,000 and 200,000 people and displaced thousands to temporary camps or prisons in southern Iraq. As a result of these attacks, around 60,000 Iraqi Kurds fled to Turkey and 200,000 to Iran.^[1]

 

^[1] Daerat al-Maaref-e Defa Muqaddas (A Summery of the Encyclopedia of the Sacred Defense), Vol. 1, Tehran: Markaz-e Daerat al-Maaref-e Pazhuheshgah-e Olum va Maaref-e Defa Muqaddas, 1390, Pp. 318–330.