PDKI participated in an Iranian opposition meeting in Prague

MESOP 23.11.2012 – On the November 17 and 18 more than 120 individuals and organizations, representing different Iranian opposition groups, took part in a conference under the name “Unity for Democracy in Iran” in the capital of the Czech Republic.

A delegation from the PDKI headed by Hassan Sharafi, Deputy Secretary General of the party, attended the conference to promote the rights of the different nations of Iran and federalism as the future form of government for this multinational country.The conference addressed the following topics: the current political situation in Iran; the political demands of the various nations living within Iran’s borders; free elections; unity within the Iranian opposition; and the plight of women.

Regarding the demands of the different nations living within the borders of Iran, Hassan Sharafi and Abdullah Mohtadi, leader of Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan, stressed the importance of federal democracy to accommodate the political demands of these nations.

Sharafi highlighted the importance of genuine and frank dialogue among the various opposition groups. He said that denying the multinational character of Iran and describing it as a country consisting of one nation is contrary to reality. Reducing the status of the non-Persian nations within Iran’s borders – who are part of recognized nations in neighboring countries such as the Gulf states and Azerbaijan – to “tribes,” Sharafi said, is symptomatic of a policy of denial pursued by the current regime and previous ones.

The Deputy Secretary General of PDKI concluded by arguing that there are only two strategic options in dealing with the fundamental problems of Iran: either a continued policy of denial and the systematic oppression of the various nations and their political organizations; or the adoption of federal democracy as a formula for political coexistence where the nations of Iran recognize the rights and interests of each other. Two days after the conference some of the organizers issued a statement in which they described Iran as a country consisting of one nation. The PDKI delegation in turn issued a statement in which they stressed that the PDKI did not approve the statement and rejects the notion that Iran is mononational country.