Protest killing of WCPI members by PUK in Kurdistan

[Green Left Parramatta <glparramatta@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

July 16,

Dear Comrades,

Repression against the Worker Communist Party of Iraq in Iraqi Kurdistan
has escalated. Forces of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan led by Jalal
Talabani have killed six members of the WCPI and wounded others. The
lives of other comrades are in danger. Thirty WCPI comrades have been
taken prisoner.

Urgent action is required from progressive forces around the world to
put pressure on the PUK to call off its murderous assaults. Please send
faxes and organise other organisations to send faxes to the PUK offices
and representatives demanding that the PUK:

Call off its repressive forces, identify and punish the murderers;
Free all WCPI members taken prisoner;
Cease its attempts to eliminate the political and civil rights of the
WCPI and other political parties;
Give up its warmongering approach, and revert to political ways of
solving any disputes among the people in Iraqi Kurdistan, and
Respect human freedom and basic rights.

Send protests to
Jalal Talabani
President
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)
Sulaimaniya
Kurdistan
Iraq

c/o PUK United Kingdom, London
Fax: 44 171 8400630

c/o PUK USA, Washington
Fax: 1 202 637 2723

c/o PUK Turkey
Fax: 90 312 440 45 49

c/o PUK France
Fax: 331 3916 5779

Attached below are three recent press releases from the Worker Communist
Party of Iraq. Please send copies of protests to the WCPI:
<shemal1@xxxxxxxxxxx>

Comradely greetings,

John Percy,
National Secretary
Democratic Socialist Party
Intl@xxxxxxxxxx

_______________________
Attachment 1.

The Politburo of the Worker Communist Party of Iraq ? Abroad

Press Release

Once again the patriotic Union of Kurdistan is attacking the political
freedom in Iraqi Kurdistan

Recently the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) has passed a resolution
to oust all the Iraqi political parties from the city of Suleimania. The
resolution included the names of five Iraqi parties, which are (the
Worker Communist Party of Iraq, Turkman Party, the Iraqi Patriotic
Party, High Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq and Nationalist
Conciliation Movement). One week prior to this resolution, the
municipality of Suleimania passed a resolution asking the parties to
take their military headquarters outside the city of Suleimania. This
resolution came under the pretext to secure the peace and ending the
militarism in the cities of Kurdistan. In both these times the Patriotic
Union of Kurdistan has emphasized on the offices of the Worker Communist
Party of Iraq.

Here we would like to illustrate the recent policy of the PUK:
 1. Removal of the political offices of the Iraqi parties outside the
city represents a violation of the freedom of political activity of the
parties. Removing these parties from the cities which are the natural
place for political activity means restricting their activity and
isolating them from the masses in one hand and undermining the activity
of the Iraqi opposition parties against the Ba?at regime in the other.

 2. Although we have informed the PUK that the offices of the Worker
Communist Party of Iraq belong to the Organisation of Kurdistan of the
Party and its activity is among the masses of Kurdistan and we do not
have any other offices, the PUK insists to out these offices with other
Iraqi Parties. The aggression on the political freedom has started by
cutting the telephone line and water from these offices.

 3. We have demanded since 1995 to evacuate the cities of Kurdistan from
the armed militia and to end the militarism in the cities and places of
living. If the PUK is seriously seeking evacuation of the cities from
armed forces, it should start with its own headquarters which are all
over the city, the headquarter of Islamic movement and the those of the
Iranian intelligence which run the terrorism in cities on daily bases.
 4. It is clear for the masses of Kurdistan, specially in city of
Suleimania that the offices of the organisation of Kurdistan of Worker
Communist Party of Iraq are not military headquarters but political
offices which ensure their own safety like any other organisation
whether Iraqi or international.

We in WCPI refuse this resolution and strongly condemn it. We regard
this resolution as continuance of the attempts of the municipality to
undermine the activity of our party. The PUK is attempting to impose
this policy by force on the political parties.

We call on all political parties in Kurdistan, all international
parties, organisations and international public opinion to take stand
from these offences by the PUK.

Aso Kamal
On Behalf of the Politburo of Worker Communist Party of
Iraq-Abroad.10/7/00
______________________
Attachment 2.

July 14, 2000
Press Release

The PUK has put a military siege on the offices of the Worker Communist
Party of Iraq.

Freedom loving people in Kurdistan and the region
Political parties, Human right organisations and activists
Freedom loving people

Today, July 14, 2000, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan as part of its
oppressive policy against our party, the equality and freedom seeking
movement, pushed a huge military force to occupied all the suburbs
around the offices of our party. They intend to impose a war on our
party and once again to result in war, killings and destruction of the
life and peace of the people

In consistent with their attacks during the last several days by
arresting our members and supporters, today they have started another
attack of arbitrary arresting and they have already arrested 18 persons.

Today, while two of our comrades were heading from the office of the
leading committee to the party?s radio station the PUK forces targeted
them. Our comrades responded to these forces and after along time of
shooting between the two sides which had extended to many other suburbs
one of our comrades was lost. According to the news he is injured and
taken captive by the PUK?s armed men.

The oppressive actions of the PUK during the last few days especially
the today?s arrogant action show once again the reactionary, anti-
freedom and anti- human nature of this party.

These are more evidence how the PUK has always been a factor for
creating wars, killings, insecurity, violating the freedom and rights of
people, serving the reactionary states in the region and imposing its
militarism on the society.

I call on all the freedom loving people in Kurdistan and the region, all
the parties, mass organisations, progressive personalities and human
right defenders in the world to take a stand from this oppressive
offensive of the PUK, to expose it. I call them to press the PUK to give
up this warmongering, to resort to the political ways of solving the
problems and to respect the human freedom and rights.

Hoping prompt action on this issue,

Yours sincerely
Rebwar Ahmad
Secretary-Worker Communist Party of Iraq

______________________
Attachment 3.

July 14, 2000
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan has added More crimes to its record

According to the latest news, the armed forces of the Patriotic Union of
Kurdistan (PUK) after surrounding the offices of our party in
Suleimania, they shot a car belongs to our party.  After an armed
fighting between the two sides, some of our comrades are either killed
or wounded and taken captive. Later we will publish the exact details of
this event.

The recent war and killings by the PUK which is to impose its oppressive
rule and to carry out the demands of the reactionary Islamic republic of
Iran is a savage crime which will imprint forever the front of the PUK
with a stigma.

It is worth mentioning that, while the PUK was carried out these savage
actions, its leader- Jalal Al talabani was in Tehran meeting and making
deals with the officials of Islamic republic and the terrorist apparatus
of this criminal regime.

This action by the PUK is not just against our party, but it is the
result of an offense against the political freedom, radical and
egalitarian movement in society of Kurdistan. It is a massage to prevail
oppression.

These crimes by PUK should not pass without the PUK pay for them.
Stopping these oppressive offenses of the PUK is the task of all freedom
loving people, all parties, organisations, and personalities that regard
themselves defenders of freedom and human rights. The Worker Communist
Party of Iraq will use all its ability to expose and defeat the
reactionary policy of PUK, which serves the Islamic republic of Iran. It
calls on all freedom loving people, progressive and defenders of the
humanity to condemn these crimes and support the struggle of the WCPI to
expose and defeat the attacks of the PUK on the freedom of political
activity, and resorting to military fight and killings. The perpetrators
of these crimes should be identified and punished.

Abroad Committee
Worker Communist Party of Iraq
______________________