The peaceful situation in South Kurdistan, as agreed upon on 11 March 1970, did not last long and step by step the Baghdad government abandoned its promises and the leadership of the revolution was more disappointed than ever and was moving away from the government, until it happened that in the year 1974 war broke out again between the two sides. This situation undoubtedly had a great impact on the work of the mass organizations of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, especially the Kurdistan Students Union, because its work and organizations covered most of the regions of Iraq.
After holding the seventh congress of the Kurdistan Students Union, due to the bad situation, because it was decided that the annual congress would be held, it could not achieve its goal. This situation became more complicated after the Algiers Agreement of 6 March 1975 and the defeat of the September National Revolution, because the internal party organizations in South Kurdistan were completely defeated and a large number of Iraqi Kurds had fled to neighboring countries, especially the country of Iran.
Despite the Algiers Agreement and the defeat of the revolution, the efforts to revive the Kurdistan Students Union did not stop, on 16 December 1975 the first secret organization of the Kurdistan Students Union was established by Leader Mela Huseyn Avdel in the city of Zakho. This secret organization was able to develop its work in a short time and became a platform for conveying the voice of the revolution to the people of South Kurdistan, this secret organization ended after the exposure and execution of Leader Mela Ismail on 23 April 19761 (1).
The work and activities of the Kurdistan Students Union organizations were very limited due to the strict surveillance of refugees in Iran, until the monarchy was overthrown in the year 1979 and the Islamic Republic of Iran replaced it, this change in the Iranian government gave some freedom of work to the refugees, the Students Union organizations started again and on 17 May 1979 they held a large meeting in the city of Karaj, Iran, in this meeting a new secretariat for the Iranian organization of the Kurdistan Students Union was established which consisted of: Dilshad Barzani, Comrade Zekeriya Akreyi, Sherko Burhan Dizeyi, Helmet Ali Abdullah, Seyfedin Rashid Sindi, Taha Abdulrehman Barwari and Haji Abdulrehman Derwesh (2).
After this broad meeting, in the year 1979, the Iranian Organization of the Kurdistan Students Union published the magazine (Dengi Qutabi) in the Kurdish language and the magazine (Seday Danesh Amouz) in Persian (3).
This meeting paved the way for the Conference of the Kurdistan Students Union of the year 1981. The conference was held with the participation of 67 members in the city of Karaj and the refugee branch of the Kurdistan Students Union was established, the publication of (Denge Xwendekaran) the organ of the Iranian organization of the Kurdistan Students Union became the organ of the refugee branch (4) and the officials and administrators of the branch were elected by voting and they were:
1- Haji Abdulrehman Derwesh – Head of the Branch
2- Taha Abdulrehman Barwari – Administrator of the Branch
3- Zenun Yunis Rojbayani – Administrator of the Branch
4- Haji Remezan Akreyi – Administrator of the Branch (5).
After the establishment of the refugee branch of the Kurdistan Students Union, the organizations expanded and were very active, then this branch held its second conference in the year 1982 and its third conference in the year 1983 (6).
After this conference until the year 1986 the situation of the Kurdistan Students Union organizations did not change much.
Although the organizations of the refugee branch of the Kurdistan Democratic Youth Union and even the branches of Erbil, Sulaymaniyah and Kirkuk were working actively after the year 1983 and played an influential role with the Kurdistan Students Union organizations, because of this and because of the proximity of their struggle, the party leadership and the secretariat of both organizations decided in the year 1986 to merge and hold a joint conference of both organizations (7).
Holding the Conference:
From 28 to 30 August 1986, in the village of Xinera belonging to Erbil province, under the slogan (towards unity to overthrow the regime and end the war so that we can study in the field of peace and democracy), the joint conference of the Kurdistan Students and Democratic Youth Union began its work. The purpose of this conference was to unite the Kurdistan Students Union and the Kurdistan Democratic Youth Union into one organization (8).
In the beginning, the speech of the Conference Supervisory Committee was read and then the message of President Masoud Barzani, the speech of the Political Bureau of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, the letter of the Kurdistan National Liberationists (KUK) and the Liberation Secretariat, were read (9).
In this conference, a committee of 15 people was elected for the administrative board of the Kurdistan Students and Democratic Youth Union as follows:
1- Kristof Yelda Torxan, known as Rebwar Yelda, Secretary.
2- Kurdistan Pirdawd Qadir
3- Haji Abdulrehman
4- Ibrahim Mustafa
5- Abdullah Xelo Ali
6- Ismail Ibrahim Fetah known as Simko Amedi
7- Firyad Shefi Mihemed known as Firyad Barzani
8- Teyar Selim
9- Ehmed Mela Qasim
10- Adil Ali
11- Azad Fayiq Xefoor, Dijwar Fayiq
12- Newzad Mihemed Necib
13- Rifat Seid Mihemed Emin
14- Ihsan Abdullah Qasim known as Ihsan Amedi
15- Rizgar Kemeki, known as Rizgar Kurdistani (10).
Substitute members of the administrative board:1- Ehmede Dizgiri
2- Nebi Ehmed
3- Hesen Mihemed Hesen, known by the name Hesen Shebibe.
In the first meeting of the Administrative board which was held on 20 September 1986 at the headquarters of the Political Bureau of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) with the presence of comrades Idris Barzani and Fazel Mirani, members of the political bureau, the Secretariat of the Kurdistan Students and Democratic Youth Union was elected as follows:
1- Rebwar Yelda - Secretary.
2- Haji Abdulrehman – Member of the Secretariat Bureau.
3- Ibrahim Mustafa Mihemed - Member of the Secretariat Bureau.
4- Firyad Barzani – Member of the Secretariat Bureau.
5- Abdullah Xelo – Member of the Secretariat Bureau.
The branch heads from the executive committee members were designated as follows:
1- Adil Ali – Head of the Erbil Branch.
2- Dijwar Fayiq – Head of the Kirkuk Branch.
3- Newzad Muhammad Najib – Head of the Sulaymaniyah Branch.
4- Refat Said Muhammad Amin - Head of the Refugee Branch.
5- Simko Amedi – Head of the Duhok-Nineveh Branch(12).
Many decisions were made during the conference, which are as follows:
Peshkewtin Magazine, whose first issue was published in January 1987 with 16 pages, the final issue of the mountain struggle phase, issue 22, was printed in November 1990(13). Paving the way for the unification of the Kurdistan Students Union and the Kurdistan Democratic Youth Union. Broadcasting articles and activities on the Voice of Kurdistan Radio. Supporting the Gulan Revolution and the (Juda) Front and opposing the Arabization policy of South Kurdistan(14).
One of the most important political activities of this period was the issuance of a support statement by the International Union of Students (I.U.S) in 1987 at the Havana Congress for the Kurdish cause and the Kurdistan Students and Democratic Youth Union. This Union was active in 127 countries and regions. Also, in July 1989, they participated in the Pyongyang Congress, which was organized by the World Federation of Democratic Youth(15).
In the field of education, in the history of Kurdistan, for the first time, they were responsible for building schools and providing teachers and educational supplies in the liberated areas of Kurdistan(16).
References:- Sasan Awni, Kurdistan Students Union: Some Aspects of Struggle and History, (Erbil, Ministry of Education Press, 1998), p. 70.
- Luqman Gharib, Martyr Haji Abdulrahman: A Good Period in the History of the Kurdistan Student and Youth Movement, (Erbil, Rewshenbiri Press, 2003), p. 68.
- Musa Ahmed, Journalism of the Kurdistan Students Union, (Erbil, Ministry of Education Press, 1998), p. 31-32.
- - Sasan Awni, previous source, p. 75.
- - Luqman Gharib, previous source, 68.
- Sasan Awni, previous source, p. 78.
- Irfan Aziz Aziz, Congress and Conferences of the Kurdistan Students Union, Edition 1, (Erbil - Rojhelat Press-2012), p. 87.
- Greetings to the commemoration of the 8 anniversary of the August Conference of 28-30 August 1986, Brayati Newspaper, Organ of the Kurdistan Democratic Party – Unified, issue 2030, (Erbil, Monday, 29.08.1994), p. 8.
- Sirwan Osman, A Bright History and an Unbroken Caravan, (Erbil- Ministry of Culture Press- 2014), p. 15.
- Irfan Aziz, previous source, p. 89-90.
- Same source, p. 90.
- Sasan Awni, previous source, p. 118.
- Musa Ahmed, p. 4 – 6.
- Irfan Aziz, previous source, p. 91 – 92.
- Sasan Awni, previous source, p. 122.
- Same source, p. 29, 26.