The period between the second and third congresses of the Kurdistan Students Union, which lasted for nearly six years, brought about major changes to the internal political Situation of the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Kurdistan Students Union in particular and Iraq in general. Among the most important of these changes were the victory of the July 14, 1958 revolution and the fall of the monarchy, the establishment of the republic in Iraq, the return of the leader Mustafa Barzani and his companions from the Soviet Union, the official registration of the Kurdistan Democratic Party as a Kurdish political Party in Iraq, and the beginning of the public work phase for the Kurdistan Students Union.
The victory of the revolution in Iraq brought partisan and organizational work in the country, especially in the Kurdistan regions, to a new stage called the stage of public work. During this stage, the Kurdistan Students Union, as the only student organization in Kurdistan, began quickly opening its committees and branches in most regions and expanding its activities.
A few days after the victory of the revolution, the leadership of the Students Union decided to hold an expanded meeting. The meeting was held at the Erbil railway station rest house in the presence of most of the leadership and representatives of the cities of Erbil, Kirkuk, Sulaymaniyah, and Rawanduz. As a result, the methods of work after the revolution and its relationships with the General Union of Students of Iraq were determined.
After the victory of the revolution, relations between the Kurdistan Students Union and the General Union of Students of Iraq deteriorated, and the latter found itself in a stronger position, as it was mostly communist and enjoyed the Support of President Abd al-Karim Qasim. Regardless of previous agreements with the Students Union, the organization began opening branch headquarters in the Kurdistan cities and opened its own branch in Erbil, which was called the General Union of Students of Iraq. In August 1958, the communist students formed a committee called the Higher Committee for the Students Union of Iraq, and this committee was officially licensed by the state in November 1958.
This was the first official license for a student organization, and November 4, 1958, was set as the date for student elections in Iraq. The new Situation forced the Students Union to participate in the elections to some extent, especially since a section of the Political Bureau of the Party supported merging Kurdish democratic organizations with Arab democratic organizations in Iraq under the umbrella of the Iraqi Communist Party.
The Kurdistan Students Union participated in the elections with a list called (The United Democratic Front) representing Kurdish and Arab students and with the General Union of Students of Iraq. As a result, most of the list's representatives, especially the representatives of the Kurdistan Students Union, won in most regions, which once again showed the weight and status of the Students Union in the Iraqi political arena(4).
After the elections were held and in the period from February 16 to 20, 1959, a general congress for students was held in Baghdad, in which the Students Union participated as a representative of Kurdistan Democratic Party, and it was decided in the Congress to merge the two organizations (Kurdistan Students Union) and (General Union of Students of Iraq) and establish a new joint organization called (General Union of Students of the Republic of Iraq). They also agreed to form a special committee for the affairs of Kurdistan students and to issue a special newspaper for them called (Xebatî Qutabiyan - Student Struggle).
Despite the decisions of the general student congress, and after a short period passed between the two organizations of the Students Union and the (General Union of Students of the Republic of Iraq), due to a difference in political viewpoints, both sides tried to resolve the disputes by holding the second congress, but the efforts did not yield significant results. On December 2, 1960, a delegation from the Kurdish Students Association in Europe participated, and many issues were discussed. As a result of this congress, the Kurdistan Students Union expressed its readiness to send its representative to the secretariat of the General Union of Students of the Republic of Iraq, and Kamal Mohieddin was appointed to this Position. Despite all the disputes and problems between them, relations between the two organizations continued until the relationship between the Kurdish leadership and the government of the Republic of Iraq was completely severed, which led to the outbreak of the September 11, 1961 revolution.
Relations between the Kurdistan Students Union and the General Union of Students of Iraq headed towards the worse, and in Year 1961 the Sixth World Student Congress was held in Baghdad, and the Iraqi government and the General Union of Students of Iraq did not allow the Kurdistan Students Union to participate in the Congress, and they even prevented the delegation of the Kurdish Students Association in Europe from coming to Baghdad and participating in the Congress, in addition to repeatedly closing the headquarters of the Students Union in various Iraqi cities.
Holding the Third CongressAfter the complete disappointment of the Kurdistan Students Union in establishing a general student organization that guarantees all the rights required for Kurdish students and treats all parties equally, and the retreat of the General Union of Students of Iraq from the promises it made to the Kurdistan Students Union and Kurdish students, and the deterioration of political relations between Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Iraqi government, the Kurdistan Students Union decided to hold its Third Congress in order to reorganize its ranks and open up to full Support for the demands of the Kurdish people in Iraq.
After the preparations, the Congress was held in March 1961 in the Kasra neighborhood in Baghdad, under the slogan "Let Newroz be an incentive to unify the student struggle in Kurdistan of Iraq" and it lasted for three days.
There are several different opinions about the date and place of holding the Third Congress of the Kurdistan Students Union. Among them is holding the Congress in Year 1957 in the Adhamiya neighborhood in the city of Baghdad. And on March 18, 1961, in Sulaymaniyah, or on March 19, 1961, in Sulaymaniyah.
As for the date of holding the Congress, there is no document available that indicates the Year 1957, and the rules and the amended program of the Congress itself date back to Year 1961, and opinions differ regarding the place where the Congress was held, as Baghdad is the most appropriate city according to research.
The Congress lasted for three days and discussed the political, cultural, and educational Situation in the Kurdistan regions and evaluated it. The Congress decided to amend the internal curriculum and elected a new secretary and a new secretariat as follows:
1- Sarur Kaka Hama Darwish, as secretary
2- Fuad Ahmed Baban
3- Haidar Hamza Khadr
4- Hama Chawshin
5- Mamoun Al-Dabbagh
In the same Congress, a committee was formed to manage student affairs, and its members consisted of:
1- Tayeb Jabbar Barwari
2- Kamal Abdulkarim Zaidan
3- Muhammad Pishdari
4- Mustafa Pishdari
5- Aziz Salih
6- Jamila Sabir Qadir, Alternate Member
After the outbreak of the September revolution and the joining of the members of the Students Union to the ranks of the revolution, Mamoun Al-Dabbagh and Hama Chawshin, members of the secretariat, joined the revolution, and Sarur Kaka Hama, secretary of the Students Union, was arrested in Year 1962 by the General Security Directorate of the Iraqi government, and Haidar Hamza Khadr was appointed to fill the vacant Position and remained secretary until the Fourth Congress was held.
Sources:1- Irfan Aziz Aziz, Congresses and Conferences of the Kurdistan Students Union, First Edition, (Erbil - Rojhalat Printing House - 2012).
2- Majid Hassan Ali, The Kurdish Student Movement in Iraq (1926-1970), Master's Thesis/Salahaddin University in Erbil 2008, Spirez Publications, (Erbil - Haji Hashim Press).
3- Sasan Awni, Kurdistan Students Union: Aspects of Struggle and History, (Erbil - Ministry of Education Press - 1998).
4- Gulan Magazine, Gulan Media Institution, Issue 21, Erbil, 25 February 1998 AD.
5- Ahmed Sharif Lak, Analysis of Historical Events: Pages from the History of a Nation, Volume One, Second Edition, (Erbil - Rojhalat Press - 2019 AD).
6- Constitution of the Kurdistan Students Union - Iraq, Third Congress, (No location - 1961 AD).
7- Kamal Abdulkarim Ghidan Al-Rawadi, Khabat-i Qutabian Magazine, Organ of the Kurdistan Students Union, Issue 85, (Erbil, Rojhalat Press, June 2009).