Representatives of the European Parliament – Brussels
According to the news published in various media, on Tuesday, June 6, 2023, the headquarters of the European Parliament will host various political groups opposed to the Islamic Republic. This meeting will be held with the presence of almost all the opponents of the Islamic Republic and representatives of the European Parliament. Regardless of the political nature of this conference, what has surprised human rights activists is the presence of a number of heads of armed groups who are wanted by Interpol (The International Criminal Police Organization) and even the groups under their leadership have been considered a terrorist group by the European Union and the United States Treasury Department. Also, regardless of the track record of the opposition of the Islamic Republic over the past few decades and their success, Iranian Kurdistan Human Rights Watch, as an independent human rights institution, regardless of the political positions of the people present in this meeting and their goals, draws the attention of the members of the European Parliament to the following:
– One of the groups present at the aforementioned meeting is PJAK Group, whose head (Mr. Siamand Moini) has been issued a red notice by Interpol. In fact, the main leader of this group is now wanted by the international police because of his history of anti-human rights actions.
– PJAK, as an armed and militant group, is affiliated with the PKK armed group. PKK and its affiliated institutions are on the terrorist list of the United States, the European Union, Iran, Turkey and Japan. Terrorist acts, bombings, massacre of innocent people and civilians, crimes against humanity, use of children as soldiers, forced disappearance of opponents, production and distribution of drugs and money laundering (especially in Europe) and any kind of action that violates human rights, in the record of P.K.K. and related groups.
– Iranian Kurdistan Human Rights Watch draws the attention of members of the European Parliament to the important point that law enforcement agencies in Europe have repeatedly shut down several companies and institutions affiliated with the PKK due to money laundering and propaganda for this terrorist group. This clearly clarifies the extent of the threat to Europe by this group and its affiliated entities.
– It is emphasized that the actions of the PKK, which caused it to be in the list of terrorist groups, does not stop at this group itself and is carried out in many ways by its related institutions, including PJAK. PJAK’s field of activity is Kurdish regions in Iran. This group, according to human rights activists and different human rights institutions (with different political tendencies) and of course, the media affiliated with it uses children as soldiers in armed conflicts,deceives or kidnaps children to work in his armed and terrorist structure and after being killed in conflicts (mainly with the Turkish army), buries the bodies of her members in unknown places. PJAK is also accused of violating the rights of girls, depriving members of health and medical services, terrorist acts against civilians in the Kurdish areas of Iran, extortion from production and industrial units in the border areas of Iran, drug distribution and arms smuggling, etc.
– The series of terrorist actions by PJAK in the western and northwestern regions of Iran has made the Kurdish people hate this group. In fact, the European Parliament will host a group with no popular support among the Kurds of Iran, and has caused numerous human, emotional and financial damages to the Iranian Kurds. IKHRW warns that these relations with PJAK will harm the position of the European Union to the Iranian people.
– It is worth mentioning that these terrorist acts of PJAK and Its leaders have nothing to do with the Iranian government. In fact, the main victims of PJAK’s actions is not the Iranian government, but are ordinary and innocent Kurdish people. Of course, this does not negate the duties and responsibilities of the Iranian government. Iranian Kurdistan Human Rights Watch believes that Iranian Kurds have the same rights as other Iranian citizens and it is the duty of the Iranian government to protect their security and lives. Iranian Kurdistan Human Rights Watch, as well as criticizing the anti-human rights actions of armed groups such as PJAK, also opposes some discriminatory approaches of the Iranian government. In fact, the Iranian government has a serious duty to protect Kurdish citizens and fulfill their rights. But it should be noted that the actions of groups such as PJAK and other Kurdish militia groups violate human rights and violate the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In fact, the amount of crime and violence committed by these militant and armed groups against defenseless and civilian people is such that it can be called a crime against humanity.
– It should be mentioned that these descriptions about the PJAK armed group can be generalized to other armed groups that claim to defend the rights of the Kurds in Iran; but in fact, they have become the most important enemy of the development of Kurdish regions. Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran, Pak Group and Komala are among the groups that, like PJAK, are accused of terrorist acts and human rights violations. It is emphasized that these militant groups are apparently against the Iranian government, but in fact, most of the victims of this conflict are civilians. Also, these armed groups have a similar behavior with other political parties and groups, and have repeatedly threatened other opponents of the Islamic Republic to death, including Mr. Reza Pahlavi. In fact, terror, violence and murder are the characteristics of groups like PJAK.
– United Nations Security Council resolutions on preventing and combating terrorism, the International Convention against Hostage Taking (1997), the International Convention on the Source of Terrorist Bombings (1997) and the International Convention for the Prohibition of the Financing of Terrorism (1999) also have requirements that indicate individual acceptance With the characteristics of Siamand Moini and the PJAK group in the European Parliament, it is an action against the basic principles of human rights. Also, in the European Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism (1977) and its amendment in 2003, as well as the Council of Europe Convention for the Prevention of Terrorism in 2005 and the Additional Protocol in 2015, for the prevention of terrorist acts, the necessity of dealing with violent and militant groups is emphasized. – The documentation of the actions of these groups is available at the IKHRW, and if desired, we can provide them to the representatives of the European Parliament. These reports can be accessed on the IKHRW website.
Excellencies!
Today’s world is heavily politicized and influenced by power relations, and moral and human-centered principles have been marginalized in it. Naturally, the realist system ruling the world is one of the requirements of these conditions. But it is not an unusual request to observe the minimum principles of human rights, especially from the modern world. We believe that Europe should not sacrifice the principles of human rights and universality for politics. Mr. Siamand Moini is wanted by the Interpol police because of the order to assassinate and kill many Iranian citizens, and the least we expect from the representation and advocacy of 154 affected Iranian Kurdish families is that you do not allow him to participate in the aforementioned conference.
Iranian Kurdistan Human Rights Watch – Tehran
