Political Background

KOMALAH is one of the main political organisations active in Iranian Kurdistan. The organisation was founded in 1967 and struggled against the Shah regime for 12 years until 1979. After the Islamic regime assumed power, it participated in the first parliamentary elections. In the provinces, where the Islamic Republic was afraid that KOMALAH representatives might be elected, it cancelled the elections, denying the representatives of the Kurdish people the right to participate in parliament altogether. Soon afterwards, KOMALAH as a political organisation was declared illegal by the Islamic regime, thus preventing it from open and ‘legal’ activities.

In 1980, the Islamic Republic under the leadership of Khomeini launched a massive attack on Kurdistan. Since then, KOMALAH has been fighting against the sectarian dictatorship of Iran, both politically and militarily, defending the Kurdish people against the regime’s aggression. At the same time, KOMALAH has urged the population to engage in daily protests, raising the demands of workers and the Kurdish people for reforms and improved living conditions.

Together with several Iranian socialist groups and organisations, KOMALAH formed a party, namely the ‘Communist Party of Iran’, in 1983. The party continues to carry out political activities in Iran. In 1991, because of differences in political approach, several members who had taken part in the establishment of the Communist Party of Iran left and formed another party.