Kurdistan PM marks 59th anniversary of the September Revolution

The Kurdistan Region’s Prime Minister Masrour Barzani commemorated the 59th anniversary of the September Revolution, launched in the early 1960s in a bid to acquire autonomy for the Kurdish people in Iraq.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region’s Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Friday commemorated the 59th anniversary of the September Revolution, launched in the early 1960s in a bid to acquire autonomy for the Kurdish people in Iraq.

Also known as the First Iraqi-Kurdish War, the September Revolution was a 9-year-long struggle spearheaded by the late founding leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), Mustafa Barzani.

“The September Revolution was launched at a time when a cloud of disappointment covered Kurdistan,” and “the enemies of Kurdistan were trying to eradicate the culture and identity of Kurdish people, as well as depriving them of the essential rights of life,” Prime Minister Barzani said.

The revolution actively engaged in a bloody military struggle that forced the then Iraqi regime to settle for an agreement with Iraqi Kurds after being unable to defeat them outright.

“Undoubtedly, one of the achievements of [the September Revolution] was the March 11, 1970 agreement, in which the Ba’ath regime was forced to recognize the Kurdish people’s rights,” he added.

In the agreement, the Iraqi regime recognized Kurdish rights, including allowing the Kurdish language to be spoken in Kurdish areas of Iraq as an official language, Kurdish representation in the Iraqi government, the establishment of Kurdish civil society unions, and Kurdish participation in Iraqi legislative branch.

It was not, however, honored by Baghdad, and the Kurdish struggle against the Iraqi state continued for two more decades, with repeated atrocities committed by Saddam’s regime. The conflict would culminate in the regime’s genocidal Anfal campaign in the latter part of the 1980s, when it repeatedly used chemical weapons against the Kurds.

The 1970 agreement is still widely considered as one of the most serious attempts to resolve the long-standing conflict between Iraqi regimes and the nation's Kurds and a significant national milestone. 

As the people of Kurdistan commemorate this great revolution, said Barzani, “it is very important to uphold the great principles of the revolution, including resistance and  forgiveness... so they encourage us for unity, consensus, and protecting Kurdistan’s achievements.”

Editing by John J. Catherine