Senior officials of the Kurdistan Region honor 44th anniversary of the great Kurdish “Gulan” revolution

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – On Monday, the top leader of the Kurdistan Region recalled the forty-fourth anniversary of the Gulan upheaval, congratulating the Kurdish nation, as he affirmed that the sacrifices of the uprising were not made in vain.

“The size of the sacrifice that characterized the Peshmerga of the Gulan revolution is a source of pride for the people of Kurdistan,” Masoud Barzani, leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and long-time President of the Kurdistan Region, said in a statement.

“This event was an important phase in the Great Gulan (May) Revolution,” he added. “It proved that the people of Kurdistan, even if they suffer a setback, they rise up again and do not give up their rights and do not retreat from achieving their goals.”

The spark of the Gulan (May) revolt, which was led by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), was lit on May 26, 1976, against the former Baathist regime in Baghdad. It was initially concentrated in the border areas between Turkey and the Kurdistan Region.

Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), marked the 44th anniversary of the Gulan uprising and congratulated the people of Kurdistan and all those who participated in it.

“I salute with great respect, and commemorate the brave Peshmerga who continued the struggle tirelessly for the legitimate rights of the Kurdish people,” the Prime Minister said.

He also explained that the Gulan uprising was, in reality, an extension of the September 11, 1961, Kurdish revolt, under Abd al-Karim Qasim, who had become president of Iraq, after leading a military coup against the British-installed Hashemite monarchy.

“The uprising occurred with the aid and participation of all the components in the Kurdistan Region,” the Prime Minister stated, “resulting in the establishment of the Kurdistan Regional Government and the parliament in 1991.”

Barzani also stressed that the Gulan uprising demonstrated that the will and demands of a nation are more powerful than almost anything else, as he added, “With the unity and efforts of the people of the Kurdistan Region, we can overcome any crisis, and in the current crisis facing us, we need to serve our nation as a single unit, as Peshmerga, and this way we will overcome every difficult situation and obstacle facing us.”

Nechirvan Barzani, Vice-President of the KDP and President of the Kurdistan Region, said: "Commemoration of the Gulan uprising is a tribute to the struggle of the people, the vigor and efforts of the Peshmerga heroes, and an expression of loyalty to the blood of the martyrs and their families."

“The commemoration of Gulan, which gathered the national forces and represented a successful experience in the work and joint struggle of the Kurdish parties, leading to the formation of the Kurdistan Front, added a strong incentive for the renewal of the national struggle,” the Kurdish President stated. It is “a message that revolution, with a will of steel, is a great supporter of development in a short period.

Editing by Laurie Mylroie