The "Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan" (Partiya Jiyana Azad a Kurdistanê - PJAK) held its sixth congress in the mountains of Kurdistan on March 10 and 11. One of the participants was Hêvî Dêrik. The PJAK member spoke to ANF about the decisions made at the congress on Iran and Eastern Kurdistan (Rojhilat).

Hêvî Dêrik said: "The congress took place under the motto 'Building the democratic unity of the peoples of Iran with the principle of the democratic nation'. Accordingly, evaluations and analyses of the current political situation in Iran and Eastern Kurdistan were made. It was discussed how changes can take place. Several important decisions were made on the basis of these analyses. One of them was that the struggle for the freedom of Abdullah Öcalan and political prisoners will be strengthened.”

Hêvî Dêrik stressed two of the central themes of the congress: the struggle for Kurdish national unity and at the same time for a unity among the democratic forces of Iran.

The Third Way and the Model of Democratic Confederalism

Hêvî Dêrik explained that it is important for PJAK to take the third way: "At the sixth congress of PJAK, our main concern was to find a possible model for a solution to the crisis and chaos currently prevailing in Iran and Eastern Kurdistan. All assessments, evaluations and decisions revolved around this topic. The politics as well as the new design of the Middle East, which the hegemonic powers want to achieve together with the regional and global forces, do not include the will and interests of the peoples living there. Therefore, the Congress has defined democratic politics in the form of democratic confederalism as the third way as the only possible way out of the politics of the hegemonic powers."

The organization of the individual is an existential defense

The congress also addressed the special role of women and youth and the problems they face. There were also extensive discussions on this topic, which Hêvî Dêrik described as follows: "The socially deep-rooted problems of women were analysed and from this in turn important conclusions and practical steps were drawn which will follow the congress. We firmly believe that promoting the struggle, organization and cohesion of women is the clearest and at the same time the strongest answer to the current political aspirations of the Iranian regime, which is carrying out targeted attacks on women. The same applies to the youth, who can only succeed in defending their own identity by organising together."

Fight for the democratization of Iran

Hêvî Dêrik concluded: "The 6th Congress of PJAK has dealt with all kinds of attacks on the identity and culture of the Kurdish people. Accordingly, the importance of self-defence was discussed and put in the centre. In the future, PJAK will work even more purposefully towards a democratisation of Iran and the unity of all peoples living there. Within this framework it was decided that in future there will be increased diplomatic efforts to develop political cooperation between all parties interested in democracy".

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