The Gulan Revolution: The failure of Algiers Accord
In the mountains of Kurdistan, at the end of May, the nature and climate were beautiful and flourishing. What had not been thought by Baghdad and Tehran was the revolution. Yet, the Peshmerga returned to the mountains and started the new revolution, announcing the death of the agreement.
In the record of the Kurdish liberation movement, May 26 each year is the commemoration of the Gulan Revolution.
The revolution took place in a context, in which the Kurds were subjected to psychological, political and military defeat. It was difficult in such a situation that the Aylul Revolution, after 15 years in March 1975 defeated, would once again begin an armed struggle. But the views of the young leaders of the revolution, especially President Masoud Barzani and Idris Barzani, the field commanders at the time, could once again make the dream of starting a revolution a reality.
On March 6, 1975, an agreement was signed between then-Iraqi Vice President Saddam Hussein and Iranian King Mohammad Reza on the sidelines of the OPEC Congress in Algeria, mediated by Algerian President Hawari Bomedyen.
According to the agreement, Iraq agreed to divide the Gulf between Iraq and Iran and resolve border issues with Iran, provided that Iran closes the gates of support in the face of the Kurdish revolution.
The agreement between Iraq and Iran began with Arab and international support, and the Kurds remained alone in the mountains. The leadership of the Aylul Revolution called the Algerian agreement an international plan against an oppressed nation and their revolution.
Practically all doors were closed to the Aylul Revolution and Iran reduced its borders and impeded access to all kinds of humanitarian and logistical cooperation. At the same time, Iraq rejected all negotiations and only demanded the surrender of the revolution. A member of the Aylul Revolution, after 15 years of hard work and sacrifice, suffered a military defeat, but his leaders did not surrender to Iraq and did not accept the Algerian agreement.
Thousands of civilians and Peshmerga fighters fled to Iran as refugees and remained in refugee camps, and a temporary party and revolution leadership was established.
In the refugee camps of the revolution in East Kurdistan, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) organized itself and began to establish relations with the former branches and organizations in Iraq. At the same time, political activists began to form political groups and organizations to fill the void left by the migration of Peshmerga and revolutionary cadres.
President Masoud Barzani and Idris Barzani, under the supervision of the leader of the Aylul Revolution, Mustafa Barzani, began to mobilize and ignite the revolution. On May 26, 1976, a detachment of Peshmerga consisting of 23 Peshmerga fighters encountered an Iraqi army unit in the Dol Zevi region, after a plan and preparations.
Although the fighting lasted for an hour, it ended the period of defeat, creating another beginning for the Kurdish liberation revolution and not ending until the Kurds in Iraq came closer to independence.
The beginning of the Kurdish revolution and the beginning of the Gulan Revolution was the beginning of the sudden death of the Algerian agreement.
On the 44th anniversary of the Gulan Revolution, President Barzani announced in a message that the Gulan Revolution carried the message and goals of the Aylul Revolution and was one of the most important milestones in the resistance of the Peshmerga and the people of Kurdistan. The will of the people of Kurdistan has never been shattered and will revolt with new will and strength.
In the message, President Barzani, who was himself a Peshmerga of the Aylul Revolution, and led the leadership of the Gulan Revolution, wrote: The message of the Gulan Revolution, which began on May 26, 1976, is a continuous message of resistance to the rights of our people.
Regarding the product of the revolution, President Barzani said that the product of the Gulan Revolution was the unity of the forces and parties of our people for rapprochement and federalism and the election and establishment of institutions in the Kurdistan Region.
President Barzani also wrote: On the forty-fourth anniversary of the Gulan Revolution, we emphasize the message of unity and peace of the people of Kurdistan, and assure the people of Kurdistan that their revolution, work and sacrifice will not be in vain.
Translated from Kurdish
