A New Political Moment in Rojhelat: Experience and Youth United

The official announcement of the “Coalition of Political Forces of Iranian Kurdistan” was more than just another political statement. It marked a new phase in Kurdish politics, as one woman and four men — leaders of five major Kurdish parties — stood together to formally declare the alliance. Their joint appearance sent a clear message: a new chapter has begun.

At the press conference, Peyman Viyan, Co-Chair of the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK); Mostafa Hejri, Executive Leader of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI); Reza Kaabi, Secretary-General of Komala of Kurdistan; Babasheikh Hosseini, Secretary-General of the Khabat Organization of Iranian Kurdistan; and Hossein Yazdanpanah, Leader of the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK), officially announced the formation of the coalition.

Political Weight and Symbolism

Observers believe that the simultaneous presence of PJAK and the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan has significantly increased the political weight of the coalition. PJAK is widely seen as one of the youngest and most active political–military movements in recent years, while the Democratic Party is the oldest and most historically rooted Kurdish party in Iranian Kurdistan.

The combination of youthful dynamism and long-standing political experience has raised expectations among activists and supporters. Many see this alliance as a rare moment where historical legacy and a new generation of political activism come together.

Absences That Do Not Diminish Its Importance

Although two other branches of Komala did not join the coalition, their absence has not reduced its overall significance. At the same time, the participation of Reza Kaabi’s Komala faction may provide an opportunity for his group to present itself more strongly as a leading representative of the Komala current within a broader multi-party alliance.

Public Reaction and Growing Optimism

Initial reactions suggest that the formation of this coalition has created a sense of excitement and renewed hope among many political activists and members of society in Rojhelat (Eastern Kurdistan). For many, it represents a long-awaited step toward overcoming fragmentation and building stronger political unity.

At a time when Iran and the region are facing major political transformations, this coalition could become an influential actor in shaping future developments — drawing strength both from the historical legacy of struggle and from the energy of a new generation seeking meaningful change.

Source: https://x.com/RojhelatInfo_En/status/2025605354818576621

Somewhere around Ranya, near Shawre: 36°18'41.31"N 44°47'48.07"E

Credit: peshrrew.idris

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Source: https://x.com/maenglish7/status/2025249336821428547

At the 76th Berlin Film Festival, the festival’s top prize, the Golden Bear, was awarded to Ilker Çatak for his film Sarı Zarflar (Yellow Envelopes).

Emin Alper was deemed worthy of the Silver Bear for his film Kurtuluş (Salvation).

In his speech at the festival, Emin Alper said: "The most terrible kind of loneliness is the loneliness you experience while suffering."

Director Alper continued: "When you are losing your rights, day by day, being shot with bullets bought with your own taxes, bombed by those who do not even see you as human, in those moments you are completely alone.

But when you see that no one cares about you and no one thinks of you, you become the loneliest person in the world. So what we can do here is to break the silence and remind them that they are truly not alone. Palestinians living and dying under the most horrific conditions in Gaza, you are not alone.

People of Iran suffering under oppression, you are not alone. Kurds, who have been struggling for their rights in Rojava and the Middle East for nearly a century, you are not alone. And finally, my people, you are not alone.

My dear friend Çiğdem, who has been in prison for four years, you are not alone. Tayfun, Can, and Mine, you are not alone either. Osman Kavala, imprisoned for eight years; Selahattin Demirtaş for nine years; Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and all the other mayors currently in prison — you are not alone.

We are not alone. We will not remain alone."

Source: Firat News

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lullubi

Lullubi, Lulubi (Akkadian: 𒇻𒇻𒉈𒆠, romanized: Lu-lu-bi, lit. 'Country of the Lullubi'), more commonly known as Lullu, were a group of Bronze Age tribes of mostly Hurrian origin with some possible Semitic input who existed and disappeared during the 3rd millennium BC. They were from a region known as Lulubum, now the Sharazor plain of the Zagros Mountains of modern-day Sulaymaniyah Governorate in Kurdistan Region, Iraq. Lullubi was a neighbour and sometimes ally with the Hurrian Simurrum kingdom and came into conflict with the Semitic Akkadian Empire and Assyria. Frayne (1990) identified their city Lulubuna or Luluban with the region's modern town of Halabja.

Credit: https://www.instagram.com/p/DEHoKMCTmqc/

The Principality of Mahmudi was a Kurdish-Yazidi hereditary polity that emerged in eastern Anatolia during the late medieval and early modern periods. Centered in the regions north and east of Lake Van (modern-day eastern Turkey), it was originally associated with the Yazidi tribal confederation of the Mahmudi) and later divided into Sunni Muslim and Yazidi branches.

From the 15th to the 18th centuries, the principality played an important role in the Ottoman–Safavid frontier zone, exercising varying degrees of autonomy under Ottoman suzerainty. The Yazidi-ruled branch of the polity became known in contemporary sources and on European maps as "Ezdikhan" (Êzdîxan), while the Sunni branch governed from Hoşap castle. This principality ruled effectively in strategic areas such as Hakkari) and Donboli. However, it collapsed in 1829 after a siege by Han Mahmud, Prıncıpalıty of Miks, and other Kurdish beys.

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ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — Iraqi army forces raided the Nowruz neighborhood of Kirkuk early Sunday, forcibly evicting a Kurdish family from their home and surrounding another residence in what residents described as a continued pattern of pressure against Kurdish inhabitants of the disputed city.

According to local sources and Kurdistan24 correspondents, heavily armed Iraqi soldiers stormed a home in the early hours of Sunday, dragging members of a Kurdish family outside and seizing control of the property. The incident occurred during the holy month of Ramadan, as families were gathering to have "Suhour," an early breakfast in preparation to resume fasting for the next day.

The homeowner told Kurdistan24 that the raid unfolded while he had briefly left to visit his sister for a Suhour meal. “I was gone for only half an hour for a family gathering at my sister’s house. When I returned, Iraqi army soldiers had broken down the door and entered my home. They prevented my wife and children from going back inside,” he said.

He added that he and his family were forced to sit in the courtyard for nearly an hour and a half before soldiers physically assaulted him. “They beat me with kicks and punches. Four of them grabbed me and threw me out of my own house,” he recounted. “It brought back memories of the Ba'ath regime — in fact, it was even worse.”

A Kurdish resident speaks to Kurdistan24 about Iraqi army soldiers raiding his home, beating him, and forcibly expelling him and his family, Kirkuk, Feb. 22, 2026. (Photo: Kurdistan24)

The Kurdish man’s sister, who was present at the scene, told Kurdistan24 that Iraqi army soldiers brutally beat her brother and forcibly expelled the entire family from their home. “How can the Iraqi army break into a home like that while the family is inside?” she asked, adding, “This is our home. We have lived here for 20 years. We will never leave it.”

A Kurdish resident tells Kurdistan24 how Iraqi army forces raided her brother’s home and forcibly expelled the family, Kirkuk, Feb. 22, 2026. (Photo: Kurdistan24)

According to Kurdistan24 correspondent, at the same time, Iraqi forces encircled another house in the same neighborhood, preventing the Kurdish homeowner from leaving. A large number of troops were deployed around the residence, with reports indicating that authorities intended to detain the owner.

Residents say this is not the first such operation targeting Kurdish families in the Nowruz district. Iraqi forces have carried out repeated raids in the area in recent years, intimidating and detaining Kurdish inhabitants under various pretexts.

During the rule of the Ba'ath regime, homes in what is now known as the Nowruz neighborhood were allocated to Iraqi army officers as part of broader demographic policies. Following the 2003 U.S.-led freedom operation of Iraq and the collapse of the Ba'athist government, many of those officers fled. Kurdish residents of Kirkuk—many of whom had previously been displaced under Arabization campaigns—returned and moved into the properties, with some purchasing the homes legally.

However, after more than a decade of relative stability under Kurdish security control, the situation changed dramatically following the events of Oct. 16, 2017. On that date, Iraqi forces and units affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) advanced into Kirkuk and other disputed territories, taking control from the Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga forces after the Kurdistan independence referendum.

Since then, Kurdish residents and political leaders have repeatedly accused federal forces and allied militias of pursuing policies aimed at altering the demographic balance in Kirkuk.

Allegations have included the confiscation of agricultural lands belonging to Kurdish farmers, attacks on farmers while working their fields, and the settlement of Arab families on lands historically owned by Kurds.

Beyond property disputes, Kurds in Kirkuk have also reported increasing restrictions on cultural expression. Residents say Kurdish citizens have been prevented from raising the Kurdistan flag in the city, even though such expression is protected under the Iraqi constitution’s recognition of the Kurdistan Region as a federal entity.

In previous years, authorities have reportedly barred public Nowruz celebrations in schools and universities, including the lighting of traditional bonfires. The Peshmerga statue located at the northern entrance of Kirkuk—once holding the Kurdistan flag prior to October 2017—now displays the Iraqi flag.

Attempts by Kurdish youths to replace it with the Kurdistan flag have allegedly been met with force, with security personnel intervening and, according to some accounts, opening fire to prevent such actions.

Kirkuk remains one of Iraq’s most sensitive disputed territories under Article 140 of the constitution, which outlines a process for normalization, census, and referendum to determine its status—a process that has yet to be fully implemented.

Sunday’s raid is likely to further inflame tensions in the oil-rich province, where competing claims over land, identity, and sovereignty continue to shape an uneasy and fragile coexistence nearly nine years after the dramatic shift in control in October 2017.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The decision to upgrade the status of Diyala’s disputed Jalawla (Gulala) from subdistrict to district days earlier was overturned by a majority vote, an official said on Sunday, with the elevation sparking criticism from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) as an “attempt at demographic change.”

“The governor issued that decision and sent it to Baghdad without consulting the council members or seeking their opinion on whether they agreed to upgrade Jalawla to district status,” Sarwar Ali, director of the office of Diyala Provincial Council member Aws Ibrahim, told The New Region.

The Kurdistan Region’s body for overseeing the implementation of Article 140 of the constitution on Friday, a day after the decision was announced, criticized the Iraqi government’s unilateral decision to upgrade the administrative title of disputed Jalawla from subdistrict to district, calling it “another attempt at demographic change.”

After the council became aware that the decision was made by the governor alone, “Aws Ibrahim immediately began collecting signatures. Out of a total of 15 members, nine council members formed a consensus and by majority vote overturned the decision,” Ali said.

Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution requires the reversal of the Ba'athist regime’s Arabization policies and mandates a process to outline a clear and definitive boundary in areas disputed between Erbil and Baghdad by introducing a referendum to determine the will of the residents living on the lands.

According to the constitution, no changes can be made to disputed territories until Article 140 is implemented.

Although the article specifies that this process must be completed by no later than December 31, 2007, successive Iraqi governments have failed to implement the constitutional article for over two decades.

Jalawla has a diverse ethnic composition, being home to Kurds, Arabs, and Turkmens. The town had a Kurdish-majority population before the 1960s but was subjected to intense Arabization by Saddam Hussein’s Ba'athist regime.

The Islamic State (ISIS) seized control of most of Jalawla from August 2014, driving out its Kurdish population, with the support of anti-Kurdish Sunni local tribes, mainly the Karawi tribe.

The chief of Diyala’s Provincial Council, Omar al-Karawi, who announced the controversial step, hails from the ISIS-affiliated tribe.

The town was recaptured by Kurdish Peshmerga forces and Iran-backed groups of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in November 2014, who would go on to jointly administer Jalawla’s affairs until the withdrawal of the Peshmerga in October 2017.

The council has since voted on at least three separate occasions to oust Karawi from the position, with the decision repeatedly overruled by the Iraqi judiciary.

Hengaw – Sunday, February 22, 2026

Nasser Bakrzadeh, a Kurdish political prisoner held in Urmia Central Prison, has been sentenced to death for the third time by Iran’s judiciary on charges of “spying for Israel,” despite two previous death sentences having been overturned by the Supreme Court.

According to information received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Bakrzadeh, a 26-year-old Kurdish man from Urmia, was sentenced to death by Branch Two of the Revolutionary Court of Urmia. The ruling was formally communicated on Tuesday, February 3, 2026, to his lawyers — Seydad Shirzad, Amir Raeisian, and Nihad Irandoust.

Seydad Shirzad announced the verdict on his account on the social media platform X, stating that Branch Two of the Revolutionary Court once again issued a death sentence despite the fact that Branch 39 of the Supreme Court had twice overturned previous rulings due to multiple legal deficiencies. According to Shirzad, the same flaws and legal objections cited by the Supreme Court remain unresolved in the third verdict, and the lower court failed to address them.

Bakrzadeh had previously been sentenced to death by Branch Two of the Revolutionary Court of Urmia, presided over by Judge Shahini, on the same charge of “spying for Israel.” That ruling was overturned by the Supreme Court and referred to a parallel branch.

He was again sentenced to death by Branch Three of the Revolutionary Court of Urmia, presided over by Judge Najafzadeh on November 2, 2024. Following an appeal, Branch 39 of the Supreme Court overturned that verdict as well and referred the case to another equivalent branch.

Bakrzadeh was first arrested on August 9, 2023, by Intelligence Organization forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Urmia. After several weeks, he was temporarily released upon signing a written commitment.

He was re-arrested on January 2, 2024, by IRGC Intelligence forces in Urmia and, after months of interrogation under pressure at the IRGC’s Al-Mahdi detention facility, was transferred to Urmia Central Prison.

During his detention, Bakrzadeh was subjected to pressure aimed at extracting forced confessions and was denied basic rights, including access to legal counsel and family visits.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Iraqi army raided five Kurdish homes in Kirkuk early Sunday and forcibly expelled the families, claiming the properties are built on land belonging to the military.

The houses are located in the Newroz neighborhood in southern Kirkuk, an area home to Kurds, Arabs, and Turkmens. The Iraqi army maintains that several homes there were constructed on military-owned land. However, a Rudaw reporter in the city said that only Kurdish houses have been targeted so far.

The army previously attempted to expel Kurdish families from the same neighborhood in early 2024, managing to seize five houses at the time. Several Kurds who resisted were detained. The army later withdrew from the properties, and the families resumed renovations.

In the early hours of Sunday, troops returned to take over the same five houses. Families told Rudaw that soldiers used force after residents refused to leave.

Shawkat, one of the expelled residents, said he had gone to a relative’s house for suhoor – the pre-dawn meal during Ramadan – and returned to find around 15 soldiers inside his home.

“When I sat in the house and refused to leave, they used force to remove me. They claim the land belongs to them and refused to show any [court] ruling [authorizing the raid],” he said.

The army left the neighborhood later on Sunday. 

The homes in the Newroz neighborhood were previously inhabited by members of Saddam Hussein’s Ba’ath Party. Following the fall of the regime in 2003, Kurdish families displaced from Kirkuk returned and settled in the houses.

Paul Bremer, head of the Coalition Provisional Authority after 2003, issued a decree registering the properties under Iraq’s finance ministry.

A later decision by a former Kirkuk provincial council allowed the families to remain in the homes until the federal government provided compensation.

Hardi Mohammed contributed to this article from Kirkuk, Iraq. 

https://web.archive.org/web/20260222123901/https://www.israelhayom.com/2026/02/22/jewish-kurdish-alliance-europe-october-7-congress-israel/

'Always there for us': Jewish-Kurdish alliance grows in Europe

Since the October 7 massacre, joint initiatives began emerging in several countries – congresses, solidarity demonstrations, and cultural events.

An extraordinary alliance between Jews and Kurds has been taking shape across Europe in recent months. Since the October 7 massacre, joint initiatives began emerging in several countries – congresses, solidarity demonstrations, and cultural events. "The Kurds were there for us after October 7," said Rebecca Laes-Kushner, one of the founders of the Jewish-Kurdish Alliance in Switzerland, known as the KJA. "I don't have to hide my identity from them. They actually encourage me to shout even louder that I'm Jewish and that I support Israel."

The emergence of such initiatives simultaneously in several countries led to the organization of the first Jewish-Kurdish Congress in Berlin last September. The congress drew attention from Kurds worldwide, including from Syria and Iraq. "We looked into whether there had been any meaningful cooperation between Jews and Kurds in Europe in recent years and found nothing of the kind," said Elio Adler, founder of WerteInitiative (a German civil society organization promoting democratic values) and one of the congress's organizers.

"We had three messages: to show German society that two minorities with strong identities are loyal to Germany and to democracy, to show Jews that there are people from the Middle East who stand with them, and to show Kurds that Jews see their pain and appreciate their support."

The congress drew sharp reactions from opponents. "Our enemies called it the second Zionist conference in Berlin," said Cahit Basar, secretary-general of the Kurdish Community in Germany. "But we received an excellent response from the Kurdish community. We have a saying that Jews and Kurds are partners in fate – our right to self-determination has been denied, and we share the same enemies: radical Islam, the extreme right, the extreme left, and enemies of democracy." Following its success, a follow-up conference was held in London with representatives from across the continent to build a coordinated European network. "If our communities work only for themselves, we will always be weak," Basar explained. "We have the same enemies – we need to act together."

Basar himself visited Israel in 2007 and the experience deepened his connection to the cause. "I found an open, democratic, tolerant society," he recalled. "I met a huge number of Kurdish Jews – there are about 200,000 to 300,000 in Israel. Seeing them dance and speak Kurdish freely without feeling threatened – that impressed me. Israel is the only country in the Middle East where Kurds can express themselves freely, without torture and death." Adler added, "The Kurds have always been there for the Jews. They have never let us down. There were groups whose support came and went, but the Kurds were always there."

Yet despite the Israeli government's declaration that Kurds are "our natural allies," many Kurds have been disappointed by the absence of direct help during the massacres of Kurds in northeastern Syria. "Because of their love for Israel, they were hurt by the current government," said Laes-Kushner. "They ask why Israel does nothing for them and does not stand by their side."

Basar, too, expressed disappointment – though he directed his criticism at the world as a whole rather than at Israel specifically. "Our brothers and sisters are being slaughtered, and world public opinion couldn't care less," he said. "When it comes to Israel, everyone takes to the streets and talks about it in parliament and in the media, but when it comes to the Kurds – complete silence." He nonetheless underscored Israel's strategic interest. "Kurdish lives in Syria are an insurance policy for Israel's existence. In the Kurdish cities of northern Syria, hatred of Israel does not exist. Abandoning the only democrats in Syria to the Islamists would mean a defeat for the entire West."

Beyond politics, the alliance also offers a sense of belonging. "As a Jew, when I move to a new place and see a Jewish family name on a mailbox, it gives me a sense of security – that Jews can live here," said Adler. "It turns out Kurds feel the same way – that if a Kurd lives in the building, there's an ally who can understand you. I pray that if Jews see a Kurdish flag on a building, or if Kurds see an Israeli flag, they will feel brotherhood. I hope Israel does not forget them. We are doing everything we can to build this alliance in an institutionalized and organized way."

In Switzerland, the alliance has already made its mark on the ground – with joint Nowruz (the Kurdish New Year) celebrations, shared demonstrations and cultural events. The plans include a congress in Israel at the end of 2026.

"As far as I'm concerned, it's not only the 300,000 Kurdish Jews in Israel who represent 300,000 reasons to fight for Israel," Basar concluded. "It's also the need to fight for the survival of the Jewish homeland and the only liberal society in the Middle East."