Five pro-independence political parties and movements of Rojhelat (East Kurdistan), in relation to the uprising and public discontent, as well as the bloody crackdown in Kurdistan—“Ilam, Malekshahi, Lorestan and Kermashan”—have, in a joint statement addressed to the Kurdish nation in Kurdistan under Iranian occupation, declared that in support of the current uprising, we call on the Kurdish nation across all of Rojhelat Kurdistan—“Ardalan, Urmia, Mukrian and other regions”—to demonstrate Kurdish national unity in these protests by carrying out a general strike on Thursday, the 18th of Bafranbar (Dey month), and to link this action to the protests and demonstrations in the south-eastern parts of Kurdistan—“Ilam, Lorestan, Kermashan, Chaharmahal and other areas”—by organizing a broad and coordinated strike in the bazaars, workplaces, universities, schools, and, in general, across social institutions and centers.
This strike must carry a clear and explicit message: Kurdistan is a colony of Iranian colonialism, and the Kurdish nation, with a national will, is fighting for political sovereignty, independence and the establishment of the country of Kurdistan, dignity, freedom, and the right to self-determination.
The full text of the statement is as follows:
General Strike in East Kurdistan:
A joint statement by five pro-independence political parties and movements of Rojhelat Kurdistan, in relation to the uprising and discontent, and also the bloody crackdown in Kurdistan—“Ilam, Malekshahi, Lorestan and Kermashan.”
To the proud nation of Rojhelat/East Kurdistan;
To the non-Persian nations of occupied lands within the fabricated geography of Iran;
To global public opinion;
To international human rights bodies and humanitarian organizations:
We, as five pro-independence movements of East Kurdistan—“Kurdistan Independence Party, Serbesti Kurdistan Party, the Yarsani Organization (Yari Kurd), the Revolutionary Union of Kurdistan, and the Kurdistan Independence Movement”—regard the events of the past few days in the fabricated geography of Iran not as a temporary wave of discontent, but as a sign of the collapse of dictatorship and the سقوط of that political, economic, and geographic structure called Iran, which has been built on occupation and on the land and blood of non-Persian nations.
As we had also stated previously, the Kurdish nation in Rojhelat/East Kurdistan has always decided and acted with awareness, relying on the realities on the ground and its national interests. Therefore, we ask all sides to organize themselves, as always, with open eyes and vigilance, and to remain fully prepared to organize and safeguard the security of Kurdish society and …, while at the same time seriously following developments—so that the greatest gains are achieved at the lowest cost, and so that we take steps only when they serve the benefit and interest of our nation. What determines the time and manner of each step is solely the demand, will, and decision of the people of Kurdistan…
Now that the lionhearted women and courageous men of Rojhelat/East Kurdistan—from Malekshahi and Ilam to Lorestan and the “capital-like” Kermashan—have poured into the streets and stood against the repression of the Iranian occupier, we consider this uprising and revolt a sign of our national will, and we support and back it with all our strength; a support based on national discipline, social organization, and care for and protection of the lives of our compatriots.
A bitter and undeniable fact is that in these days the repression machine of the occupying regime in Kurdistan is acting more violently and ruthlessly against protesters, and it refrains from no crime or atrocity against the protesters of Zagros “Kurdistan.” That is why, in these very days of the nationwide uprising in the geography called Iran, it has martyred and wounded a large number of our people. The children of the Kurdish nation in Malekshahi and Ilam and other regions are being subjected to volleys of bullets and fire, while in Tehran and the Persian-inhabited cities the repression is not this violent; and this difference is not accidental. Rather, it is the product of a colonial mindset that views “the periphery and the nations of occupied lands” as a testing ground for violence and seeks, by killing the children of the Kurdish nation, to intimidate the other nations as well.
Therefore, in this decisive moment, our words and demands are not limited to Kurdistan alone. We call on the non-Persian nations—Baloch, Azeri, Arab, Turkmen, Caspian, and all nations of occupied lands within the fabricated geography of “Iran”—to clearly, openly, and directly announce their national and political demands and, simultaneously and in coordination, to expand the arena through organized field action and strikes and …, so that the burden of repression does not fall solely on the shoulders of one nation.
This call is not a call for violence; it is a call to unify civil and national resistance and to share responsibility, costs, and burdens, so that the machinery of crime and atrocity of the Iranian regime cannot target Kurdistan alone and then return, with peace of mind, to reproduce its hegemony over all other occupied nations.
We do not forget the experience of the Jina uprising: Kurdistan and Baluchistan paid the highest price in martyrs and victims, while Iran’s center and “Farsistan” retreated at the lowest cost. This time, the Kurdish nation must not be the sole victim. True solidarity means broad and simultaneous participation by all non-Persian occupied nations—“one time, one میدان”—so that the blood of Kurdistan does not become a tool for political bargaining and the cost of the uprising does not, one-sidedly, weigh upon the Kurdish nation.
We also remind you that what is happening today in Kurdistan and its surroundings is not detached from history. The historical memory of Lorestan, as historical testimony, tells us that Lorestan in the era of Reza Khan Pahlavi also did not submit to the Pahlavi centralization project and Reza Khan’s occupation; therefore, in that period too, it was subjected to a torrent of repression, killing, and the ruthless bombardment of the Iranian occupier. Today it is the same occupier, changed only in color and face—not in essence, thought, or behavior.
In the geography of Zagros and Kurdistan, names such as Qadam-Kheyr Qalavand and Bibi Maryam Bakhtiari, Shir-Ali Mardan, Davod Khan Kalhor, Ismail Agha Simko, Peshawa Qazi Muhammad, and other figures of Kurdistan’s resistance remind us of one truth: freedom and independence are secured through awareness, organization, and the continuation of struggle. We—the people of Ilam, Chaharmahal, Lorestan, Kermashan, Sanandaj, Urmia, Hamadan, and Zagros as a whole—are heirs to that tradition of freedom; therefore, proceed in a vigilant and orderly manner, civil and field-based, so that the repression machine cannot exhaust and scatter society through fear and blood.
Within this framework, and in support of the current uprising, we call on the Kurdish nation across all of Rojhelat Kurdistan—“Ardalan, Urmia, Mukrian and other regions”—to demonstrate Kurdish national unity in these protests by carrying out a general strike on Thursday, the 18th of Bafranbar (Dey month), and to link this action to the protests and demonstrations in the south-eastern parts of Kurdistan—“Ilam, Lorestan, Kermashan, Chaharmahal and other areas”—by organizing a broad and coordinated strike in the bazaars, workplaces, universities, schools, and, in general, across social institutions and centers.
This strike must carry a clear and explicit message: Kurdistan is a colony of Iranian colonialism, and the Kurdish nation, with a national will, is fighting for political sovereignty, independence and the establishment of the country of Kurdistan, dignity, freedom, and the right to self-determination.
We call on the international community, human rights institutions, and humanitarian organizations not to remain mere “observers and spectators,” but to hear the cry of the nations of occupied lands, because the repression machine in those regions—especially in Kurdistan under Iranian occupation—acts more recklessly and kills people. The world must impose the political and legal cost of these crimes on the commanders and perpetrators of repression.
What is happening today in Kurdistan is not a confrontation between the Kurdish nation and a temporary crisis; it is a confrontation and struggle against Iranian occupation and colonialism. The Kurdish nation has risen with a national and historical will to determine its own destiny—a right that has meaning only through independence, political sovereignty, and the establishment of the national state of Kurdistan. On this path, the internal unity of Kurdistan, the coming together of non-Persian nations, and coordinated collective action are the foundations of victory.
Long live the national struggle of the Kurdish nation for freedom and independence
Kurdistan Independence Party
Party Serbesti Kurdistan
Yarsani Organization (Yari Kurd)
Revolutionary Union of Kurdistan
Kurdistan Independence Movement
16 Bafranbar 2725 (Kurdish calendar)
6 January 2026 (Gregorian)
