Kurdistan Democratic Party

The Kurdistan Democratic Party (Kurdish: پارتی دیموکراتی کوردستان, or: Partiya Demokrat a Kurdistanê), usually abbreviated as KDP or PDK, is one of the main Kurdish parties in Iraqi Kurdistan. It was founded in 1946 in Mahabad in Iranian Kurdistan. The party says it exists to combine "democratic values and social justice to form a system whereby everyone in Kurdistan can live on an equal basis with great emphasis given to rights of individuals and freedom of expression."

History

Kurdistan Democratic Party, like most Southern Kurdistani political parties, has a complicated history that is closely intertwined with both the politics of Baghdad and Iraq's neighbors, particularly Iran.

Foundation

In 1946, the leader of the Soviet-backed Republic of Mahabad, Qazi Muhammad, announced the formation of a "Kurdish Democratic Party" based in Iran, or Eastern Kurdistan. The Soviet Union, then supporting the Kurdish national struggle against the monarchies of Iran and Iraq, instructed Mustafa Barzani to place himself under the authority of Qazi Muhammad. It is not clear whether Mulla Mustafa ever formally agreed to this arrangement, but as a fugitive from Iraqi authorities he relied upon the goodwill of the Iranian Kurds and their Soviet backers, and local Kurds were ordered by the authority of the Republic of Mahabad to house and feed his destitute forces.

KDP (disambiguation)

KDP may refer to: