Publication: Guardian 1821-2000; Date: Jun 22, 1979; Section: None; Page: 7
Kurds threaten to abandon Iranian
ëiliiénship unless demands aWillét
From Liz Thurgood
in tehran
More than 12,00D Kurdish re-
fugces have tliVCp l v d to
abandon their Iranian citizen-
ship and march inLu Turkey OL
Iraq if the Government does
not allow them to return to
their homes in safety.
The ultimatum was delivered
yesterday by the Kurdi Pi rein-
gee committee which waS Let
up after ft httng in The wes-
inn towit of Nagliadeli two
months ago. According to a
committee spokesman, 12,473
Kurdish men, wonton, and
cl flJt CL I were made homeless
by the fighting and are now
wandering from town to town
In search of help, frightened to
return home.
The Kurds have also Lssue.j
a, flYC r at list of demands
which 1 they saY. must ,be Eu!.
filled before they wilt return
1(1 Naghadch. these range
from the prosecution of
“members of the Shah 's r e -
gime” now serving on the
Jnlan Konittelis. 11w replace-
ment of the Komitebs (made
up of Persian J, with councils
of Kinds and Turks 4 control of
llirtjral gendarnieric. and
Government compensation for
damaged property
The Thirdiich action appar
i'ntly follows repeaLed elfou'ts
In try to negotiate a- ett1eutont -
with the Govcrmnent. the cOin-
iniUte cabled the Prime Minis-
ter'a office warning that: it
would seèi political asylum in
either iraq or Turkey it their
demands were iiol met The
deadline espires at midnight on
Monday.
“If neither the Iraqis nor
the Turks wilt give us a home,
we will ask other countrIes
such as Afghnnisja , Kuwait,
o” Pakistan,” said Mulnmnmiad
Morad Rassouli, one ol' five
committee itienibers visiting
Tehran to try to see Dr Mebdi
Bazargan. the Prime tlnIster.
The ICurds have been told Ib M.
a meeting cannot be arranged
for at least two months.
The demands coincide with
fresh reports of Kurdish 1 1 1k-
luippiness with the u wi, - re-
leased draft Constitution. The
Kui-ds. and Ii'a 's other rei ttess
such as the
Turkoinans and Arabs, h id
been hoping that the 1M-
article—document-- would offer
the m autononty
But the only concession the
Guvernntent appears ready to
make is greater participation
in running their own affairs
and the right to linguisti c -and
cultural freedoms, -
The refugees were made
homeless when fierce fighting
broke out between the Kurds
and Turks two montbs—ite
The Ira ni an Army moved In
whit nd helicopters and
the Kinds claimed that 200 of
thei. aple died in the ensu-
ing battle. The Ku.trd.s claim
that the Gov ei t has
offered no help.
Meanwhile. Sheikh Sadeeli
Khatkkall. reputedly close to
the religious leaders, has put i
price of S131,000 on the Shah/
head. “Anyone who OHMS-
slnaies the hal' .will receive •
hero's welcome,' the Slieikh
told Iranian newspapers yester-
l i L l Y. I1 I I La L1IC Wilt glitter Ifl
i i i tory.”
Earlier, the Sheukim, who re-
cently upset many Iranians by
proposing the Persi O ll be
Tenanmed the Islantie Gulf, din-
closed that three gunmen had
been seal to Mexien 10 kill ilie
Shah. The Sb h's wile.
Livipress Fara, could return
home freely, he said. shoukl
slw either kill the Shah her-
self, or help in his assassins-
tion.
Avotalhth Khomeini's special
envoy in The holy city of
Najaf, Iraq. Ayatollah fle vani,
has reporiedly been seized by
the Ha'alhist regime in a con-
honing wave of arrests,
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