Kurdish United Front

The Kurdish United Front (Kurdish: بەرەی يەکگرتووی كورد‎; Persian: جبهه متحد كرد‎; abbreviated KUF) is an ethnic political organization associated with Kurds in Iran which operates inside Iran. The organization works within the framework of constitution of Iran, eschews violence and separatism, while demanding democracy and minority rights.[3][5] It is not an officially registered party or non-governmental organization.[5]

Kurdish United Front
AbbreviationKUF
Secretary-GeneralRaouf Karimi[1]
SpokespersonAzad Mohammadiani[2]
FounderBahaedin Adab
FoundedJanuary 3, 2006 (2006-01-03)
HeadquartersIran
Membership (2006)3,000[3]
Ideology
Parliament
0 / 290
Website
rojinwe.com

According to a Chatham House report, it is permitted by the Iranian government, however policies "make it very difficult" for them to "operate freely and their positions, which must by necessity be moderate and mostly passive, cannot compete with firmer Kurdish nationalist rhetoric from outside Iran".[4] It was established in January 2006 by former MP Bahaedin Adab and belongs to the reformist tendency.[3]

Audience at the gathering to commemorate the Front's first anniversary in 2007

According to Adab, the front aims to "raise awareness among Kurds of their rights and help them choose the right representatives in town councils and the parliament as these are the only ways they can get through to the authority".[3]

Based on a 2006 poll, the majority of Iranian Kurds support the movement.[6]

KUF is operational in a number of cities in Iran, including Urmia, Ilam, Kermanshah, Hamadan, Tehran and Sanandaj.[7]

References
  1. "Head of unlicensed Kurdish party runs for Iranian parliament", Rudaw, 3 December 2015, retrieved 4 May 2017
  2. "Kurdish group shows 'conditional' support for Rouhani's second-term in office", Rudaw, 3 May 2017, retrieved 4 May 2017
  3. "Iran Kurds form reformist front". Hürriyet Daily News. 3 January 2006. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  4. Stansfield, Gareth; Lowe, Robert; Ahmadzadeh, Hashem (December 2007), "The Kurdish Policy Imperative" (PDF), Middle East Programme, Chatham House, MEP BP 07/04, retrieved 21 June 2016
  5. Esfandiari, Golnaz (3 January 2006). "Iran: Kurds Form Front To Demand Rights". RFE/RL. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  6. Reveron, Derek S.; Murer, Jeffrey Stevenson (2006), "Chapter 3: Kurdistan", Flashpoints in the War on Terrorism, Taylor & Francis, pp. 52–53, ISBN 9780415954914
  7. Zhigalina, Olga (14 September 2013). "Iran and the Iranian Kurds". New Eastern Outlook. Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
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