The situation of the Kurd before the Freedom Committee

Before the Freedom Committee was formed, Kurdistan was in a difficult situation. On one hand, the whole world was suffering from the Second World War, including the Country of Iraq, because the British were using Iraq's oil and grain to continue the war. On the other hand, the Iraqi monarchy was oppressing the Kurd nation in every way and had deprived them of every normal right that God and human laws have given to humans.

Ignoring the Kurd and their demands for rights led Mullah Mustafa Barzani to assess the level of public support, especially among the Barzanis, and for this purpose, he began visiting the areas around the village of Barzan and visited the famous personalities of the region. During his visits, it became clear to Barzani that the entire public supported him, so he made his final effort with the government of Iraq to resolve the issues peacefully, but his efforts were fruitless, so in 1943 he decided to ignite the Second Barzan Revolution and they cleared the entire region of government armed men and all the police stations in the area fell into the hands of the revolutionaries.

After several battles; including the battles of Goratu, Piran, Mergasor, and Mazna, in all of which the revolutionaries were successful, and also after the Hiwa Party promoted the news of those victories that Barzani had achieved, at the same time the failure of the successive governments that were formed in Baghdad during that period forced the Iraqi government to request negotiations and understanding, and Barzani agreed to this, and these were

the achievements of the negotiations:

1- The return of Sheikh Ahmed Barzani to Barzan.

2- Appointing a new administrative official for the region.

3- Sending supplies to the people of the region.

4- Appointing liaison Officers who consisted of:

  • Brigadier Bahauddin Sheikh Nouri - Sulaymaniyah.
  •  Colonel Amin Rawanduzi - Rawanduz.
  • Captain Sayyid Aziz Sayyid Abdullah - Mergasor.
  • Captain Mirhaj Ahmed - Akre.
  • Captain Mustafa Khoshnaw - Barzan.
  • Major Izzat Abdulaziz - Bile.
  • Captain Majid Ali - for Amadiya.
  • Captain Fuad Arif - for Pshdar.
Formation of the Freedom Committee

In Iraq, several different governments were formed in a short period, but for the Kurd, there was no significant difference in their thinking and actions. This led Mullah Mustafa Barzani to strengthen his social, political, and military support. Politically, the Hiwa Party was inside and had branches in most cities of Kurdistan and Baghdad, and militarily, a large part of the liaison Officers had joined the army that leader Mustafa Barzani was leading. This led General Barzani to think about forming a unified structure between these two components. For this, he discussed the plan to create a committee with Sheikh Ahmed Barzani, and after obtaining the Sheikh's approval, on January 15, 1945, after a series of intensive meetings, Barzani and his fellow officers decided to form the Freedom Committee, and leader Mustafa Barzani became the head of the committee, and these liaison Officers were members of the committee:

It was decided that Barzan would become the main Headquarters of this committee. Also, the Hiwa Party requested to move the main Headquarters of their party to Barzan, because the leader of the Hiwa Party sent a letter to Barzani on January 30, 1945, and had this request for him. Leader Barzani was very pleased with the coordination between the two sides and approved it, but he did not approve of the Hiwa Party moving their Headquarters to Barzan, because this would have been politically harmful to the Kurd liberation movement, and he asked them to secretly support and back demonstrations and the issuance of publications, and Hiwa approved of this and did so.

The Freedom Committee set this program for themselves:

1- The liberation of Kurdistan and freeing it from oppression and tyranny.

2- Forming an armed group to protect Kurdistan.

3- Striving for national peace.

4- Forming fraternal relations with all national and freedom-seeking parties and organizations in all regions of Kurdistan.

5- Conveying the voice of the Kurd people and their grievances to all world public opinion and states through the embassies of states in Baghdad.

6- Exposing the policy of the Baghdad government, which is hostile to the Kurd people, among the strata of the people through media outlets and demanding the implementation of the articles of the 1943 agreement, which stopped the war.

These points were significantly welcomed by the people, youth, and students, and on February 10, 1945, the Kurd youth published a statement in support of the Freedom Committee and delivered it to most personalities, ambassadors, and regions of Kurdistan and Baghdad, in addition to the support that Hiwa gave to the committee.

On August 8, 1945, the Pachachi government issued a statement against Mullah Mustafa Barzani and decided to occupy the Barzan region by force, but the war did not start until August 25. Barzani and the members of the Freedom Committee, each of whom was leading a front, decided to resist and carried out several heroic battles against the Iraqi Army and the British Army and showed unparalleled resistance, until the time when, by the instigation of the British and being bribed by the Iraqi government, some tribes joined the enemy's side and fought alongside the Iraqi Army against the liberation front. This was a fatal blow to the Kurd liberation movement, because in the battles, the Kurd was being killed by the Kurd. This was difficult for Barzani and the Freedom Committee, so at the end of September, Barzani ordered the Commanders of the battle fronts to retreat in an orderly and organized manner toward Iranian territory.

The members of the Freedom Committee, led by Mustafa Barzani, had a significant role in Eastern Kurdistan and in the army of the Republic of Kurdistan in Mahabad, and they were given high ranks in this army and became part of the army protecting the Republic.

Sources:

1- Masoud Barzani, Barzani and the Kurd Liberation Movement 1931-1958, first edition, (Khabat Press - Duhok - 1998).

2- Mustafa Muhammad Karim, Second Barzan Revolution Its causes and consequences 1943-1945, (Danishfar Press - Erbil - 2022).