Biography

Sako Kanyelanji was born in 1910 in the village of Kanyelanji, belonging to the Goratu sub-district in the Mergasor district of Erbil province. Before going to the Soviet Union, he was married, and his wife's name was Fatima Hado Karim; they had two sons and a daughter named Hamin and Bayaz, who were born in 1942, and their other son's name was Musa. He also remarried in the Soviet Union to Nina. While in the Soviet Union, due to his advanced age, he was unable to attend university and continued working. He knew both the Kurdish and Russian languages. He passed away on December 8, 2002, in the village of Kherazok and was buried in the village of Kanyelanji.

Struggle Record

 In 1932, he joined the ranks of the First Barzan Revolution and participated in the battles. After the defeat of the First Barzan Revolution, he remained in the mountains near the village of Tatke with Khalil Khoshawi, Ahmed Nadir, and Abdullah Karkamui. Along with his armed men, he provided assistance to the Mustafa Barzani in the Republic of Turkey.

In 1943, he joined the ranks of the Second Barzan Revolution and became a Head of Branch. On October 2, 1943, he participated in the capture of the Shanadar police station, on October 12, 1943, in the capture of the Kherazok police station, on October 20, 1943, in the capture of the Sherwan Mazn police station, and on November 10, 1943, in the capture of the Mazne police station. For this reason, on August 19, 1945, by order of the military tribunal, all his movable and immovable property was seized. On September 5, 1945, he participated in the capture of the Meydan Morik police station, and on September 14, 1945, during their withdrawal to Pires Mountain, he was wounded.

On October 11, 1945, after the defeat of the Second Barzan Revolution, he crossed into Eastern Kurdistan with Mustafa Barzani and his companions. After the establishment of the Republic of Kurdistan in Mahabad, on March 31, 1946, he defended the Republic within the framework of the Barzan force and was a Company Commander. On April 29, 1946, he participated in the Battle of Qarawa in the Saqqez region of Eastern Kurdistan and was a platoon leader.

 In 1947, he participated in the battles of Sofian, Harb, and Kuikan. After the defeat of the Republic of Kurdistan, on March 3 of the same year, he participated in the Battle of Nalos and was the commander of one military battalion, and on March 19, he participated in the battles of Oshnavieh and Naghadeh.

He was among the Peshmerga who returned to the Sherwan and Mizuri region through the territory of Northern Kurdistan on April 19, 1947, via the (Khwakurk and Barazgar plain) route.

After their return, General Mustafa Barzani held a meeting with his companions on May 6, 1947, in the village of Argosh and gave them the choice to stay or go to the Soviet Union. There, all his companions decided to continue and go to the Soviet Union. On May 23, 1947, he accompanied General Mustafa Barzani towards the Soviet Union and participated in the Battle of Gali Qotur and the Battle of Maku Bridge. After much hardship and fatigue, on June 18, 1947, he crossed into the Soviet Union at the Aras River, which lies on the border between Iran and the Soviet Union.

After arriving in the Soviet Union, on June 19, 1947, he and all his companions were placed in an open-air compound surrounded by barbed wire in the city of Nakhchivan in the Republic of Azerbaijan for forty days. They were guarded by a group of soldiers and were treated like prisoners of war in terms of food, clothing, and movement. Later, by the decision of the Soviet government, they were distributed among the regions of Aghdam, Lachin, Ayolakh, and Kalbajar in the Republic of Azerbaijan. On December 10, 1947, they were moved to a military camp on the Caspian Sea in Baku, the capital of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and on the 23rd of the same month, they were given military uniforms and, under the supervision of the officers of the Republic of Azerbaijan, were given eight hours of military training daily. At the same time, they were taught the Kurdish language for four hours daily by some of their companions who were literate.

After the poor treatment of the companions by Jafar Bagirov, it was decided to move the military camp from the Republic of Azerbaijan on August 29, 1948, to the Charchuk community near Tashkent, the capital of the Republic of Uzbekistan, where they continued their military training.

In March 1949, along with his companions, they were distributed in groups and squads by train across the collective villages of the Soviet Union and worked in the Kolkhoz fields (lands that people rented from the government and later gave the government's share back).

After much effort and sending several letters by General Barzani to Stalin, a letter finally reached Stalin in which Barzani described the hardships of his companions, and he immediately ordered the formation of a committee to investigate the situation of Barzani's companions. Eventually, the committee's decision was that they should all be gathered in the city of Vrevsky, so he went to the city of Vrevsky in the Soviet Union in November 1951.

After the July 14, 1958 revolution in Iraq and the return of General Mustafa Barzani, on February 25, 1959, and according to both the third and seventh articles and paragraph (a) of the tenth article, and by applying article (11) based on the amended Law No. 19 of 1959, he and his companions were granted a general amnesty.

In 1958, the Republic of Iraq was established under the presidency of Abd al-Karim Qasim. On April 16, 1959, he returned to Kurdistan with his companions by the ship 'Gruzia' via the port of Basra in the south of the Republic of Iraq. After his return, in the same year, he became the representative of Sheikh Ahmed Barzani for managing social affairs in the Barzan region.

In the Year 1961, he participated in the Aylul Revolution and was the head of the Pires axis. In 1963, he participated in the battles of Pires, Sari Buk, and Zawa, and on the night of 14-15 June 1963, he participated in the battle of Sari Akre.

 After the 11 March 1970 agreement, he became a border guard in the Mergasor area. In 1974, he was a Commander of Mount Gureze. In 1975, after the collapse of the Aylul Revolution he resided in the village of Kanyelanj, and a year later, as a refugee, he headed to the Gardiyan area in Northern Kurdistan. In the Year 1979, he participated in the Gulan Revolution and was a Commander of a force. In 1980, he went to the Islamic Republic of Iran and participated with a detachment in the battles of Sidekan, Lolan, Khrine, and Khwakurk.

 In 1991, he returned to Southern Kurdistan. On 6 October 1999, at the twelfth congress of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, due to his struggle and resistance in the first and second Barzan revolutions, the Republic of Kurdistan, accompanying Barzani to the Soviet Union, Aylul Revolution and the Gulan Revolution, by President Masoud Barzani he was awarded the Barzani the Immortal Medal. Throughout his struggle, he was wounded 27 times.

Sources:
  1. Archive of the Kurdistan Democratic Party Encyclopedia Board.
  2. Hamid Gawhari, The Barzani Medal is the Highest Honor Award, Volume One, (Erbil - Haji Hashim Printing House – 2015).
  3. Hamid Gawhari, The Barzani Medal is the Highest Honor Award, Volume Two, (Erbil - Haji Hashim Printing House – 2015).
  4. Hamid Gardi, A Summary of History, First Edition, (Erbil - Aras Printing and Publishing House - Ministry of Education Printing House - 2004).
  5. Haydar Faruq al-Samarrai, Dia Jafar and his Political and Economic Role in Iraq, (London – Dar al-Hikma – 2016).
  6. From the memoir of the martyr Commander Haso Mirxan Zhazhoki, 62 Days with Barzani, The Departure of the Barzanis to the Soviet Union, First Edition (Erbil - Rewshanbiri Printing House – 1997).
  7. Masoud Barzani, Barzani and the Kurdish Liberation Movement 1931-1958, (Duhok - Khabat Printing House – 1998).
  8. Masoud Barzani, Barzani and the Kurdish Liberation Movement 1931-1958, Volume One, (Erbil - Unknown Printing House – 2012).
  9. Masoud Barzani, Barzani and the Kurdish Liberation Movement 1961-1975, Volume Three, Part One, (Erbil - Ministry of Education Printing House - 2004).