Iraq: Information since 1980 on a Kurdish group called PASOK
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 October 1996 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | IRQ24715.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Iraq: Information since 1980 on a Kurdish group called PASOK, 1 October 1996, IRQ24715.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6aaf647.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
A representative of the Human Rights Alliance in Washington, DC, provided the following information during a telephone interview on 10 October 1996.
The Kurdish Socialist Party (PASOK) emerged in 1979 when a group of socialists split from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) following the 1975 collapse of the Kurdish movement led by KDP leader Mollah Mustafa Barzani. While not a strong organization in the 1970s, PASOK had some political significance in Iraqi Kurdistan before 1980. In the early 1990s several splinter groups formed of which one joined the KDP, another joined the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), and yet another merged with the Kurdish Popular Democratic Party to create the Kurdistan Unity Party. Some PASOK elements who refused to join these organizations have continued to work under the PASOK banner. However, they do not represent a united organization and work as individuals in Iraqi Kurdistan and abroad, in particular in Sweden.
According to the representative, a PASOK splinter group led by Rasoul Mamand joined the PUK in 1994.
The representative, who does not have any information on the treatment of PASOK elements inside Iraqi Kurdistan, speculated that PASOK elements who oppose the collaboration between the KDP and the Iraqi regime could face ill-treatment.
The attached page from Political Handbook of the World: 1994-1995 provides information on the group led by Rasoul Mamand and its subsequent merger with the PUK.
The attached 28 July 1993 Reuters and 15 April 1992 Voice of Iraqi Kurdistan reports, the 5 April 1991 Middle East Economic Digest article and the attached page from Human Rights in Iraq, provide information on a variety of issues pertaining to PASOK during the period 1985 to 1996.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
Reference
Human Rights Alliance, Washington, DC. 10 October 1996. Telephone interview with representative.
Attachments
Middle East Watch. 1990. Human Rights in Iraq. New York: Human Rights Watch, p. 54.
Middle East Economic Digest. 5 April 1991. Edmund O'Sullivan. "Iraq's Days of Agony and Hope." (NEXIS).
Political Handbook of the World: 1994-1995. 1995. Edited by Arthur S. Banks. Binghamton, NY: CSA Publications, p. 414.
Reuters. 28 July 1993. BC Cycle. "Two Iraqi Kurdish Parties Merge." (NEXIS)
Voice of Iraqi Kurdistan [in Arabic]. 15 April 1992. "Iraqi Kurds Confirm 17th May Elections Date and Set Up Election Committee." (BBC Summary 17 Apr. 1992/NEXIS)