Jalal Talabani participated in Year 1955 as a representative of the Kurdistan Democratic Youth Union with the Iraqi Democratic Youth Organization affiliated with the Iraqi Communist Party in the World Youth Congress in the Polish capital, Warsaw. After his invitation, he headed to the Chinese capital, Beijing, for the purpose of participating in the Youth Festival. On his way back, passing through the Soviet Union, Jalal Talabani was able to contact the leader Mustafa Barzani twice in the capital, Moscow, by phone regarding the party and to obtain instructions.
Earlier, Barzani was informed of the party's problems and situation by Jalal Talabani in a letter, and during those communications, the leader Barzani called for ending the disputes between Hamza Abdullah and Ibrahim Ahmad to reconcile them.
Based on the request of the leader Mustafa Barzani, several meetings were organized between Hamza Abdullah and Ibrahim Ahmad for the sake of unification and resolving the disputes between them. Finally, a statement was issued by the Advanced Front of the Kurdish Democratic Party, which was led by Hamza Abdullah, with the aim of dissolving itself and returning to the ranks of the Party.
After the return of Hamza Abdullah's wing to the Party in early Year 1956, a group of Kurdish Marxists who were members of the Iraqi Communist Party joined the ranks of the Party after a series of negotiations according to conditions. With the return of Hamza Abdullah's wing and the joining of a group of Kurdish members of the Iraqi Communist Party, most notably Nezad Ahmed Aziz and Khosrow Tawfiq Fathullah, and in a meeting of the Central Committee, the name of the party was changed from (Kurdistan Democratic Party - Iraq) to (United Kurdistan Democratic Party) and a new leadership for the party was appointed. Of course, these changes were contrary to the party's internal regulations and were supposed to be approved in a congress or a general conference.
The new Central Committee consisted of:
1- Ibrahim Ahmad as Secretary-General
3- Ali Abdullah
4- Nouri Ahmed Taha
5- Omar Mustafa
7- Habib Mohammed Karim
8- Nejad Ahmed Aziz
9- Khosrow Tawfiq Fathullah
After that, the Political Bureau was formed from four members: Ibrahim Ahmad, Omar Mustafa, Hamza Abdullah, and Jalal Talabani..
As a result of this unification, a change occurred in the Party's mouthpiece, as a publication of the Party's mouthpiece was printed and published under the name (Khabati Kurdistan - Struggle of Kurdistan).
After these changes, and in Year 1957, the leadership of the Kurdistan branch of the Iraqi Communist Party, which included Saleh Haidari, Hamid Osman, and Kamal Fuad, reached the conclusion that the Kurds must all unite in one party. The Kurdistan branch of the Communist Party dissolved themselves and joined the ranks of the United Kurdistan Democratic Party, where changes took place in the party's leadership once again, and both Saleh al-Haidari and Hamid Osman were added to the Central Committee. The Political Bureau was formed from Ibrahim Ahmad, Saleh Haidari, Hamza Abdullah, Hamid Osman, and Jalal Talabani.
After the July 14, 1958 revolution, the monarchy ended and was replaced by the republican system, and the Republic of Iraq entered a new phase and many important changes occurred. The Republic of Iraq withdrew from the Baghdad Pact on March 24, 1959, and from the Anglo-Iraqi Agreement on May 30 of the same year, and on April 4, 1959, the last military units of the British Army withdrew from Iraq, and in early June, the Republic of Iraq left the Sterling Pound.
The July 14 revolution and the post-revolution period created an atmosphere favorable for secret organizations, as the party began to reorganize the structure of mass and professional organizations, and the return of the leader Mustafa Barzani and his companions from the Soviet Union on October 6, 1958, had a major impact on fueling the enthusiasm of the masses and joining the Party.
The dominance of the communists during the era of Abd al-Karim Qasim affected the Party and led to its gradual disintegration, especially through the cadres of the Communist Party who had joined the ranks of the Party in previous periods. The joining of the communists to the ranks of the Party and their influence on Hamza Abdullah soon led to the control of the party.
In the first step, Ibrahim Ahmad was dismissed on charges of being right-wing, and Hamza Abdullah was appointed in his place as Secretary of the Party, and Jalal Talabani, who was a member of the Political Bureau, was dismissed for the same reasons. A secret relationship was established between the Political Bureau and the Communist Party, as the Party turned into a branch of the Communist Party branches. This support for the Communist Party gradually extended to the party's base and its members, and against the backdrop of this situation, the leader Mustafa Barzani received many complaints from party organizations and their members and was asked to accelerate the holding of the congress to end the problems. In contrast, the Political Bureau was constantly placing obstacles in the way of holding the congress and trying to postpone it.
Holding the CongressIn order to end and eradicate the problems, the leader Mustafa Barzani called for a meeting of the Central Committee of the Party, and on June 30, 1959, the Central Committee of the Party met with all its members at the home of the leader Mustafa Barzani in Baghdad without the presence of the Party Secretary and the Political Bureau. After the meeting, the Central Committee decided to freeze the membership of the Party Secretary Hamza Abdullah and each of Khosrow Tawfiq, Nezad Ahmed, Saleh Rushdi, Hamid Osman, and Saleh Haidari. It was also decided to prepare for the Fourth Congress of the Party, and a preparatory committee was formed for this purpose.
After full preparations, the congress was held from October 4 to 7, 1959, in the presence of 120 delegates at the home of Kaka Ziyad Koye, and the meeting was held publicly and in a calm and peaceful atmosphere. The congress approved a new program and internal regulations, and a number of decisions were taken, the most important of which were the following:
• Expelling the heads of the factions from the party.
• The Party returned to the basic national path, as it moved to benefit from Marxism instead of adopting it.
• Changing the name of the Party back to the Kurdistan Democratic Party - Iraq.
• For the first time, it was decided to establish the Supreme Committee for Oversight and Inspection.
The leader Mustafa Barzani attended the Party congress for the first time and was re-elected as President of the Party in his personal presence, and in conclusion, a new leadership was elected by the Congress Representatives, and they are:
1- Mustafa Barzani as President
2- Ibrahim Ahmad as Secretary
3- Nouri Shaways
4- Ali Abdullah
5- Omar Mustafa
6- Jalal Shawani (Professor Jalal Abdulrahman Amin)
7- Ahmed Amidi (Ahmed Abdullah Mohammed)
8- Awni Yousef
9- Sayed Aziz Shamzini (Aziz Abdullah Abdul Qadir)
10- Nouri Ahmed Taha
11- Dr. Murad Aziz (Murad Razm Avar)
12- Mullah Matur (Abdullah Ismail Ahmed)
13- Jalal Talabani
Numan Issa was also elected as an alternate member of the Central Committee.
For the first time, the Supreme Committee for Oversight and Inspection was formed, and it consisted of five members: Shamsaddin Mufti, Habib Mohammed Karim, Ali Askari, Yadullah Fili, and Zakiya Ismail Haqqi Mirza.
In the congress, the following were dismissed: Hamza Abdullah, Hamid Osman, Saleh Haidari, Nezad Ahmed Aziz Agha, Khosrow Tawfiq Fathullah, Hama Karim Fathullah, Saleh Rushdi, and their supporters from the ranks of the party.
Sources1- Masoud Barzani, Barzani and the Kurdish Liberation Movement, 1958-1961, Volume Two, (2012).
2- Letter from Jalal Talabani to Comrade Leader Mustafa Barzani (30/7/1957) Masoud Barzani and the Kurdish Liberation Movement, 1931-1958, Volume One, (Erbil, Ministry of Education Press, 2004), Document No. 8.
3- Habib Mohammed Karim, History of the Kurdistan Democratic Party - Iraq (in key milestones) 1946 - 1993, (Duhok – Khabat Press – 1998 AD).
4- Ali Abdullah, History of the Kurdistan Democratic Party - Iraq until the convening of the Third Congress (Location unknown - 1968 AD).
5- Salah Rashid, Mam Jalal: The Meeting of a Lifetime from Youth to the Republican Palace (Sulaymaniyah - Kardo Press – 2017).
6- Dr. Sherko Fathallah Omar, The Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Kurdish Nation's Liberation Movement 1946-1957, and Siwara Qaladze (Martyr Azad Hawrami Press - 2013).