During the period between the third and fourth congresses of the Kurdistan Students Union, which lasted three years, several major changes occurred in the political arena of Iraq and the internal situation of the Party, which had a direct impact on the Kurdistan Students Union organization.
On 8 February 1963, as a result of a military coup, the Baathists took power, Aylul Revolution which had been ignited for nearly two years, entered a new phase after this coup. Initially, attempts were made through negotiations between the government and the revolution leadership to reach an agreement for a ceasefire and to resolve the problems (at that time, members of the Kurdistan Students Union formed a significant part of the revolution's force and were actively struggling alongside the members and Peshmerga of the revolution), but after the failure of the talks, in June 1963, the Baath Party resumed its attacks on the Peshmerga forces of the revolution on a very large scale. What had more influence on the Party and the revolution in this phase was the tendency of a part of the members of the KDP Political Bureau towards the Baath Party and their agreement with Iran, the result of which was their later turning against the revolution1.
On 18 November 1963, a coup was carried out against the Baath Party by the army, Abdulsalam Arif took power, and negotiations with the revolution resumed. The group of the Political Bureau that intended to split brought themselves closer to the revolution leadership and participated together in the government negotiations; the success of the negotiations resulted in the peace treaty of 10 February 19642. This rift and factionalism within the Party, as can be seen, had a great impact on the revolution and the organizational work of the Party, and its effects were fully reflected in the Fourth Congress of the Kurdistan Students Union organization.
Holding the CongressUnder the ceasefire and the agreement of 10 February 1964, with the aim of reorganizing their internal Situation, strengthening their ranks, and evaluating changes and developments, the Kurdistan Students Union decided in the year 1964 to hold its fourth Congress. After preparations, the Congress was held from 14 to 18 February 1946 in the village of Chokhmakh, located in the Sulaymaniyah Governorate, which was one of the liberated areas under the authority of the revolution3.
The Congress began its work with the presence of one hundred members from the liberated areas, under the slogan (Victory for our revolution and autonomy for Kurdistan within the framework of a democratic Iraq). What was noteworthy was that the members of the Students Union in Badinan were not invited to the Congress, despite the fact that most of them were in the liberated areas and were in the ranks of the revolutionary forces4. This appeared to be an attempt by the Political Bureau group to take full control of this organization by marginalizing the members from Badinan.
In any case, during its four days of work, the Congress elected a new leadership for the organization, most of whom were from Sulaymaniyah. Fuad Mala Mahmud was elected as President and Nawshirwan Mustafa as Secretary of the organization, and the Secretariat Bureau was appointed as follows:
1- Omar Tofiq- Supervisor of Sulaymaniyah Governorate
2- Fuad Ibrahim- Supervisor of Baghdad and its surroundings
3- Haval (Salah)- Supervisor of Erbil Governorate5.
Among the most important decisions of the Congress were:
The formation of a front consisting of the Kurdistan Students Union, the Kurdistan Democratic Youth Union, the Kurdistan Women's Union, and the Kurdistan Teachers Union. Banning the activities of any mass organization for students other than the Kurdistan Students Union. Emphasizing the Support for the revolution6.
The leadership that was elected at that Congress could not perform their duties well, so after only six months had passed, the organization decided to hold its second conference7
Sources and footnotes
1- Destey of the Kurdistan Democratic Party Encyclopedia, History of the Kurdistan Democratic Party Congress Conference (Program and regulationshe is unwell), thefirstedition, the firstedition, (Erbil- printing houseofRojhalatlat- 2021), p. 174.
2- Ibid, p. 178.
3- Sasan Awni, Kurdistan Students Union: Aspects of Struggle and History, (Erbil- Ministry of Education Press- 1998), p. 23; Erfan Aziz Aziz, Congresses and Conferences of the Kurdistan Students Union, First Edition, (Erbil- Rojhalat Press-2012), p. 37; Majid Hassan Ali, The Kurdish Student Movement in Iraq (1926-1970), Master's Thesis/Salahaddin University in Erbil 2008, Spirez Publications, (Erbil- Haji Hashim Press), p. 147; Abdulkarim Fandi, Kurdistan Students Union: An Organized Revolutionary Faction and Strong Supporter of the Kurdish Revolution, Gulan Arabi Magazine, Gulan Media Institution, Issue 22, Erbil, 25 March 1998 AD, p. 53.
4- Erfan Aziz Aziz, Ibid, p. 37.
5- Ibid, pp. 37-38.
6- Shazin Hirsh, Democratic and Professional Organizations in Several Historical Documents 1958 - 1968, Second Edition, (Sulaymaniyah - Raz Press - 2001 AD), pp. 56 - 57; Erfan Aziz Aziz, Ibid, p. 39.
7- Sasan Awni, previous source, pp. 23-24.