After the holding of the second conference of the Kurdistan Students Union in August 1964, the organization’s branches in the educational centers, in the various cities of Kurdistan and Iraq, became actively engaged in work, with the aim of further organizing their affairs. By decision of the Students Secretariat, it was agreed that during the mid-year holiday of the 1964-1965 academic year, a broad meeting would be held1.
The meeting was held in February 1965, in the Qaradagh area in the south of Sulaymaniyah Province, with the attendance of representatives of all the organization’s branches in the various cities of Kurdistan and Iraq, especially the Badinan area. In that meeting, nearly forty members took part, and Ali Shangari was sent by the central office of the Party to oversee the meeting2.
The meeting lasted one day, and among its most important decisions was reaffirming support for the revolution. It was also decided that that secretariat, or that preparatory committee elected at the second conference, should remain in place until the holding of the next Congress3.
In contrast, the group that had split from the Party and the organization and had aligned itself with the group of the political bureau issued a statement against the meeting, which further complicated the organization’s internal situation4.
After a short time had passed since this meeting, conflict and disagreement arose again between the leadership of the Kurdistan Students Union. As a result, a number of members left the organization, and several leading members also withdrew from the leadership in various ways.Among them, Bekir Hussein, a member of the Secretariat, joined the split group of the political bureau, so he was expelled from the ranks of the Student Union; likewise, Abdulkarim Fandi joined the ranks of the Peshmerga forces of the Aylul Revolution, and Jalal Hama Ali left the ranks of the Kurdistan Student Union5.
Because of the Situation the Kurdistan Student Union organization was going through and with the aim of solving the accumulated problems, the organization’s Secretariat decided to hold an emergency conference, so that preparations for holding the Fifth Congress could begin as soon as possible. Thus, the conference was held on June 29, 1966 in the center of the Balakayat district, and several decisions were issued, the most important of which were: the formation of the preparatory committee for the Fifth Congress, which had been decided to be held in the summer of 1967. Continuing support for the revolution and advocating for the professional and academic demands of Kurdish students6.
Holding of the Congress:As had been decided at the Nawdaran Conference, due to the complex situation the organization was going through and after the preparations of the Preparatory Committee, the Congress was held from 13 to 15 July 1967, under the slogan (Dear Student Community, struggle for the rights of students and the building of a democratic and parliamentary Iraq and autonomy for Kurdistan), with the attendance of seventy delegates from the organization’s branches and internal committees in the colleges of Baghdad and Mosul and institutes and intermediate and secondary schools of various areas of Kurdistan, in the Shwan area belonging to Kirkuk Province, with the حضور of Ahmad Jirjis Atroshi, representative of Mustafa Barzani, being held7.
By the members of the Congress, the draft program and internal regulations of the organization were approved with amendments, and Abdulkarim Hasan was elected as president and Nawzad Ali Mohammed as secretary of the organization. The new secretariat was also elected by the votes of the Congress delegates as follows:
1- Anwər Abdullah, member of the Secretariat
2- Qadir Hamadamin, member of the Secretariat
3- Jawad Muhammad Shirwani, member of the Secretariat
4- Hamaziad Ismail, member of the Secretariat8.
Among the most important decisions of the Congress:
Strengthening relations with the student organizations of Turkey and Syria. Opening a university in Kurdistan. Expelling Abdulwahab Talabani and Fares Jukal Hawiz from the organization because of their ties to the central authority. Admitting the students of Kurdistan to the colleges and universities of Iraq on a regional quota basis. Kurdishizing education at all stages throughout Kurdistan, especially Mosul Province. Admitting Kurdish students to military, police, and aviation colleges. Determining the fate of those students who had joined the revolution. The organization’s representation in the Revolutionary Command Council and several other decisions9.
In the new leadership, in the month of November 1967, they published the magazine "Students' Struggle" as the organ of the Students' Union, but this staff worked for only a short time and after four months Abdulkarim Hasan submitted his resignation as president of the union to the secretariat, and Nawzad Muhammad Ali also joined the ranks of the Peshmerga forces; in their place, Anwar Abdullah was appointed as president of the Students' Union and Abdulqader Hamedamin as secretary of the Kurdistan Students' Union10.
It was not long before a problem arose between this new leadership, because the cadres of the city of Baghdad expressed their dissatisfaction that their representatives had been reduced in the Fifth Congress, so a committee was formed to oversee the Baghdad organizing committee under the name “The Main Baghdad Organizing Committee.” After the committee began its work, a new body for the leadership of the union was elected in this way:
1- Farhad Awni Habib, head of the committee
2- Jalal Khoshnaw, committee member
3- Ranj Nuri Shaways, committee member
4- Jawad Muhammad Sherwani, committee member
5- Adel Fazl Leilani, committee member
6- Fereydun Osman, committee member11.
The Central Organizing Committee of Baghdad, in 1968, due to the weakness of the secretariat, established contacts with the branches in Kirkuk, Sulaymaniyah, and Mosul so that they could supervise their work; in the same year they openly celebrated Newroz at the College of Administration and Economics of the University of Baghdad, with nearly two hundred Kurdish and Arab students taking part in it12.
Because they were far apart from one another, the Secretariat of the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Central Organizing Committee of Baghdad did not have much coordination between them, and in practice the Baghdad organizing committee had greater authority over the organization’s work. Therefore, the Erbil branch and the Secretariat of the Fifth Congress, in July 1968, visited President Mustafa Barzani in the village of Haji Omeran in Erbil Province, since the Erbil branch had also been unable to coordinate any longer with the Secretariat office13.
This problem and lack of coordination continued until the autumn of 1969, that is, until a delegation from the political bureau of the Kurdistan Democratic Party in the city of Baghdad welcomed the Central Organizing Committee of Baghdad, and it was decided that a joint meeting for both sides be held in the village of Nawpardan, at the headquarters of the political bureau of the Kurdistan Democratic Party14.
On 6 February 1970, in the absence of the president of the Kurdistan Students Union, the meeting was held and, as a result, the "Central Organization Office" was formed in both cities as follows:
1- Farhad Awni, head of the Central Office
2- Anwar Abdulla, member of the Central Office
3- Jalal Salim Khoshnaw, member of the Central Office
4- Qadir Hamedin, member of the Central Office
5- Renj Nuri Shaways, member of the Central Office
6- Adel Fazl Lailani, member of the Central Office15.
After the formation of the new central organization office, the tasks were distributed as follows:
- Farhad Awni and Jalal Khoshnaw - overseeing the organizations of Baghdad University, the schools of Baghdad Governorate, the schools of Sulaymaniyah Governorate, and the schools of Khanaqin.
- Jihad Mohammed Sherwani - head of the arrangements of the University of Basra.
- Qadir Hamedamin - head of the arrangements of the schools of Erbil Governorate.
- Ranj Nuri Shaways and Anwar Abdullah - head of the arrangements of Mosul University and the schools of Mosul Governorate.
- Adel Fazil Lailani and Fereydun Othman - head of the arrangements of Kirkuk Governorate.
- The city of Baghdad was designated as the center of authority16.
Sources and footnotes
1- Irfan Aziz Aziz, Congresses and Conferences of the Kurdistan Students Union, first edition, (Erbil - Rojhalat Press - 2012), pp. 44-45.
2- Majid Hassan Ali, The Kurdish Student Movement in Iraq (1926-1970), Master's thesis / Salahaddin University in Erbil 2008, Speroz Publications, (Erbil - Haji Hashim Press), pp. 50-51.
3- Same source, p. 151.
4- Shazin Hirsh, Democratic and Professional Organizations in Several Historical Documents 1958 ـ 1968, second edition, (Sulaymaniyah - Raz Press - 2001), pp. 96-97.
5- Irfan Aziz Aziz, same source, p. 45.
6- Sasan Awni, Kurdistan Students Union, Several Aspects of Struggle and History, (Erbil - Ministry of Education Press - 1998), p. 24; Irfan Aziz Aziz, same source, p. 46.
7- Kakl Muhammad Tahir, Struggle Pages from the Recent Past, Al-Gulan Al-Arabi magazine, issue 27, Erbil, Al-Thaqafa Press, 25 August 1998, p. 74; Majid Hassan Ali, previous source, p. 152; Irfan Aziz Aziz, same source, p. 47.
8- Majid Hassan Ali, previous source, p. 153; Irfan Aziz Aziz, same source, p. 48.
9- Sasan Awni, previous source, pp. 25-26.
10- Irfan Aziz Aziz, same source, pp. 47-48.
11- Same source, p. 49.
12- Same source, p. 49.
13- same source, p. 49.
14- Sasan Awni, previous source, pp. 26-27; Irfan Aziz Aziz, same source, p. 50.
15- Sasan Awni, previous source, p. 27; Majid Hasan Ali, the previous source, p. 156.
16- Sasan Awni, previous source, p. 27; Irfan Aziz Aziz, same source, p. 56.