Iraqi Kurdistan Front

(IKF)

   The Iraqi Kurdistan Front was a noteworthy attempt to achieve much-needed unity among the Iraqi Kurds, who historically have been notoriously divided. It was announced in principle in July 1987 and formally in May 1988 as the Iran-Iraq War was nearing its climax. Iran played an important role in bringing the two main Kurdish parties — the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)—together. Six other smaller parties also eventually joined: the Socialist Party of Kurdistan in Iraq (SPKI) led by Rasul Mamand, with Mahmud Osman as a prominent member; the Kurdistan Popular Democratic Party (KPDP) led by Muhammad "Sami" Abdul Rahman; the Kurdish Socialist Party (PASOK) headed by a collective leadership; the Kurdish Branch or Section of the Iraqi Communist Party led by Aziz Muhammad; the Assyrian Democratic Movement; and the Kurdistan Toilers Party led by Kadir Jabari. On the other hand, the various Islamic groups (who taken together probably represented the third strongest force among the Iraqi Kurds) did not join the IKF. In addition, the Turkoman groups also remained aloof.

   Upon its creation, the IKF declared that its main goals were to overthrow the Baathist regime of Saddam Hussein, establish a genuinely democratic government in Iraq, and develop a federal status for the Kurds in Iraq. Jalal Talabani and Massoud Barzani became the Front's co-presidents.

   Although crushed in September 1988 at the end of the Iran-Iraq War and again in April 1991 following the aborted uprising that ensued after Saddam Hussein's defeat in the first Gulf War, the IKF subsequently came to power when the victorious allies instituted a safe haven and no-fly zone to protect the Kurds. Behind this protection, the IKF held regional elections in May 1992 that led to the formation of a parliament in June and a Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in July that represented a higher form of Kurdish unity and thus replaced the IKF.