Kurdistan Democratic Party

It may sound unusual to publish a book on a Kurdish political party. But chance, destiny,or God knows what, took me to Kurdistan 35 years ago. I was then one of the few newsmen to reach the land of the proud Peshmergas, defying the world with their Brnos, from their remote mountains. In five months spent there I learnt to respect and admire this people. Today, I feel that I have a sense of duty to recount the history of the Kurds. For the last 50 years, the Kurdistan Democratic Party has tried to play the game according to the rules promulgated by the West : Democracy, respect of Human Rights, fairness and honesty. The Kurds however, were not told that these rules were compromised continuously in the struggle for power. Like the Kurdish people, the KDP has been betrayed. Its leaders arrested. Tortured. Murdered. Exiled. Internal tensions have been carefully maintained, even created, by foreign pressures. Pressures which could take the form of military invasions ; or use of universaly forbidden gas and chemical weapons ; or crude murder, the favorite political arm of Middle Eastern chiefs of State. Against all odds, the Kurdish people and the KDP have survived and still prosper. This book has been written as a series of facts, as possible evidence before the universal Court of Justice. So that History will never forget.

François-Xavier Lovat


The History of the Iraqi Kurds from
1948 to 1999,
linked to the History of KDP,
first organised Kurdish Political party.

225 dates, 411 events,
245 photographs

In English and Kurdish (soranî)

Auteur : F.-X. Lovat
Editeur : G.I.D. Editions
Pages : 130
Format : 250x310 mm
Date : 1999
ISBN 0-9536325-0-4