Whether the PDKI is also known as the KDPI and the DPIK; the names of the "DPIK Vancouver Committee", including its president and the duration of his or her term of office; whether there is a body or organization anywhere in the world which is authorized to confirm an individual as a member of the KDPI in Iran or abroad, and the name of the head of the KDPI in the Netherlands [IRN29178.E]

Information on the "DPIK Vancouver Committee" could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

For information on the synonymy of KDPI (Kurdish [or Kurdistan] Democratic Party of Iran) and DPIK (Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan), please see Response to Information Request IRN28916.E of 6 March 1998. Sources consulted by the Research Directorate indicate that PDKI is the French version of both KDPI and DPIK. "Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran" is "Parti démocratique kurde d'Iran" in French, and "Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan" is "Parti démocratique du Kurdistan iranien" in French. Either way, the French initials are "PDKI". For examples, please see Response to Information Request IRN7310 (in French) of 29 November 1990, and the French version of the IRB Question and Answer paper entitled "Iran: Chronology of Events, June 1989-July 1994" ("Iran : Chronologie des événements, juin 1989 à juillet 1994").

A professor with the Department of Political Science at Springfield College in Mobile, Alabama, who specializes in Iranian studies and who has written about Iranian Kurds, confirmed to the Research Directorate in a 30 March 1998 telephone interview that KDPI, DPIK, and PDKI all refer to the same organization. This information was corroborated by a representative of the KDPI in a letter sent by fax to the Research Directorate on 1 April 1998.

The KDPI representative also informed the Research Directorate, in the same letter, that only the Office of International Relations ("Bureau des Relations Internationales") of the KDPI is authorized to confirm whether a person is a member or sympathizer of the KDPI. Only the head of the Office, Ghacem Hosseini, has the authority to sign documents which provide such confirmation. Moreover, Mr. Hosseini will sign such documents only after the case has been studied by the KDPI Membership Commission ("Commission d'adhésion") in Kurdistan and the said Commission has informed Mr. Hosseini of the status of the person in question. The KDPI representative did not specify in which part of Kurdistan the office of the KDPI Membership Commission is located.

The Research Directorate was informed in a 31 March 1998 telephone interview with a representative of the KDPI in The Netherlands that the head of The Netherlands branch of the KDPI is Sadegh Zarza.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References


KDPI, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands. 31 March 1998. Telephone interview with a representative.

KDPI, Paris, France. 1 April 1998. Letter sent to the Research Directorate by fax.

Professor of political science specializing in Iranian studies, Springfield College, Mobile, Alabama. 30 March 1998. Telephone interview.