IENNA,— Activist Atta Nasiri says that after five years of tireless efforts he convinced Austrian authorities to build a memorial to Iranian Kurdish leader Dr Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou, who was assassinated in Vienna by agents believed to have been sent by Tehran.
“The Austrian government consistently turned down my request because they said they were on good terms with Iran and want to keep it that way,” said Nasiri, himself an Iranian Kurd.
He said his breakthrough came when he sent a request for a memorial to the Austrian president.
“The president replied Ghassemlou was our friend and he would do everything he could to make it (the memorial) happen,” Nasiri said.
He added that the location of the memorial was the spot where Ghassemlou, the former leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), was murdered during negotiations called by representatives of the Iranian government.
During the anniversary of Ghassemlou’s death, Nassiri met with the Austrian foreign minister to discuss the memorial.
“After 19 years, the foreign minister was convinced that the Iranian government killed these Kurds,” he said.
Nasiri said that Austrian authorities were also reluctant about the inscription on the memorial,www.ekurd.net but that they had agreed to: “Here, Ghassemlou, the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) was assassinated at the hands of Iranian terrorists.”
He added that he had requested the Austrian authorities to add the names of the assassins on the tablet, but had not received a response.
Nasiri, himself a former member of the KDPI, said the Tehran government had pressured his family in Iran in order to force him to give up the idea of the memorial.
“The Iranian government had also used its agents in Austria to force me to change my mind.” he said, adding that he had received threatening phone calls.
Nasiri, who is a former KDPI fighter, said he was sent by Ghassemlou to study abroad after losing one of his legs during a clash with Iranian soldiers. He received a Masters Degree in sociology and co-wrote a book titled, “The Kurdish issue.”
The activist, who left the KDPI in 1988 over ideological differences, said that instead of helping with his effort for a memorial, the group had instead been critical of him.
By Fuad Haqiqi - Rudaw
Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2013 9:34 am