{"id":3095,"date":"2026-07-21T06:45:55","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T06:45:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cpiran.net\/english\/?p=3095"},"modified":"2026-07-21T06:45:57","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T06:45:57","slug":"commemorating-the-historic-exodus-of-the-people-of-marivan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cpiran.net\/english\/commemorating-the-historic-exodus-of-the-people-of-marivan\/","title":{"rendered":"Commemorating the Historic Exodus of the People of Marivan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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21 July marks the anniversary of one of the brightest moments of civil and class-based resistance in the modern history of Kurdistan; the day when the people of Marivan, faced with the threat of an unwanted and imposed war by the armed forces of the newly established Islamic Republic, found a creative and unprecedented way to defend their lives and dignity. Forty-seven years have passed since that day, yet the memory of this event remains alive, not merely as a historical recollection, but as a model of popular solidarity whose echoes can still be traced in today’s uprisings, including the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Conditions That Made the Exodus Possible<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Marivan Exodus did not emerge out of a vacuum or by chance. It was made possible by several months of popular self-government in the city. Following the collapse of the Pahlavi regime, Marivan was administered through a City Council that enjoyed broad public support. Alongside the council, numerous popular institutions were established: the Peasants’ Union, the Teachers’ Association, the Military Committee for the Protection of the City, the Municipal Workers’ Council, the Union of Unemployed Workers, the Women’s Union, and the Students’ Association. These organizations, largely coordinated by communists (and especially activists of Komala, including Comrade Foad Mostafa Soltani) held real influence in the city and presented a living example of what direct democracy and the rule of the working class and laboring people could look like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These achievements, however, were intolerable to the newly established central government. Local reactionary forces, organized under an institution known as Maktab-e Quran, became a gathering place for landowners, former SAVAK agents, and supporters of the new regime. Backed by the Marivan military garrison, they worked to undermine the council and the popular institutions. The order to attack the city had been issued, and Mostafa Chamran was assigned to carry it out. In this atmosphere, assassinations of activists and armed provocations began. Yet rather than dividing the people, this repression strengthened the unity of Marivan’s residents. Through collective leadership, the City Council ensured internal security while expanding its connections with revolutionaries throughout Kurdistan and Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Demonstrations to the Capture of the IRGC Headquarters;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the establishment of an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) headquarters in the heart of the city, assisted by members of Maktab-e Quran, nightly harassment of residents began, along with attempts to force women to observe compulsory hijab. These provocations were clearly intended to prepare the ground for a military assault from within the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response, the city’s Protection Committee organized a peaceful demonstration on 13 July 1979 against these provocations and against what it described as the poisonous propaganda of the Islamic Republic’s state broadcaster. On that day, the overwhelming majority of the city’s residents, together with people from surrounding villages, marched through the streets in a disciplined and impressive demonstration. The protest turned violent when it was met with bloodshed. Rather than retreating, the enraged demonstrators seized the IRGC headquarters and wrested control of the city from the regime’s local supporters. Nevertheless, the threat posed by the military garrison remained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exodus Instead of Surrender or Massacre;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From that day until 21 July 1979, several rounds of negotiations with the garrison commander ended in failure. When the commander announced the government’s decision to seize the city by force, members of the City Council made a historic decision after just thirty minutes of consultation: to evacuate the city collectively rather than confront a heavily armed force in an unequal battle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The decision was immediately communicated to the public, and within a remarkably short time the city was emptied of its inhabitants with extraordinary order and discipline. Only a group of volunteers remained behind to protect people’s homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What followed was far more than a tactical retreat. At the Kan\u00ee Miran camp, the City Council and volunteer forces rapidly organized collective life for the displaced population. News of the exodus spread through both domestic and international media, generating a wave of solidarity from across Iran and Kurdistan. Among those who joined were marchers from Sanandaj, who, along the way, succeeded in securing the release of eight people who had been detained by the garrison’s forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Victory of Collective Resistance;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The disciplined organization of the people at Kan\u00ee Miran and their determination to resist collectively ultimately forced the government and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to negotiate with representatives of the City Council, led by Comrade Foad Mostafa Soltani. Finally, on 4 August 1979, after obtaining guarantees for the protection of the people and the preservation of their achievements, the proud exodus of the people of Marivan came to an end. The way it had been organized became an inspiring festival of popular self-organization and has since been the subject of dozens of books and hundreds of articles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This victory gave new momentum to the revolutionary movement throughout Iran. The Komala activists in Marivan, led by the late Foad Mostafa Soltani and Ata Rostami, played an irreplaceable role in achieving this success. However, the Islamic Republic did not tolerate these democratic gains. Only fifteen days later, on 19 August 1979, it launched its full-scale military assault on Kurdistan, ushering the Kurdish resistance into a new phase known as the Revolutionary Movement of the People of Kurdistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Legacy That Lives On;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Marivan Exodus must be understood within its true context: the class struggle of a people who were predominantly workers, peasants, and laborers. The demands of the people of Marivan extended beyond national rights; they also sought social justice and liberation from structural discrimination. Standing against them was a government representing the clergy and the ruling classes, which viewed popular self-government as a threat to its survival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The women of Marivan played a central role in organizing collective life at Kan\u00ee Miran and in the ranks of the resistance, a role whose legacy can also be seen in the prominent participation of women in the “Woman, Life, Freedom” uprising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the anniversary of this historic exodus, we honor the memory of all those who took part in it, as well as those who, in the years that followed, lost their lives in other chapters of the just struggle of the people of Kurdistan. The history of Kurdistan is filled with moments when its people, faced with repression and injustice, discovered unexpected yet creative forms of resistance. The Marivan Exodus remains one of the most remarkable of those moments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Marivan Exodus was a living declaration against militarism and repression, proving that: (When the masses take to the stage, history turns its page.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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