A family source said that much like previous years, intelligence forces were present again, monitoring visitors, closing the cemetery’s door, and preventing them from entering.
The first-degree family members were notified that they may be there at 9:00 AM only for half an hour, under the condition of avoiding gatherings and withholding information about the visit from other people, the source added, on the condition of anonymity due to fear of reprisals.
The intelligence service warned them the relatives that they would be held responsible for any gatherings or the use of Kurdish symbols, flags, or slogans.
“We set off towards the martyrs' cemetery at 9:00 AM. Some citizens [from Mahabad] had also come behind, reciting the Fatiha [prayer], and they were very happy for the gate to be opened,” the anonymous source said.
One of the men in the crowd approached the forces and asked them to open the locked gate of the cemetery, as Qazi Muhammad’s daughter was also present among those gathered.
“We have come, and you must open the gate for us to go and recite a Fatiha. That white-haired lady is the daughter of the Peshawa [Qazi Muhammad], how can she sit in front of the gate and not be able to go and recite a Fatiha on her father's grave?" the source told Rudaw English, citing the man’s conversation with the intelligence forces.
The source said that after the conversation, they agreed to briefly open the gate.
“Last night, several people visited the gravesite and placed flowers, but when I returned there in the morning, the cemetery's door was closed, and the flowers were placed on the graves,” the source continued.
Each year, people attempt to enter the cemetery late at night to pray at the tomb of the renowned Kurdish leader and to take photos, often bringing Kurdish flags with them.
Another family member, who visits the cemetery annually and is familiar with the Islamic republic’s strict security measures to prevent public attendance, told Rudaw English that intelligence forces typically call them a week in advance to prevent visits to the cemetery.
Permission is typically only granted if the family insists on the visit, the source added, also on the condition of anonymity.
“No one is allowed to give political slogans, sing Kurdish anthems, Ey Raqib [national anthem], raise the Kurdistan flag, hold demonstrations, and give slogans. The space should not become a political space, you must within that hour take care of your condolences, say the Fatiha and such things, and leave,” the family member added, citing the intelligence forces.
The intelligence service warned that the immediate family would be held responsible if any such incidents occurred.
“Intelligence officers also stood here, holding cameras and taking pictures of whoever was coming and leaving. They were recording videos of all those people,” he added.
He recalled a memory from previous years involving a conversation he overheard between intelligence officers. “It was obvious the first one was a high-ranking officer, and they didn’t realize I understood Turkish,” he said.
“They were saying, ‘If I ever got the chance, I would shut this place [the cemetery] down. Then I’d be relieved. I’d flatten it completely, turn it into dirt, into asphalt. I wouldn’t let those graves remain. For me, this place is a problem. I’ve never liked them being here.’”
Qazi Muhammad was a renowned Kurdish leader who founded the first independent Kurdish state, the Republic of Mahabad, based in the city of Mahabad in present-day Iran in 1946.
Mahabad holds immense historical significance for the Kurdish people as a symbol of Kurdish nationalism. It gained prominence as the site where the first independent, yet short-lived, Kurdish state was established.
Qazi Muhammad, the elected president of the Mahabad Republic, Mohammed Hussein Seif Qazi, the defense minister and deputy commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and Sadr Qazi, a member of parliament representing Mahabad, were executed by order of the Pahlavi Shah of Iran without access to a trial on March 30, 1947.
The Republic of Mahabad gained the support of Kurds from other Kurdish areas abroad, mainly Iraq, where former Kurdish leader Mustafa Barzani joined the republic, along with thousands of Kurdish fighters.
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