Call from intellectuals and artists for 'Second Kuvayımilliyeciler': 'We will not allow a return from Lausanne to Sèvres'

A group consisting of academics, artists, legal experts, unionists, and representatives of mass organizations has defined themselves as the "Second Kuvayımilliyeciler" and issued a joint declaration.

In the declaration titled "A Call from the Second Kuvayımilliyeciler," a call was made to citizens for an anti-imperialist struggle.

The declaration makes references to the founding process of the Republic of Turkey and the War of Independence, arguing that the legacy of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and the original Kuvayımilliyeciler (National Forces) must be upheld today.

"We are the successors of the fully independent and anti-imperialist legacy"

In the text of the call, the signatories define themselves as the "unending successors" of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and the original Kuvayımilliyeciler.

The declaration included the following statements:

"We are the unending successors of the fully independent, anti-imperialist Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and the first Kuvayımilliyeciler, who lit the torch of our War of Independence in Samsun on May 19, 1919; who fought against the seven imperialist powers and defeated them on the battlefields; who consigned the Treaty of Sèvres, which aimed to tear our own homeland of Anatolia into pieces, to the dustbin of history; and who proclaimed the Republic of Turkey on October 29, 1923."

Emphasis on a "New Sèvres"

The declaration also drew attention to the threats that Turkey is allegedly facing today. In the text, which claims that the secular Republic is being targeted, the Greater Middle East Project was described as "an explicit imposition of a 'new Sèvres'."

The call also addressed the debates regarding the islands and islets in the Aegean, criticizing "those who turn a blind eye to the occupation of our 20 islands and 2 islets in the Aegean." Arguing that war is being brought to the Middle East in line with imperialist interests, it called for a struggle against US imperialism and its "local collaborators."

"We will not allow a return from Lausanne to Sèvres"

At the end of the declaration, a historical warning was issued. In the call, which stated, "If we do not learn our lessons, history will repeat itself," it was expressed that Turkey would not be allowed to be dragged into a return from Lausanne to Sèvres.

The following statements were used in the declaration:

"Today, we call on our patriotic people to struggle against those who want to destroy our secular Republic and drag our country into the quagmire of the Greater Middle East Project, which is an explicit imposition of a 'new Sèvres'; against those who turn a blind eye to the occupation of our 20 islands and 2 islets in the Aegean for the sake of this project; against those who carry war to the Middle East in line with the interests of imperialists; and against US Imperialism, the architect of many more evils, and its local collaborators."

The call ended with the words, "If we do not learn our lessons, history will repeat itself. We will not allow a return from Lausanne to Sèvres."

Who is on the call committee?

The following names are on the "Second Kuvayımilliyeciler" call committee:

Prof. Dr. Ahmet Saltık – Physician, Legal Expert

Ali Rıza Küçükosmanoğlu – President of DİSK Nakliyat-İş Union

Doğan Yücel

Ergün Poyraz – Author

Prof. Dr. Ercan Küçükosmanoğlu – Medical Doctor, Unionist

Hikmet Molu – President of the Women and Struggle Association

İsmail Hakkı Demircioğlu – Artist

Mustafa Hüsnü Bozkurt – President of the Atatürkist Thought Association

Müjdat Gezen – Artist

Atty. Ömer Faruk Eminağaoğlu – Founding President of YARSAV

Prof. Dr. Özler Çakır – Educational Scientist

Suay Karaman – Academic, Author, Secretary General of TÜMOD

Ümit Yalım – Retired Staff Colonel, Former Secretary General of the Ministry of National Defense

A call for signatures was also made to citizens who wish to support the declaration.