Victory Day: I am proud, but I am not hopeful

May 19, 1919, the landing of Gazi Mustafa Kemal Pasha in Samsun and the beginning of the War of Independence...

April 23, 1920, the establishment of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and the transfer of sovereignty unconditionally to the nation.

August 30, 1922, the victory of the Battle of the Commander-in-Chief, Victory Day.

October 29, 1923, the Proclamation of the Republic...

We are celebrating the 104th anniversary of the Great Victory. Am I proud?

Yes, I am proud. 

Am I hopeful for the future of the Republic in the spirit of a Victory Day?

Unfortunately, no. I feel ashamed before our ancestors.

We have four major national holidays. Each holds great importance in the founding of the Republic of Turkey. The August 30 Victory is the mother of all other important national days celebrated as holidays... If there had been no August 30, we could not have celebrated May 19, nor April 23... And of course, there would be no Republic of Turkey...

You know that mentality that says, "I wish the Greeks had won"... If their intentions and wishes had come true, the Republic of Turkey would not have been established, and the Treaty of Sèvres and its map would have become reality.

If the Treaty of Sèvres (August 10, 1920) had been implemented, the piece of land envisioned to remain in the hands of the Ottoman Empire would have consisted of a narrow area ranging between approximately 120,000 to 150,000 square kilometers.

Status of Ottoman Territories According to the Treaty of Sèvres

• Area Left Directly to the Ottomans (~120,000–150,000 km²… Less than 20 percent of our current territory): Only the surroundings of Istanbul (a small area) and a narrow region in Northern and Central Anatolia (around Ankara, Kastamonu, Bolu, Çankırı, Amasya, Tokat, and Çorum) would have remained under Ottoman rule.

• Spheres of Influence and Abandoned Territories:

- Izmir and the Aegean Region: Was to be given to Greece.

- Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia: The establishment of an independent Armenia and an autonomous/independent Kurdistan was planned.

- South and Southeast (up to the Adana, Sivas, Malatya line): French sphere of influence.

- Mediterranean and Southern Central Anatolia (Antalya, Konya, Muğla): Italian sphere of influence.

- Eastern Thrace: Was to be transferred to Greece.

- Istanbul and the Straits: Although it appeared to be the capital of the Ottomans, the Straits were to be left to the administration of an international commission, and it was envisioned that Istanbul would also be taken away if the terms of the treaty were not met.

With the War of Independence led by Gazi Mustafa Kemal Pasha and the subsequent Treaty of Lausanne (1923), this map was completely torn up, and the borders of today's Republic of Turkey (~783,562 km²) were drawn. Hatay was later added to this map. 

IMPERIALISM DOES NOT GIVE UP EVEN AFTER 100 YEARS

This was the plan of imperialism, and despite more than 100 years passing, it has not given up on this plan. Since the day it was founded, imperialism has been working to weaken and eliminate the Republic of Turkey. 

I don't think I need to list here one by one the rebellions that started from the early years of the Republic, the political Islamist and separatist Kurdish movements. We have even seen ministers, people with political power, and even the CHP Chairman praising Sheikh Said and his likes, Seyit Rıza and the Dersim Rebellion, and İskilipli Atıf.

The statements of AKP and DEM Party officials, and PKK spokespersons regarding Lausanne and the hundred-year history of the Republic are also out in the open.

The Minister of National Education does not remember the Ottoman lands and the Turkish Homeland, which were torn apart by the Treaty of Sèvres and shared by England, France, Italy, Greece, Armenia, and Kurdistan, and asks, "Which War of Independence, who did we get saved from?" Let us leave the commentary on this statement by the Minister of National Education, who holds the title of professor, to the reader.

US Ambassador Tom Barrack proposes a "Compassionate Monarchy and Ottoman Ummah System" for Turkey. He is implying that you are Middle Eastern, so a Republic is not for you. Even if not verbatim, President Erdoğan also praises the Ottoman Ummah System. He indirectly criticizes the nation-state system. 

Both AKP spokespersons and DEM spokespersons repeatedly repeat that the 100-year mistake in Turkey started at Lausanne. It is useful to remember the expression in the declaration of self-dissolution announced by the PKK on May 12, 2025, which attacks the foundation of the Republic of Turkey and tries to legitimize terrorism:

"The PKK emerged on the stage of history as the freedom movement of our people against the policy of Kurdish denial and annihilation, which has its source in the Treaty of Lausanne and the 1924 Constitution... It experienced the effects of real socialism at its birth... It carried out a legitimate, justified struggle based on the strategy of armed struggle..."

Lausanne is the target to legitimize terrorism and massacres. Many patriotic journalists and intellectuals, including myself, wrote, "Opening the process of a Terror-Free Turkey to discussion in parliament without withdrawing these words brings Lausanne and the nation-state to the discussion table." As supporters of the process, both the pre-Absolute Nullity CHP management, the Absolute Nullity-supporting CHP management, and the New Party management either did not see or ignored that Lausanne and the nation-state were the targets. The current representatives of the Assembly, which waged a War of Independence against Sèvres, accepted the Law on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration, known in the public as the Framework Law for a Terror-Free Turkey, with a large majority of 467. Those who accepted the law say that a climate of brotherhood and democracy will prevail in Turkey. Those in a large segment of society who are against the law express their concern that with this law, the two main pillars of the Republic of Turkey, the nation-state and the secular structure, will be damaged, and ethnic discrimination, especially regarding the definition of citizenship, will come to the fore.

The supporting main pillars of the Republic of Turkey are the unitary state (nation-state) and the secular state structure. I have briefly tried to summarize above the distance the counter-revolution has covered against the nation-state recently.   

On the other hand, it is also clear that an environment has been created where anti-secular actions are increasing day by day at the state level, and defending secularism is considered a crime not by law, but by practice.

NATO AND THE BLACK SEA

These days, developments that will get us into big trouble are also taking place. The risks for Turkey brought about by the definition of Russia as a 'long-term threat' to Euro-Atlantic security and stability in the final declaration of the NATO Summit held in Ankara are not few.

If "long-term threat" is not a definition of "Enemy" in diplomatic language, then what is it? I would like to summarize the assessment of a retired officer friend of mine.

"This war, which was very close to ending with the Istanbul agreement four years ago, now tends to evolve into a major war that will include all of NATO, including Turkey... Turkey has begun to follow a policy that increasingly supports Ukraine, moving away from the principle of absolute neutrality. Finally, Turkey is also very close to the disgrace of giving some US-made weapons and ammunition in the TSK inventory to Ukraine."

Look at the point where imperialism has brought Turkey.

Just 3 days after the establishment of the TBMM, on April 26, 1920, TBMM Speaker Gazi Mustafa Kemal Pasha wrote a letter to Soviet Russia Leader Lenin. He asked for weapons and financial aid for the struggle against imperialism. This call did not go unanswered. Soviet Russia provided weapons, ammunition, and financial aid to Turkey throughout the War of Independence. (1)

Today, however, it is being discussed that Turkey, a NATO member, should give the American weapons it has to Ukraine. 

I asked at the beginning of the article.

We are celebrating the 104th anniversary of the Great Victory. Am I proud?

Yes, I am proud.

Am I hopeful for the future of the Republic in the spirit of a Victory Day?

Unfortunately, no, for the reasons I have briefly summarized.

But I must add a note. What the War of Independence taught us is the power of the Turkish nation, whose lands were occupied and whose army was disbanded, to tear up and throw away the Sèvres Map despite all negative conditions.

(1) Although there are small differences in the figures in Turkish and Soviet sources, approximately 11 million gold rubles, 38–39 thousand rifles, over 300 machine guns, over 50–60 cannons, approximately 63 million rifle bullets, and around 150–200 thousand artillery shells were provided by Soviet Russia during the National Struggle.