Wilson Principles, lovers of imperialism, those enamored with Sèvres...

Whenever the subject evolves into a new process with rhetoric of 'peace,' the first target is the Treaty of Lausanne. Unfortunately, this is a cycle that never changes! The target of those who dream of Sèvres fantasies and the Wilson Principles is Lausanne! And the 1924 Constitution, the unitary structure, the nation-state...

In the historical polarization, those who have been attacking the Republic of Turkey—which has stood tall for 101 years despite everything—from the front of imperialism are at the same point: the Sèvres front!..

We are all witnessing how imperialism divides and fragments the countries in our region. The US and Israel are experiencing their most comfortable period in the Middle East. Turkey, meanwhile, stands tall in the middle of this ring of fire with the Atatürk Republic! For this reason, imperialism is once again chasing Sèvres!

Divide-fragment-rule!

Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria... The conditions imposed on Turkey are also those of Sèvres...
Those who actually defend imperialism-guided plans with rhetoric of so-called freedom, democracy, human rights, equal citizenship, etc., are the modern-day reflections of the 1910s Wilson Principles! They are the ones supporting the imperialist bloc, led by the US, in its program to colonize Turkey economically and socially under the guise of 'human rights'!

What was the Treaty of Sèvres?

Just as its lovers never forget it and open the Sèvres file whenever they find an opportunity, let us also remember Sèvres once again!
The foundation of Sèvres was laid at the Paris Peace Conference. Subsequently, the plans continued at the conferences in London and San Remo.

The Ottoman Empire emerged from the First World War, which it entered in 1914, by signing the Armistice of Mudros on October 30, 1918, which contained very harsh conditions. Following this armistice, which meant the de facto end of the Ottoman Empire, the British, French, and Italians immediately began their occupations. In his speech in the House of Commons on November 18, 1918, Lord Curzon stated that "Kurds, Arabs, Armenians, Greeks, and Jews would be liberated from Turkish sovereignty."

The text of the Treaty of Sèvres, which contained 433 articles with very harsh provisions, was delivered to Istanbul on May 31, 1920, and a deadline for a response was set for June 26.
With very minor changes, it was signed between the Western states and the Ottoman Government in Istanbul on August 10, 1920, in the Porcelain Factory Conference Hall in the town of Sèvres, Paris.

According to the treaty, which involved the partitioning of Ottoman lands: 'In addition to Istanbul and a small region around it, only a very small part of Central Anatolia up to the Kastamonu coast was left to the Turks.
Rumelia and the Straits were left to the occupation of the Allied Powers, and it was decided that the Straits would be open to traffic and managed by an international mixed commission.
An attempt was made to create an Armenian and a Kurdish state on Ottoman lands. Wilson was to draw the borders of the planned Armenian state, while Arabia was to be separated from the Ottoman Empire and left to the wishes of the Allied Powers.
The places previously occupied by the Allied Powers remained with Britain, France, and Italy.
The capitulations remained in effect, and the state's military and economic affairs were brought under control. The Turks would have no armed forces other than a 50,000-strong military force to maintain internal security.
Ports and railways were left to an international commission.
On the other hand, the Ottoman Empire would pay war reparations.
Izmir would be left to the Greeks.
Turkish citizens who entered the war and held administrative positions would be tried as war criminals.'

What those enamored with Sèvres cannot stomach...

Sèvres is a major blow dealt to the Turks in history! This treaty aimed to completely eliminate the Turkish nation and state. Sèvres was thrown into the dustbin of history with the War of Independence we fought under the leadership of our great leader Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk with the spirit of the Kuva-yı Milliye, and with Lausanne!

Atatürk said, "Lausanne is a document that expresses the end of a great assassination attempt that had been prepared against the Turkish Nation for centuries and was thought to have been completed with Sèvres."

The Treaty of Lausanne is the title deed of Turkey that ensured the recognition of the independent Turkish State. It is the document proving that those who lost their economic, political, and judicial sovereignty and signed Sèvres also vanished into history along with that agreement!
This is what those enamored with Sèvres still cannot stomach!

Note: We will address the Wilson Principles in our next article. We will once again recall these so-called 'peace' principles from 107 years ago, which once sparked joy and hope among our 'intellectuals' regarding the US and the mandate...


Bibliography:

-Gülnihal Bozkurt, Knowing Sèvres, Understanding Lausanne, Atatürk Research Center Journal 19, no. 56 (July 2003) p. 483 et seq.

-Yusuf Hikmet Bayur, Foreign Policy of the Turkish State, Turkish Historical Society, 1992, p. 60.

-Memoirs and Documents on Atatürk, Ankara 1962, p. 159.

-HISTORY OF THE REPUBLIC OF TURKEY-I The Ottoman Empire from the Second Half of the 19th Century to the Beginning of the 20th Century and the Birth of the New Turkey (Modernizing Turkey), Atatürk Research Center, 2023, p. 1014 et seq.