A New Era for Turks, Shattered Dreams for Armenians and Kurds.
Published: Wednesday, Jul 19th 2023, 11:00
Mise à jour le : Vendredi, 13 octobre 2023, 14:12
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Almost 100 years ago, on July 24th 1923, the Treaty of Lausanne drastically changed the Middle East. It set the boundaries of modern Turkey and suppressed the autonomy aspirations of several ethnic groups, particularly Kurds and Armenians. According to historian Antoine Fleury, this is the last peace treaty from the First World War that still has an effect today. It replaced the Treaty of Sèvres, which was signed in 1920 and aimed to divide the Ottoman Empire. The Turkish nationalists, led by Mustafa Kemal, later known as Atatürk, rebelled against the treaty, which they saw as a humiliation. After a military victory over the Greek forces in the Anatolian plain and with Soviet support, Atatürk was able to force a renegotiation of the treaty in Lausanne. This granted Turkey a new border and full sovereignty, free from foreign interference. Three months later, Atatürk declared the Republic and transformed an archaic Islamic state into a modern secular state. The Treaty of Lausanne dashed the dream of an independent Armenia for the Armenians, who were still marked by the genocide of 1915, and a Kurdistan for the Kurds. Fleury claims that the Great Powers, particularly Britain and France, betrayed them out of fear of the Soviets and to maintain control of oil-rich areas. The treaty also included a large-scale, religion-based forced relocation of the population between Turkey and Greece, in order to reduce tensions caused by national minorities. Many people died in the process. Two rounds of negotiations were held in Lausanne, from November 21st 1922 to February 4th 1923 and from April 23rd 1923 to July 24th 1923, before the treaty was signed. High-ranking politicians such as Lord George Curzon and Raymond Poincaré, the British and French foreign ministers, attended, as well as the new Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini. On the Turkish side, the delegation was led by General Ismet Pascha, the future president of the country. Armenians and Kurds had no say in the negotiations. The Swiss neutrality was the main reason why Lausanne was chosen as the location for the negotiations. Several symbolic places in the city were the scene of the events, such as the Ouchy Castle for the negotiations, the Palais de Rumine for the signing of the treaty and the Casino de Montbenon for the opening ceremony. In his opening speech, Lord Curzon praised the Swiss neutrality. Ernest Hemingway was among the 300 journalists from all over the world who followed the negotiations.
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