Lausanne and Istanbul/ Break and Continuity

At the end of the war, ceasefire and peace agreements were signed between the Allied Powers that won the First World War and the Entente Powers that lost the war. Let's first recall these agreements:

1. Thessaloniki armistice agreement and the Nöyyi peace agreement (1919) with Bulgaria.

2. Villa Cousti armistice agreement with Austria-Hungary and St. Germanic, Traionon peace treaty with Hungary (1919).

3. Retandes armistice and the Versailles peace treaty (1919) with Germany.

4. Mudros armistice agreement and Sèvres peace agreement (1920) with the Ottoman Empire.

5. Among these peace agreements, only Sevres never materialized, while the other alliance states submitted to the agreements, the great Turkish nation tore up this terrible post-war agreement that was imposed on it and would destroy itself, through the national struggle, that is, the liberation war, under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal. .

6. With Lausanne that tore up Sevres and signed in its place, is the power that legitimizes the establishment of the new Turkish state in the international arena. Lausanne endorsed by the Turkish Grand National Assembly, where the representatives of the great Turkish Nation are present. 

7. The heavy clauses of the Versailles treaty gave birth to Nazism in Germany and caused a leader like Hitler to grow up and drag the world into a second disaster, worser than the first.

8. The Treaty of Lausanne is the most important corner of our republican history, just before the establishment of the republic. It is the last major stakeholder in the formation of the Republic, knot by knot. It is the title deed of Turkey. It is the gospel of the birth of the republic. It is the essentiality of Turkish nation, and needs to be remembered, explained and understood. Some deeds about the Lausanne such as the agreement be loosened, devalued and diluted is at least unpleasant.

It is essential for the majority of the society to understand well that our history, culture, national and religious values ​​and leaders are our wealth as a whole. In this respect, in order to understand Lausanne, it is necessary to know what happened after it.

In order to grasp the importance of Lausanne, it is sufficient to understand the situation of Istanbul at that time. Istanbul was conquered by Mehmet the Conqueror on May 29, 1453, but this time it was occupied after the Armistice of Mudros signed between the Ottoman Empire and the Entente States and the declaration that the First World War ended between these countries.

The invasion took place twice, first on 13 November 1918 and then on 16 March 1920. After the Treaty of Lausanne on July 24, 1923, that we celebrated that day as the 99th anniversary, as a nation, the Entente forces began to leave Istanbul on August 23, 1923.

The last Entente unit saluted the Turkish flag at a ceremony held in front of the Dolmabahçe Palace on October 4, 1923 and left the city. On October 6, 1923, the 3rd Corps under the command of Şükrü Nail Pasha, whose headquarters is now in Maslak, entered Istanbul and the occupation, which lasted 4 years, 10 months and 23 days, was officially ended. Thus, the 6th of October of each year was determined as the liberation day of Istanbul and started to be celebrated. In other words, May 29 is the day of conquest and October 6 is the day of liberation for Istanbul. Both are special and important days for us. It is futile to try to make one of them an important event and the other one is unimportant day.

Now; The State of the Republic of Turkey, whose foundation was laid with the Treaty of Lausanne, that its 99th anniversary is celebrated, is the continuing country of the Ottoman Empire. Therefore, Turkey paid the debts of the Ottoman Empire. Both flags are similar. The capital of the previous country, namely Istanbul, is within the territory of the new one. When we add the international acceptance of other states, it is obvious that Turkey is the continuation of the Ottoman Empire and its continuity is legimate. The closure of the last Ottoman Parliament and the events that took place during the opening of the Turkish Grand National Assembly in Ankara also support this continuity. The discussions about the Agnam tax are the last law talks of the first and the first of the second, which also explains the continuity.

On the other hand, it is a separate fact that a new state has been established with its law and new administration, revolutions and leader, this new state has very different basic characteristics than the old one, and the old one is now gone away and be disappeared.

In other words, there is both a break and a continuity.

Both are together. It is not right to emphasize only the rupture or to emphasize only the continuity.

While this is the case, some sections only emphasize the continuity of the Ottoman Empire, ignoring the rupture. The ignoring of the Ottoman but admiring to its history by some sections is an indication that the philosophy of both continuity and rupture could not be internalized.

The supporters of the break, who ignore the Ottoman Empire; do not pay attention to the sensitivities of the other side who are the supporters of continuity, and that emulate the Ottoman Empire. The conflicting thoughts in this regard, create problems for the nations's unity and solidarity.

The failure of this unity, is one of the obstacles for Turkey to reach the level of contemporary civilizations.

This unity can only be possible with a liberal and democratic understanding of politics that respects both ideas, by showing some sensitivity to the other side, by not marginalizing each other and finaly by not seeing itsel as superior to the other side.