Treaty of Sèvres (1920); World War, 1914-1918 -- Territorial questions -- Turkey; World War, 1914-1918 -- Turkey
Of course it was alleged that the Greek offensive in Anatolia had
nothing to do with the treaty of peace presented to Turkey, that it
only constituted a preventive measure in support of the treaty and it
was not directed against the Stambul Government, but against Mustafa
Kemal’s troops, which had broken the armistice by attacking the British
troops on the Ismid line. Yet this was but a poor reason, and how was
it possible to justify the Greek attack in Thrace, which took place
immediately after? The fact was that England and Greece, being afraid
of losing their prey, were in a hurry to take hold of it, and neither
Mr. Lloyd George nor M. Venizelos shrank from shedding more blood to
enforce a treaty which could not bring about peace.
Now that the Allies had driven a Government which no longer represented
Turkey to accept the treaty, and the latter had been signed, under
English compulsion, by some aged politicians, while the Greeks and
the British partitioned the Ottoman Empire between themselves, was
it possible to say that all the difficulties were settled? The
signature of the treaty could but weaken the tottering power of the
Sultan. Moreover, England, eager to derive the utmost benefit from
the weakness of Turkey, raised the question of the Caliphate; it was
learned from an English source that the title of Caliph had been
offered to the Emir of Afghanistan, but the latter had declined the
offer. On the other hand, how could Mustafa Kemal be expected to
adhere to the decisions taken in Constantinople? It was to be feared,
therefore, the agitation would be protracted, for an Anatolian campaign
would offer far greater difficulties than those the Greek army had had
to overcome on the low plains along the sea; and at Balikesri, standing
at an altitude of 400 feet, begin the first slopes of the Anatolian
uplands. As a matter of fact, Turkey was not dead, as Mr. Lloyd
George believed, but the policy of the British Premier was doomed to
failure—the same policy which the Soviets were trifling with, which was
paving the way to the secession of Ireland, and may one day cost Great
Britain the loss of India and Egypt.
It has even been said the Bolshevists themselves advised Turkey to sign
the treaty in order to gain time, and thus organise a campaign in which
the Bolshevist forces and the Nationalist forces in Turkey and Asia
Minor would fight side by side.
The Ottoman delegation, consisting of General Hadi Pasha, Riza Tewfik
Bey, a senator, and the Turkish ambassador at Berne, Reshad Halis Bey,
arrived in Paris on Friday, July 30. The signature of the treaty, which
was first to take place on July 27 and had been put off till the next
Thursday or Saturday because the delegates could not arrive in time,
was at the last moment postponed indefinitely.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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