Turkish national movement

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Mustafa Kemal at the Sivas Congress (1919)

The Turkish National Movement ( Turkish Türk Ulusal Hareketi ) comprises the political and military activities of the Turkish revolutionaries who were responsible for the establishment and shaping of the modern Republic of Turkey as a result of the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I and the subsequent occupation of Istanbul , as well as the division of the Ottoman Reichs led by the Allies ( Armistice of Moudros ). The Ottomans saw the movement as part of an international conspiracy against them. The Turkish revolutionaries revolted against the division of the empire and against the Treaty of Sèvres , signed by the Ottoman government in 1920 , which divided parts of Anatolia itself.

This establishment of an alliance of Turkish revolutionaries during the partition led to the Turkish War of Liberation , the abolition of the Ottoman Sultanate on November 1, 1922, and the Declaration of the Republic of Turkey on October 29, 1923. The movement stated that it was the sole source of governance for the Turkish people the democratic Grand National Assembly of Turkey .

The movement was founded in 1919 through a series of agreements and conferences across Anatolia and Thrace . The process aimed to unite independent movements across the country to build a common voice and is attributed to Mustafa Kemal Pasha (later Ataturk) as the movement’s first spokesman, public figure and military leader.

The map published by The Sphere on March 1-5, 1921: "The Angora Government and Its Claims"

Mustafa Kemal's Show and the Amasya Newsletter

On May 19, 1919, Mustafa Kemal Pasha, coming from Istanbul, disembarked the steamship Bandırma in Samsun. He came with the honorary title of Yâver-i Ekrem of the Sultan as Inspector General of the 9th Army and commander of the 3rd and 15th Army Corps. His alleged assignment was to demobilize and disarm the Ottoman armed forces there and to restore public security in view of the rampant brigands in the region. It is unclear what intentions the government actually pursued with this measure, and in view of the documents in the holdings of the Ottoman Ministry of the Interior, it is also doubtful whether Mustafa Kemal, according to his later stylization, had set out on this mission with the will from the beginning to lead the national resistance. With his efforts to organize and expand the gendarmerie, however, he met the suspicion and resistance of local British agents who demanded that he be recalled. At the same time, the simultaneous Greek occupation of Izmir promoted his ambitions to head the Turkish resistance. After almost a week, on May 24, 1919, under the pretext of visiting the thermal springs there, he went to Havza a little outside the British sphere of influence. From there he began to bring the Ottoman telegraph network in Anatolia under his control and to contact the Ottoman army commanders, governors and local authorities in Anatolia. At the same time he opened the armed forces depots there and began to arm the population. On June 13, 1919, he and his staff went to Amasya , which was out of reach of the British occupation forces in Samsun.

Until June 19, 1919, various active and former army officers gathered there, including Refet [Bele] , the commander of the 3rd Army Corps in Sivas. On that day, the former naval minister Rauf [Orbay] and Ali Fuad [Cebesoy] , the commander of the 20th Army Corps in Ankara, the most important Turkish army leader in Anatolia after Kâzım Karabekir , also arrived in Amasya. After a telegraphic consultation with Kâzım Karabekir, who was in Erzurum, they wrote the so-called Amasya circular.

The Amasya circular ( Amasya Tamimi ) of June 1919 represents the basis of the resistance movement against the occupiers in many ways, as it was the first time that there was talk of national independence based on provinces , not on ethnic groups. The following was stated about the agreement:

  • The unity of the fatherland and the independence of the people are in danger.
  • The government in Istanbul is not living up to its responsibility. Our people ignore this situation.
  • The independence of the people will again be saved by the efforts and will of the people.
  • It is necessary to set up a national committee, free from all pressure and control, to convey the condition of the people, their conditions and their rights to the world with one powerful voice.
  • It was decided that a national congress would be held immediately in Sivas , the safest place in all respects in Anatolia .
  • To do this, three representatives from each of the sanjaks in each of the provinces, who have the trust of the people, must make their way there as quickly as possible.
  • In order to be prepared for all situations, this project must be kept as a national secret and, if necessary, the representatives may not reveal their identity on their journey.
  • A congress will be held in Erzurum on July 10th on behalf of the eastern provinces . If the representatives of the other provinces can come to Sivas by then, the delegation of the Erzurum Congress will attend the Sivas Congress.

Conferences

Erzurum Congress

Main article: Congress of Erzurum

On July 23, 1919, 56 delegates from the Vilâyets of Bitlis , Erzurum , Sivas , Trabzon and Van met in Erzurum at the invitation of Mustafa Kemal and Kâzım Karabekir . On the first day the delegates elected Mustafa Kemal as chairman of the congress. A number of important decisions were made that would shape future action by the Turks in the war of liberation. Congress reaffirmed the provinces' wishes to remain in the Ottoman Empire rather than being divided up by the Allies. They refused to recognize a League of Nations mandate for the empire and opposed special rights for Greeks or Armenians . It was decided to oppose such measures should any attempt be made to implement them. The Congress also drafted a first version of the Misak-ı Millî (National Pact ), which was later to be passed in Sivas.

During the Congress, General Kâzım Karabekir was directed by the Sultanate to arrest Kemal and Rauf and to take over Kemal's position as Inspector General of the Eastern Provinces. However, he resisted the government in Constantinople and refused to carry out the arrest.

Sivas Congress

Prominent nationalists at the Sivas Congress. From left to right: Muzaffer Kılıç , Rauf Orbay , Bekir Sami Kunduh , Mustafa Kemal Ataturk , Ruşen Eşref Ünaydın , Cemil Cahit Toydemir , Cevat Abbas Gürer .

The congress in the central Anatolian city of Sivas took place from September 4 to 11, 1919. The holding of the congress has already been determined in the Amasya circular and has already been prepared at the Erzurum congress. Although fewer delegates were present than at the Erzurum Congress (38), they represented more regions of the country. Numerous, essential decisions were made that would later represent the starting point for the Turkish War of Liberation. The congress is also considered the first congress of the Republican People's Party (CHP) .

Amasya protocol

The Amasya Protocol is a declaration of intent ( Memorandum of Understanding ) between the Turkish national movement and the Ottoman government, the aim of which was to maintain national unity through joint action, which at the same time meant a recognition of the steadily growing influence of the national movement in Anatolia. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Rauf Orbay and Bekir Sami Kunduh on the one hand and Hulusi Salih Pascha as the representative of Grand Vizier Ali Rıza Pascha signed the declaration on October 22, 1919.

Great National Assembly

On April 23, 1920 the new parliament (initially under the name Büyük Millet Meclisi / Ottoman بویوك ملت مجلس „/" Great National Assembly ") met for the first time in Ankara and elected Mustafa Kemal Ataturk as president and İsmet İnonü as commander in chief of the army. April 23rd has been a public holiday in Turkey since 1921, the so-called Holiday of National Sovereignty and the Child ( Ulusal Egemenlik ve Çocuk Bayramı ) .

The Treaty of Alexandropol of December 2, 1920 was the first agreement in which the counter-government in Ankara was internationally recognized as a negotiating partner.

Establishment of the Republic of Turkey

After the successful war of liberation, the Ottoman Sultanate was abolished on November 1, 1922 and the Republic of Turkey was proclaimed on October 29, 1923. The national movement dissolved the Treaty of Sèvres and concluded the Treaty of Lausanne. Thus the national borders of Turkey ( Misak-ı Millî ) were also recognized.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ AL Macfie: British Views of the Turkish National Movement in Anatolia (1919-1922) . JSTOR 4284241
  2. ^ Ataturk and the Turkish Nation . US Library of Congress
  3. ↑ Stanford Jay Shaw: From Empire to Republic The Turkish War of National Liberation 1918-1923: A Documentary Study , Volume II: Turkish Resistance to Allied Occupation 1918-1920, Türk Tarih Kurumu, Ankara 2000, ISBN 978-975-16-1230 -4 , pp. 662-664
  4. ↑ Stanford Jay Shaw: From Empire to Republic The Turkish War of National Liberation 1918-1923: A Documentary Study , Volume II: Turkish Resistance to Allied Occupation 1918-1920, Türk Tarih Kurumu, Ankara 2000, ISBN 978-975-16-1230 -4 , pp. 662-664
  5. ↑ Erik Jan Zürcher: Turkey A Modern History IB Tauris, London, New York 2017, ISBN 978-1-78453-187-4 , p. 149
  6. ↑ Amasya Genelgesi'nin 100. yılı: "Milletin istiklalini, yine milletin azim ve kararı kurtaracaktır". Retrieved March 20, 2020 (Turkish).
  7. ↑ Erzurum Kongresi'nin bildirisi ve kararları | Ataturk Araştırma Merkezi. Retrieved March 20, 2020 (Turkish).
  8. ↑ Sivas Kongresi'nde ne oldu? 4 Eylül Sivas Kongresi'nin 100. yılı. Retrieved March 20, 2020 (Turkish).
  9. ↑ Sivas Kongresi'ni Açarken | Ataturk Araştırma Merkezi. Retrieved March 20, 2020 (Turkish).
  10. ↑ Amasya Protokolleri. Retrieved March 20, 2020 .