Abstract:

After the successful conclusion of the National Struggle by the Turks, the Lausanne Peace Conference came to the fore when the Allies invited the governments in Ankara and Istanbul to talks with a note dated October 27, 1922. GNAT government abolished the reign on November 1, 1922 and attended the conference on behalf of the Turkish nation alone. The issue of minorities had an important place in the new world order to be established at the end of World War I. At the Lausanne Peace Conference, besides many other issues, the issue of minorities was also brought up. During the talks, no separate agenda item was opened regarding the Kurds, and the word "Kurdistan" was not discussed. In this way, the Kurdish issue was negotiated indirectly within the scope of the minority issue. At the conference, especially England, made brought up the expansion of the concept of minority as racial, linguistic and religious minorities. The Turkish delegation, on the other hand, made the definition of the concept of minority according to Islamic law and argued that the Kurds are not a minority in the country, but that they are the main element. The Turkish delegation strongly opposed the concept of a Muslim minority within the borders of the National Pact. The Turkish delegation insisted that Turks and Kurds are an inseparable whole in the negotiations. The Turkish delegation, in the definition of minority; He suggested that the criterion of being a Muslim should be taken into account instead of the criteria of race, language and religion. In line with Turkey's request, the view that non-Muslims should be considered as a minority and that the criteria should be determined on religious basis was accepted. Only non-Muslims were counted as minorities as a result of the fact that the items related to minorities were handled close to the Turkish view in the negotiations. The acceptance of the Turkish delegation's proposal at the Lausanne Peace Conference was a development that clearly changed the British policies regarding the Kurds in favor of the Turks. Thus, the Kurdish issue ceased to be an international issue for a long time, as it was handled within the scope of minorities at the Lausanne Peace Conference. Thus, the Kurdish issue has turned into an internal issue of Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran by staying within its own borders.

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