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Assyrians and Syriacs demanding to have treaty changed and their rights recognized
New headache for Turkey on anniversary of Lausanne Treaty
While the 78th anniversary of the Lausanne Treaty is being celebrated, the Assyrians and Syriacs that left Turkey and settled in Europe have initiated moves to open a debate into the Lausanne Treaty, which was one of the most important steps in Turkey's independence.
The demonstration by Assyrian-Syriacs protesting the Lausanne Treaty in front of the Bern Federal Parliament in Switzerland being organized by the so-called Beth Nahrin (Independence for Mesopotamia Party) is now in its fourth day.
The organizing committee gave a statement to Ozgur Politika, a newspaper known for its closeness to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) separatist terrorist organization, in which they said the Lausanne Treaty led to the Assyrian-Syriacs leaving their own soil. They said their aim was to bring to the world's attention the historical injustice they believe was served against them.
The statement noted they were not only dealing with Turkey in this business, but with all other signatory states, who played an important role in seeing their people exiled from their own land.
The march organizers said the protest started with 150 people and has increased now to 180 people. It is expected that the protestors will arrive in Lausanne, on the shore of Lac Leman, today. The Assyrian-Syriacs are going to conclude their actions with a protest gathering in front of the Chateau where the treaty was signed 78 years ago. Here they are going to call on the Western states and demand the treaty, which they maintain brought denial and oppression, be revised.
Lausanne should be rewritten Iskender Denho of the Protest March Committee together with KNK member George Aryo spoke to the same newspaper about the march and asserted that the Lausanne Treaty had served them an historical injustice and that they would continue their protests so that this injustice could be rectified.
Denho said the treaty had pretended not to notice rights and minorities and had left them open to policies of denial.
Pointing out the conditions under which the Lausanne treaty was signed, Denho said that none of the promises made by Britain, France and other countries with interests in the region to the Assyrian-Syriacs regarding political and cultural rights had been fulfilled in 78 years. He said they would continue lobbying all international institutions for their people's rights. Denho asserted that the other signatory states had not fulfilled their pledges in the treaty and that Turkey had been free to apply policies of denial and oppression. "It is clear that in the end what occurred was ethnic cleansing. And so the Assyrian-Syriacs are going to continue their actions in order to protest this situation and to bring the truth to light," he said.
KNK supporting them
KNK member George Aryo said he saw the Assyrian-Syriac action as being done at the right place at the right time and said the KNK supported it. He said that Articles 35 and 37 of the treaty afforded specific rights to the Christian peoples but that only the Armenians and Greeks and Jews had benefited from them. he said the Assyrian-Syriacs had never benefited from them.
Aryo said the additions they were bringing to the Lausanne Treaty could only be enacted if the entire treaty were annulled and representatives from all the signatory
countries signed a new one.
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