The Birth of the Turkish Republic

This victory was grudgingly accepted by the Allied Powers first by signing of
the Armistice of Mudanya on October 11, 1922.

One of the main reasons for such a measure stemmed from the fact that the British government had been trying to undermine the authority of the TGNA by inviting the representatives of the Ottoman Government to the peace talks along with the representative of the Ankara Government.

The participants of the conference were Britain, France, Italy, Japan, Romania,
Greece, and Serb-Croat-Slovene State on one side and the representatives of the TGNA government on the other. Additionally, Soviet Russia and Bulgaria participated when the question of the Straits was discussed. Belgium and Portugal participated when trade and settlement agreements were discussed. The United States of America, however, participated as an observer.

The mission of the Turkish delegation in this conference was not only to represent the interests of the Turkish people but also of the people who were oppressed by the imperialist powers some of which were among the Allied powers participating
in this conference.

Congress had two targets: one was to determine the economic policies, the other to send a message to the Allied Powers.

The main topics in the articles of the Lausanne Peace Treaty were listed under five parts. Part I was about Political Clauses together with sections such as Territorial Clauses, Special Provisions, Nationality, and Protection of the Minorities (The Treaties of Peace, 1924, p.961-973). Part II was about Financial Clauses including sections such as Ottoman Public Debt, Miscellaneous Clauses (The Treaties of Peace, 1924, p.974-985). Part III was about Economic clauses including the following sections: Property, Rights and Interests, Contracts, Prescriptions and Judgments,and an annex on Life Assurance, Industrial, Literary and Artistic Property, Mixed Arbitral Tribunal, and Treaties (The Treaties of Peace, 1924, p.986-1006). Part IV was about Communications and Sanitary Questions (The Treaties of Peace, 1924, p.1007- 1012). Part V was about Miscellaneous Provisions with the following sections: Prisoners of War, Graves, General Provisions (The Treaties of Peace, 1924, p.1013-1022). In addition to these, there were also additional conventions/protocols signed on July 24, 1923.

The issue of the islands bordering Turkey was also resolved through the Treaty. Imbros, Tenedos,and Rabbit islands were given to Turkey. The island of Rhodes, the island of Meis and the Dodecanese Islands, which were under Italian occupation, were left to Italy. The remaining islands in the Aegean Sea seized by Greece during the Balkan Wars remained under Greek rule. Moreover, Turkey recognized “the annexation of Cyprus proclaimed by the British Government on November 5, 1914” with Article 20 of this treaty (League of Nations, Treaty Series, 1924, p.21, 23, 25). 

The Treaty covered under articles 38-44 the issue of non-Muslim minorities. These
minorities, though not specifically named in the treaty, were mainly Armenians, Greeks, and Jews. All were granted the same judicial rights as the Turkish citizens. They were to fulfill their duties as Turkish citizens. They were given the right to establish their own schools and provide education in their mother languages. They were entitled to build their own religious temples and social buildings provided that they meet their own expenses.

The High Treason Law (Hıyanet-i Vataniye Kanunu) on April 29,1920 was legislated to prohibit the crimes against the nation and to condemn to death anyone who betrayed the nation.

The 4-point motion was composed of the following statements:
“1. It is absolutely necessary to form a government.
2. We cannot allow a regency to be established or the chief of the government to be defined as provisional.
3. It is a vital principle to recognize that the national will expressed by the Assembly is actually governing the destiny of the country. There is no power standing above the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.
4. The Grand National Assembly of Turkey combines in itself the Legislative and Executive power. A council elected and authorized by the assembly conducts the affairs of the Government.The President of the Assembly is at the same time
the president of this Council. (Note: as soon as the Sultan-Caliph is delivered from all pressure and coercion, he will take his place within the frame of the legislative principles which will be determined by the Assembly” (A Speech Delivered by Atatürk, 1981, pp.380-381).

Teşkilât-ı Esasiye Kanunu (the Law of Fundamental Organization) was accepted on January 20, 1921. This was the first ever constitution of Modern Turkey.

Article1. Sovereignty is vested in the nation without condition. Governmental system is based on the principle of self-determination and government by people.

Article 1. The Turkish State is a Republic.
Article 2. The religion of the Turkish State is Islam; the official language is Turkish and the seat of government is Ankara.
Article 3. Sovereignty belongs without restriction to the nation.

April 23 was accepted as the Children’s Protection Day (Himaye-Etfal Günü) in 1925. The proposal was made by Fuat Umay, one of the founders of the Children Protection Society (Himaye-i Etfal Cemiyeti) established in Ankara.

October 29, the date of the declaration of the Republican regime.

•Every 20 thousand men would elect a single deputy.
• Every man who has completed the age of 18 had the right to vote.
• A person needed not be a tax payer to be an eligible primary voter or a secondary one.
• The elections would be held in two stages and by the method of absolute majority.

These principles covered a multitude of areas such as: the national sovereignty; the
role of TGNA as the sole representative of the Turkish nation; the abolition of the Sultanate to be nonnegotiable; the establishment of trust and security in the country; lawful courts distributingjustice according the national needs; necessary investments for the building of railways; the improvement of agriculture; primary and secondary school education; general health, forests, military services; welfare of reserve officers; the social rights of citizens; ranks and duties of civil officials; and the reconstruction of the country which suffered considerable destruction during the Allied occupation.

Fırka is the Arabic term for a political party

In the Ottoman Empire, with the exception of the years 1876-1878 and 1908-1918, the sultans were the absolute authority with no regard to laws or his people, and they were not accountable for their actions or decisions to anybody or institution (Lewis, 1968, pp.369-370). This is not the case in a republican regime which is ruled with democracy. In democracies, sovereignty is in the hands of the majority of the people. In this regime, the people choose their representatives for a limited period of time to govern themselves, that is, to use their sovereignty for their own sake. People have the right to question the rulers, and even penalize them when they do not act in accordance with the law. Therefore, the rulers feel obliged to serve people to meet their needs.

The political groups that existed in the first TGNA did not exist in the second TGNA except the Defense of Rights Group. This constituted the majority of this parliamentary group.