TURKISH PEACE.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 16 October 1922, Page 5

TURKISH PEACE.

PAST NEGOTIATIONS.

j PROBABLE BASIS FOB, TO-DAY.

, i I In view ofi the foreshadowed international conference on the Turkish peace question at either Paris or Yen- - ice, and of reference of the same mat- - ter to the League of Nations,, it is mii terestmg to review previous Allied ati tempts to seek reconciliation between f Greek and Turkish claims. The Powers r offered Turkey extremely liberal terms b in 1921 and 1922. 'j Recognising objections- to- the Treaty r of Sevres, tiie Allied Supreme Council i held a conference in London in Febru- [ ary and March, 1921, at which Greek- ; and Turkish delegations were present • to consider modifications of that treaty.. The conference opened on February 23.. . 1921. These delegations were invited to state their objections.- The Turks' objections were to the terms re. I lating to Smyrna, Thrace, the neutral zone around the Straits, and the military, economic, and* financial clauses — .in fact, the whole treaty. They ask- ' ed for a restoration- of the Turkish \ frontiers of 1913. The Greeks,, ia reply, presented population statisticssupporting their claim to retain Thrace and Smyrna as- given to them' by the Sevres Treaty. The Allies pre~ sented questions to both delegations asking— (1) Were both sides prepared to accept the decision of the Allies as the result of an inter-Allied inquiry into the distribution of nationalities in Thrace and Smyrna? (2) Would each side accept and abide by other conditions of the Sevres Treaty? I To these questions each delegation replied that it must consult its- Gov- . ernment at home. On March:. 4' the" I Greeks intimated that they could not accept the proposals. The Turks did • accept. j On March 10 the Allied Council' pre- | sented virtually a new treaty to Greece-1 and Turkey. The terms of this- pro^ posed! treaty new agreement were; ' briefly:— j Constantinople to be evacuated' and restored to Turkey, without conditions, I as set forth in the Sevres Treaty.. j Demilitarisation of the Straits—twoAllied garrisons only to be retained, I one at Chanak and one at Gallipoli. | Turkey to have chairmanship of the Ihrternational Straits Commission. Thrace to be internationalised, j Gallipoli to be under Greek control. Smyrna to have an autonomous regime, with a certain Greek preponderance in the administration. A Greek force to be maintained in Smyrna town, but the remainder of the area to be policed by a gendarmerie under Allied officers. A" Christian governor to be appointed by th© League of Nations. Modification of financial control' from the present condition of complete Allied domination to a financial commission with Turkish collaboration. It was arranged that the British Ambassador should present these terms to the Greeks 'and the French and Italian ambassadors to the Turks. Both Greeks and Turks, however, allowed the notiiied time limit" to expire without replying, and on April 9 it was j stated that, in view of renewed hos- I tilities between the two peoples it was j doubtful whether the proposals of the Supreme Council would still-stand. The Greek campaign of 1921 in Asia Minor collapsed after a victorious opening, and the Kemalists chased bsx%k to the coast a Greek army which had occupied jßrusa iand pressed on east of it. In March "of this year the Foreign Ministers of Great Britain, France," and Italy met again in conference to try to devise peace terms between Greece and Turkey. The suggestions which they presented are worth setting out as the probable basis of negotiations now proceeding. The Powers declared that they desired to deal fairly with both parties, and urged an armistice under certain terms. The Note set forth that the Powers desired to re-establish the .Turkish nation and Turkish domination in areas which could fairly be regarded as their own, with the historic and renowned capital of Constantinople as a centre. They desired to secnre full and fair treatment to the followers of the creed of Islam, and to maintain the religious authority of the Sultan of Turkey. They desired to compensate tne Greek nation for the great sacrifices which they had accepted during the war in the cause of the Allies. They desired to provide for the protection and 'security of the v)ari6us minorities whether Moslem or Chris^ | tian. They' desired to prevent a roourrence of armed conflict between the Turkish nation and the European Powers with whom it was recently at war. After this preamble came the chief points of the Note, of which the following is an epitome:— "Accepting the imperative necessity of protecting minorities of alien race and religion in both Turkish vilayets and in-European possessions of Greece, the Powers have proposed a series of provisions for their full and adequate security without distinction of race or creed. The Powers have decided to invite the League of Nations to collaborate in this object by the appointment of special commissioners to super, intend the execution of these provisions. "The interests of peace and the safety of the future demand that Europe shall never again be exposed j to the oerils and sacrifices which were i imposed upon her in 1914 and the succeeding Years by the forcible closure of the Dardanelles. The Turks will be re-admitted to the Asiatic shore of tW Dardanelles, under conditions which will provide for the existence of a "Krond demilitarised zone. But an Allied force must remain in occupation of the Gallipoli Peninsula in order to safeguard the free and unimpeded entrance of the Straits. This also will be a demilitarised zone. The Allied i garrison will consist of a force sufficient to secure the entrance to the Dardanelles. "The Navigation of the Straits will be placed, as already proposed, under the control of an International Commission under a Turkish president.'' | As to Eastern. Thrace, the confer- ; once recommended the drawing of a ; ' new frontier farther from Constanti- . nople than that of the # Sevres Treaty, j along a line (following favourable : topographic features) from Ganos. on j the Sea of Marmora, to a point on the Bulgarian frontier, in the western part i of the Istranja Mountains. This left i Rodbsto (a Greek town") to the Turks. • and Kirk Kilisse to the Greeks. "The safety of this frontier from attack by either side is to be confirmed by the , demilitarisation of almost the entire ! area of Eastern Thrace.'' ! Smyrna should revert to Turkey, a balance would be struck by leaving 'Adrianople (in Thrace) to the Greeks. 4 n agreement should be made with the. Turkish and Greek Governments v-hich will guarantee a full and fair ti-iar*> to the non-Turkish and the nonGreek '■populations in the administra-t-'o;i oF i^c iw-y ctt'Rs. "It is not ' supposed that this solution of the Thraciati problem, will be warmly ac-

[ cepted by either party. The problem admits of no such easy solution.'' "The Powers confirm the restoration of- Constantinople to the full authority of the Government of the Sultan. The Allied forces, by whom it is at present occupied, shall be altogether withdrawn after the ratification of tho treaty of peace.'' "lhe financial clauses of the Sevres Treaty shall be modified in such a way as to abandon the proposed financial commission, while reconciling the prin_ cipie of Turkish Sovereignty with the protection of the Allied economic interests and with the Commission of Control necessary to ensure the payent.«f tlie T11™!! pre-war debts to the ABies, and the war indemnity fixed at a sum which Turkey can be reasonably expected to pay.'' A commission should be appointed" to royis« the existing regime of the capitulations.

In reply to this Note, the Greeks accepted the proposed armistice with reservations, and the Turks rejected the armistice, but agreed to a peace conference BefoTe anything further could be done, reports of massaoies of Greeks on wholesale scale in the in5£/ sia MinOT fed to a renewal of hostilities. The Greek Army prepared* again to advance, King Constantme went to the front to command it, and the result of a second il It J mi° Amtolicf "*« the debacle or the Greeks recently reported.