LAUSANNE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18759, 12 January 1923, Page 5

LAUSANNE

PROGRESS REPORTED. PATRIARCHATE QUESTION SOLVED. Press Association —By Telegraph—Copyxigll LAUSANNE, January 10. Good progress has been made on many points. After an excellent speech by Lord Curzon, Ismet Pasha agreed not to expel the Patriarchate, whicn will be allowed to remain as a purely religious institution, and must refrain from political activity. The Turks agreed to allow hostages to return home, and agreed also to an exchange of prisoner,? of j&r in equal numbers at tne earliest moment. As tho Greek prisoners outnumber the Turks tho balance will be freed on the conclusion of peace. —A. and N.Z. Cable. A DISCORDANT NOTE. 50,000 MEN CALLED UP. CONSTANTINOPLE, January 10. Renewed optimism is apparent at Angora. It is believed that Britain is ready to make concessions regarding Mosul which will b<# acceptable to the National Assembly. Nevertheless warlike preparations continue. Three classes of recruits have been called up. representing 50,000 men, in the newly-occupied vilayets.—Reuter. GOOD REPORTS CONI IRMED. TURKS ANXIOUS FOB PEACE. LAUSANNE, January 10. (Received Jan. 11, at 8.35 mm.) M. Tchitcherin and M. Krassin conversed at length with Ismet Pasha regarding tho proposed Straits Convention, which it is now confirmed the Russians will refuse to sign. The Minorities Sub-commission has reached almost a complete agreement, the only outstanding subject being the ques. tion of military service for non-Mussul-mans, and the terms of the amnesty.

The impression is gaining ground that the Turks are sincerely anxious for peace. —A. and N.Z. Cable. TURKISH LEADERS. TRIO AT LAUSANNE. Tsmut, rafet. and riza nur. A short, rather sallow-faced man, with keen, restless eyes, small moustache, hooked nose, and the small hands that generally indicate a strain of good Circassian blood; such physically is Ismot Pasha, Nationalist turkey’s first delegate at Lausanne, says the Near East correspondent of The Times. His mental composition is Turkish and distinctly military, influenced, of course, by Gorman staff instruction and a careful study ot French military methods. •do far he has boon purely and simply a professional soldier, whose best work has been done on the General Staff. His reputation during the Great AVar was that of a safe, hard-working, rather cautious Staff Colonel, deaf, and consequently short-tem-pered, and a terror to slack or casual subor-

dinates. The failure of the Greek attack nt In-Kunu at the end of March, 1921, the first considerable Nationalist military success, was duo to Ismot’s determination to "hang on” even after he had lost his key position. men came the Greek general offensive. Sariyanms completely out-gonoralled Ismet and Kcmal himself, and had not a Greek corps commander and the Royal General Staff between them interfered with his plans, Eski-Shohr would have been a disaster rather than a defeat for the Nationalists, But on the Sakaria Israel—his own master, since Alustapha Kemal had boon incapacitated by a mysterious accident —repulsed the over-bold Greeks in a stubborn defensive action and saved Angora. He hod a considerable share as Comrnandor-in-Chief on the Western Turkish front in the planning of this year’s Turkish offensive which resulted in tho catastrophic expulsion

of the Crooks from Asia, but whether his strategy would have succeeded against a fighting army is another question. At Mudama ho showed himself an ad.roit bargainer, and as smiled as are most Turkish diplomatists in blandly putting forward exorbitant demands and then making a great favour of abating (hern. He was extremely short-tempered at times, and showed no particular cordiality towards Sir Charles Haringtou at the outset, but thawed as the Conference proceeded, and aq he discovered that tno British General meant what ho said. Jiis recent speeches at Angora have boon alarmingly chauvinistic, but one must remember that ho was addressing audiences of political backwoodsmen and ambitious generals flown with thei- military triumph and rather inclined to criticise him for having shown prudence at Mudania. THE INDISCREET RAFET. Rafet Pasha is of a very different type. While Ismct is normally silent, Rafet is voluble. Ismet is reserved, at times morose; Rafet loves social functions, and can make himself extremely agreeable, either as host or guest. He is also a fluent and highly indiscreet orator, and self-confident to' a

fault. Jn type ho is a small, alert, trim man of some SO years of age, well groomed and well dressed; less distinctively Turkish in appearance than Ismet. He has coca much war, commanded the third division in tho Gallipoli Peninsula and Sinai, and was finally promoted to the command of the XXII Army Corps on t/he Palestine front, where we found him a stout opponent in tho earlier actions at Gaza. He was one of the first important officers to join Mustapha Kemal nt Sivas in tho summer of 1919, took part in tho Sivas Conference that winter, and after holding a subordinate command was appointed army commander on the Afiun Karahissar front in the spring campaign of 1921. Here, however, his military career was brought to a teinpiorary close at Tunlu Punar, where a Greek force, much inferior in strength, repulsed tho attacks of his relatively large army, thanks mainly to tho courage and skill of Colonel Plastiras, the hnrd-nghting soldier who is now one of tho three leaders of tho latest Greek revolution. After losing his command Rafet Pasha became Commissar for the Interior in tho Nationalist Government, hut eventually resigned (his post on grounds of ill-health, and led a somewhat retired life until this sum-

mer, when ho again obtained a military command and was recently sent to Constantinople by (lie Government of Angora to net as Military Governor of Eastern Thrace and also to prepare the ground for tho Komalist occupation of the city. His recent activities in tho Turkish capital have caused considerable anxiety to tho Entente High Commissioners and Generals, and his uncoilcilialory and uncompromising speeches have disturbed old-fashioned Turks and terrified ail Ottoman Christiana. A POLITICAL DOCTOR. Riza Nur Bey is not in the least like the two soldiers. A fair, fresh-complexiouod man of middle age, blond and blue-eyed, ho is a doctor of medicine, who for 15 years lias ployed a considerable part in Turkisp politics. He has twice represented Angora in Russia. Ho signed tho treaty with the Ukrainian Soviet Government at Kieff last autumn, and in Juno of this year acted as Ambassador of Angora lit Moscow, where lie signed n commercial and consular convention with the All-Russian Soviet Government.. fie was elected Commissar for

Foreign Affairs by llio Grand National Assembly at. Yusuf Hemal's resignation in August. 11 in knowledge of Soviet Russia, which is now considerable, and bis advoonoy of the ‘‘Eastern'' policy- i.e., cf a policy based upon a close understanding between Angora and Moscow, explain bin election ami bis subsequent appointment as Isniet Pasha’s second at Lausanne. A hard worker, ho has more interests than the average educated Turk, and abundant physical and moral courage, lie is a forceful if somewhat choleric debater, who prepares bis case carefully, and when the occasion demands can adopt an agreeably conciliatory manner. »