TURKEY AND THE LEAGUE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21694, 12 July 1932, Page 6

TURKEY AND THE LEAGUE.

The decision of the Government of Turkey that the republic should become a member of the League of Nations may be accepted 1 as a sincere tribute to the . standing of this great international organisation at a difficult time. The League has been subjected to severe criticism recently, particularly in regard to the outbi’eak of SinoJapanese hostilities. There has been, perhaps, a disposition to overlook the fact that a cessation of this deplorable skirmishing was obtained eventually through’ the good offices of the League, and it should not be too much to hope that as a result of the investigation of the dispute which is at present being undertaken by a League commission a peaceful settlement may be reached. While the conference on reparations at Lausanne has for the last few days overshadowed the work of the League, it is to be remembered that another conference of no less importance —that on disarmament —is at present being held under the aegis of the League, Moreover, the spirit of goodwill in which the Lausanne Conference was undertaken may not unreasonably be said to be traceable more or less to the valuable contacts between the statesmen of the European nations that have been established through the existence of the League. Turkey is not accepting membership of the

\ ... League in ignorance of the obligations and advantages that are entailed. It may be said that no other non-member State in, the world has had more practical experience than the Turkish Republic of the opportunities for the peaceful negotiation of international disputes which the League offers. In 1924 the Mosul Question, which was. the cause of dissension between Great Britain and Turkey, was submitted to the Council of the League, and Turkey, though not a League member, was admitted to the discussions, in terms of Article 17 of the Covenant. On the recommendation of a commission of inquiry, which investigated the matter, the delimitation of the Iraq frontier was arranged to the satisfaction of both parties. Later, Greece and Turkey sought the assistance of the League of Nations in deciding questions arising out of the exchange of populations, mainly in Western Thrace, a subject 'which was left unsettled after the Graeco-Turkish war. In this ease it was by the Permanent Court of International Justice that the ruling was given. It is not surprising that the Turkish Government, should have elected to ally itself officially with an organisation which has served the country well in the past. The decision marks another step in the westernisation of Turkish modes of thought and conduct.