The Task of the Allies

Te Aroha News, Volume XXXIX, Issue 6279, 28 September 1922, Page 2

The Task of the Allies

Wh*t th§ Mohammedans Want T M, Wilford, Leader of the f/itMfti Prtlty, it few days ago dis--1 ffitt PiMWiton whioh has arisen M dfloatqstiaee of the Turko-Greo- , i&H 11 fho Timty of Bnvres,” explained If VV Ilford, “ aigned by the Allies itod Turkey, allocated to Greece part of Thrace, running from tho port of Dedoigittoh, via Adriauople, to the Blank Boa, and part of Asia Minor at omul Hmyrn i. Though the Turkish representatives signod this treaty Mustapha Kernal Pasha, who liven outside Angora refused to recognise it and raised a band at Angora. This action culminated in the dtive which put the Greeks out “of Asia Minor. It will be remembered that King Constantine joined the Greek forces. when they were moving towards Angora beyond the line provided in the Treaty of Sevres. the Turks ros°, and drove them completely out. Now the Turks are, according to cablegrams, threatening to take the Straits of Dardanelles and the part of Thrace given to the Greeks, including the port of Dedeaga'ch on the Aegean Sea, the ouly post on this sea possessed by Bulgatia before the Great War, s and which Bulgaria lost by the Treaty of Sevres. Roumania was pleased at this treaty, because it put a piece of terri'ory between the Turkish dominion in Asia Minor and themselves. Newspaper reports say that Bulgaria has mobolised in the direction of Adrianople, whioh shows that their sentiment) run in the direction of rec vering that part of Thrace which was theirs before the war. Jugo-Slavia and Roumania are interested iu keeping Thrace in the hands of the Greeks. Constantinople is under Allied control, in charge of the British, and the Turkish goal is the rep’anement of the Sultan there iu supreme power. The Sulta n , ac cording to the Mohammedans, must, have jurisdiction from Constantinople, and also control over the holy places. Greece, under Constantine, is in the queer position of recently having the Patriarch of Constantinople elected ; he is a follower of Venizelos, and not of King Constantine. THE MOHAMMEDAN VIEW There are 7$ millions of Mohammedans in India,” continued Mr Wilford, *1 who demand the 'Sultan’s re turn and dominance at Constantinople and the protection of the Mohammedan holy places. This accounts for cablegrams from Delhi that the M.ohammedaDs cheered the Tnrks. Mohammedans iu Egypt, Arabia and Persia are backing np this,Turkish movemont. When Tasked Mr Sastri, daring his recent visit to New Zealand, what Mohemmedan people thought of - the Treaty of Sevres, he gave me a non-committal reply, but anyone who has read the.‘ Times of India’ what they think of the Treaty of Sevres. They are publicly demanding that it be modified, which means that they are backing the Turks in their policy of driving the Greeks from Asia Minor. Now that the Turks have expelled the Gteeks from Asia Minor ,the question is; Shall they have control of that part of Thrace which has been given to the Greeks by the Allies signature under the Treaty of Sevres ? That is a difficult position for the Allies. Only a few months ago they agreed to the Gree's occupying part ot Thiace. From my reading the Turkish pro. nouncement demanding the control of the Dardanelles comes from Russia. The closing ef the Dardanelles kills all trade that comes into the Red Sea by way of the Danube,Jand, therefore, Roumania, Jugo-Slavia, Ozecho-Slov-akia, and all the cotintries through whioh the Danube acts as a* comfneihial waterway, are concerned in the opening of the Straits, while any Russian occupation of that territory must be resisted for reasons of international commerce. The question for the Allies, as I plainly see it, is: Must we back the Greeks in holding Thrace, and must we see to the neutral nature of the waterway from the Blaok Sea to the Mediterranean? That is the whole point.