The Democratic Kurdish Council in Switzerland (CDK-S) and the Kurdish Women’s Union in Switzerland (YJK-S) issued a statement on the occasion of the 102nd anniversary of the signing of the Lausanne Treaty. The statement emphasized that the treaty, signed on July 24, 1923, disregarded the will of the Kurdish people and divided the Kurdish land into four parts, causing severe political, social, and cultural consequences. Describing Lausanne as a historical trauma for the Kurdish people, the statement called for national unity and freedom in response to this imposed division. It also recalled that a “Great Lausanne March” and a press statement will be held on Saturday, July 26, 2025, in the city of Lausanne, Switzerland, and called for participation.
Full text of the joint written statement is as follows:
“One hundred and two years have passed since the signing of the Lausanne Treaty. Signed on July 24, 1923, this treaty represented a historical rupture that, in line with the interests of imperialist powers, ignored the will and the right to freedom of the Kurdish people, divided the ancient Kurdish lands into four parts, and caused severe political, social, and cultural consequences for our people.
The Lausanne Treaty functioned as a mechanism that shaped the emergence of new nation-states on the remnants of the Ottoman Empire within the framework of the global power balance of the time. However, while drawing these borders, the right of the Kurdish people to self-determination was deliberately denied. As a result, the Kurdish land was severed from its historical, cultural, and societal unity and placed under the rule of four separate states; policies of denial, assimilation, and genocide were institutionalized against the Kurdish people.
The fragmentation created by Lausanne did not merely divide our territories; it targeted our national unity, political will, and social fabric. For the Kurdish people, Lausanne is not simply a diplomatic document, it is a historical trauma that has inflicted deep wounds in our collective memory.
As the CDK-S and the YJK-S, we are once again taking to the streets with a sense of historical responsibility on the 102nd anniversary of the Lausanne Treaty, in order to strengthen the unity and the will for freedom of the Kurdish people. Through the Great Lausanne March and the press statement we will hold on Saturday, July 26, 2025, in the city of Lausanne, Switzerland, we call on our people to raise their voices against this historical injustice and to claim ownership of their future.
Our freedom struggle, growing with the leadership of women and the dynamism of youth, will overcome the status quo imposed upon our people by Lausanne, and by achieving national unity, will build a free and democratic future. For the Kurdish people, the time has come not for division, but for unity and freedom.
On this occasion, we invite all our people and friends living in Switzerland, especially women and youth, to join us in the march and press statement on July 26 and to amplify our voice.
We will continue to strengthen the struggle for the national unity and freedom of our people.”
Source: ANF News
