NAV-BEL (Democratic Council of Kurdistan Communities in Belgium) issued a statement on the occasion of the 102nd anniversary of the Treaty of Lausanne. The statement also called on everyone to attend the demonstration that will take place in Lausanne tomorrow, Saturday.
The statement said: “The Treaty of Lausanne, signed by Great Britain, France, and Turkey, was a historic turning point that opened the door to and formalized the Kurdish genocide. It was an international intervention that plunged the Kurdish people and the Middle East into the current state of inextricable war. The Treaty of Lausanne not only divided our people geographically; their national unity was attacked, their political will was undermined, their social structure was fragmented, and a brutal policy of denial and destruction was implemented. During this process of establishing nation-states, the right of the Kurdish people to self-determination was ignored; our people were forcibly confined within the borders of four separate states. From the very beginning of these nation-states, a full-scale attack was launched on everything that was free, autonomous, and different; the doctrine of “one homeland, one nation” was imposed. This doctrine perpetrated assimilation that, in effect, aimed at genocide.”
The statement underlined that “after the Treaty of Lausanne, all promises made to the Kurdish people and their representatives were replaced by a concept of denial and destruction. The Kurds were ignored. The occupying powers, opposed to the very existence of the Kurdish people, targeted everything Kurdish, first and foremost their language. With the creation of the Constitution in 1924, a plan was drawn up that ignored the Kurds and sought their destruction, leading to the current situation. The false promises made during the Treaty of Lausanne were replaced by the concept of annihilation and genocide. Within this framework, the Kurdish region has been the victim of dozens of massacres and invasions.”
The statement added: “The uprisings and resistance of Kurdish intellectuals and social forces who recognized the genocide were crushed and suppressed by conspiracies and mass murders under various guises and provocations. The Kurdish people have never given up or grown weary of the fight against this genocide, and they are paying the full price. The uprisings since 1925 continue to this day and will continue until the Kurdish people are free.
The Treaty of Lausanne formalized the denial and genocide of the Kurdish people. With this treaty, the genocidal attacks systematically continued throughout Kurdistan. Leader Apo, with the strength of his ideas and the will of the millions he represented, succeeded in preventing the genocide from being completed. He thwarted these plans. Thanks to this struggle, the Kurdish people gained a national consciousness and paved the way for unity through resistance. Despite these harsh conditions, the Kurdish people did not give up; for more than a century, they continued their resistance with determination, driven by the will for freedom, equality, and self-determination.”
The statement continued: “Today, on the 102nd anniversary of the Treaty of Lausanne, we declare once again: We reject this status imposed on our people! We will further intensify our struggle by strengthening our national unity, strengthening our political will, and resolutely building a democratic future. The Kurdish people, with their thousands of martyrs as a symbol of resistance against the 102-year-old genocide in Lausanne, do not recognize this treaty, which pertains to their territory. Today, the Kurdish people have found the strength to continue their resistance for freedom and liberation and to thwart this treaty.”
Source: ANF News
