Kurdish demonstration marks Treaty of Lausanne centenary

Kurdish demonstrators make their feelings known about the Treaty of Lausanne. © Keystone / Jean-christophe Bott

Some 6,000 demonstrators gathered in the Swiss city that saw the signing of an international treaty, ending hopes of an independent Kurdish state a hundred years ago.

The Treaty of Lausanne was signed by the major world powers of the day, including Turkey, on July 24, 1923. It broke up the Ottoman empire and set the stage for European influence over the Middle East.

In the years between the end of the First World War and the treaty’s signing, negotiations had included plans to create a Kurdish state in eastern Turkey.

But the emergence of a powerful Turkish nationalist movement under Mustafa Kemal Atatürk put paid to Kurdish hopes. The treaty was also criticised for granting Turkey an amnesty for the Armenian genocide.

On Saturday, a large gathering of Kurds and their supporters came to Lausanne to register their feelings. One banner read: “The Treaty of Lausanne endorses the genocide of the Kurdish people”.

There were also banners of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which is a banned organisation in some countries, showing support of its founder Abdullah Öcalan, who is imprisoned in Turkey.

Demonstrations in Switzerland have in the past drawn strong reactions from Ankara, particularly when they target Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.