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DANGEROUS MYTHS OF THE PAST
Karine Ter-Sahakyan
PanARMENIAN News
Treaty of Sèvres was never ratified by any of the parties, including
Armenia.
Treaty of Sèvres was signed on August 10, 1920, becoming over time
one of the most persistent Armenian myths. Speaking about the treaty,
nearly everyone mentions the provisions according to which Western
Armenia was to be granted independence, but for some reason no one
speaks about the inefficiency of this treaty. By the way, it is exactly
what should have been spoken about first, so that not to have misled
the people, majority of whom still believe that they have certain
rights over historic Armenia by the provisions of Sevres.
August 10, 2010PanARMENIAN.Net - Treaty of Sèvres was never ratified by
any of the parties, including Armenia. And it turns out that Armenians
once again flatter themselves with illusions about certain rights
they have under this agreement. It goes without saying that Western
Armenia is a land belonging to the Armenians. However, relying on its
return according to some documents signed 90 years ago can prove to
be a dangerous delusion. Generally, believing in the return of any
territory undermines the spirit of the nation and leads to a defeat,
a situation we openly observed with the example of the national
liberation war in Artsakh. If the Armenians at least for a moment
and at least in their minds withdraw from the liberated territories,
they will frustrate the whole world, which now calls for the "return
of 7, 5 or at least 2 regions".
Let's go back in history. Treaty of Sèvres was signed between the
Allies that won the World War I and the Ottoman Empire. On behalf of
the Republic of Armenia the treaty was signed by Avetis Aharonian, but
the survival war with Turkey made it impossible to ratify the treaty.
Under the Articles 88-93 of the Sevres Peace Treaty, Turkey recognized
Armenia as a "free and independent state." Turkey and Armenia agreed
to submit to the arbitration of the President of the United States
of America the question of the frontier to be fixed between Turkey
and Armenia in the Vilayets of Erzerum, Trebizond, Van and Bitlis,
and to accept his decision thereupon, as well as any stipulations he
might prescribe as to access for Armenia to the sea. In aggregate the
area of Armenia was estimated 110 thousand km2, and the First Republic
of Armenia - over 150 thousand km2, both with outlet to the Black Sea.
But it was no deal. The arbitral award of Woodrow Wilson remained a
wishful thinking, since the U.S. Senate refused to ratify it. The
Senate also refused to take the mandate for Armenia, while the UK
was given the mandate for Palestine, and France - the mandate for
Lebanon (the Ottoman Empire territory within the present borders of
Syria and Lebanon). The Armenian-Turkish border was defined by the
Treaty of Kars on October 13, 1921, signed and ratified by the Turkish
Republic and the Soviet republics of Transcaucasia. No one denounced
the Kars Treaty, and the collapse of the USSR has absolutely nothing
to do with it. The view expressed in this article may be disputed,
but international law clearly defines which agreements are valid and
which are not.
Let us only remind that the defining contract between the Allies and
Turkey was the Lausanne Peace Treaty of 1923, which recognized the
new Turkish Government, with Mustafa Kemal Ataturk at the head. In
this connection there can be recalled the well-known story of the
Balfour Declaration on Palestine, thanks to which the Jews eventually
proclaimed the State of Israel. As Lloyd George writes in his "War
Memoirs", when in 1916 the British army faced a deficit of cordite
(smokeless powder), they were advised to turn to brilliant chemist,
professor of Manchester University, Chaim Weizmann, who later became
the first president of Israel, and died in 1952. Weizmann solved
the problem. "When our difficulties were overcome thanks to the
brilliance of Dr. Weizmann, I said to him: "You have done a great
service to the state and I would ask the Prime Minister to present
you to His Majesty to express our gratitude to you." Weizmann said,
"I do not want anything for myself, but I would like you to do
something for my people," wrote Lloyd George, the Prime Minister
of Great Britain in 1918. That "something" was the opportunity for
repatriation of the Jews to Palestine. However, no one then thought
that the Balfour Declaration would become a reason for one of the
longest and unresolved conflicts in the Middle East up to this day...
From: A. Papazian
Karine Ter-Sahakyan
PanARMENIAN News
Treaty of Sèvres was never ratified by any of the parties, including
Armenia.
Treaty of Sèvres was signed on August 10, 1920, becoming over time
one of the most persistent Armenian myths. Speaking about the treaty,
nearly everyone mentions the provisions according to which Western
Armenia was to be granted independence, but for some reason no one
speaks about the inefficiency of this treaty. By the way, it is exactly
what should have been spoken about first, so that not to have misled
the people, majority of whom still believe that they have certain
rights over historic Armenia by the provisions of Sevres.
August 10, 2010PanARMENIAN.Net - Treaty of Sèvres was never ratified by
any of the parties, including Armenia. And it turns out that Armenians
once again flatter themselves with illusions about certain rights
they have under this agreement. It goes without saying that Western
Armenia is a land belonging to the Armenians. However, relying on its
return according to some documents signed 90 years ago can prove to
be a dangerous delusion. Generally, believing in the return of any
territory undermines the spirit of the nation and leads to a defeat,
a situation we openly observed with the example of the national
liberation war in Artsakh. If the Armenians at least for a moment
and at least in their minds withdraw from the liberated territories,
they will frustrate the whole world, which now calls for the "return
of 7, 5 or at least 2 regions".
Let's go back in history. Treaty of Sèvres was signed between the
Allies that won the World War I and the Ottoman Empire. On behalf of
the Republic of Armenia the treaty was signed by Avetis Aharonian, but
the survival war with Turkey made it impossible to ratify the treaty.
Under the Articles 88-93 of the Sevres Peace Treaty, Turkey recognized
Armenia as a "free and independent state." Turkey and Armenia agreed
to submit to the arbitration of the President of the United States
of America the question of the frontier to be fixed between Turkey
and Armenia in the Vilayets of Erzerum, Trebizond, Van and Bitlis,
and to accept his decision thereupon, as well as any stipulations he
might prescribe as to access for Armenia to the sea. In aggregate the
area of Armenia was estimated 110 thousand km2, and the First Republic
of Armenia - over 150 thousand km2, both with outlet to the Black Sea.
But it was no deal. The arbitral award of Woodrow Wilson remained a
wishful thinking, since the U.S. Senate refused to ratify it. The
Senate also refused to take the mandate for Armenia, while the UK
was given the mandate for Palestine, and France - the mandate for
Lebanon (the Ottoman Empire territory within the present borders of
Syria and Lebanon). The Armenian-Turkish border was defined by the
Treaty of Kars on October 13, 1921, signed and ratified by the Turkish
Republic and the Soviet republics of Transcaucasia. No one denounced
the Kars Treaty, and the collapse of the USSR has absolutely nothing
to do with it. The view expressed in this article may be disputed,
but international law clearly defines which agreements are valid and
which are not.
Let us only remind that the defining contract between the Allies and
Turkey was the Lausanne Peace Treaty of 1923, which recognized the
new Turkish Government, with Mustafa Kemal Ataturk at the head. In
this connection there can be recalled the well-known story of the
Balfour Declaration on Palestine, thanks to which the Jews eventually
proclaimed the State of Israel. As Lloyd George writes in his "War
Memoirs", when in 1916 the British army faced a deficit of cordite
(smokeless powder), they were advised to turn to brilliant chemist,
professor of Manchester University, Chaim Weizmann, who later became
the first president of Israel, and died in 1952. Weizmann solved
the problem. "When our difficulties were overcome thanks to the
brilliance of Dr. Weizmann, I said to him: "You have done a great
service to the state and I would ask the Prime Minister to present
you to His Majesty to express our gratitude to you." Weizmann said,
"I do not want anything for myself, but I would like you to do
something for my people," wrote Lloyd George, the Prime Minister
of Great Britain in 1918. That "something" was the opportunity for
repatriation of the Jews to Palestine. However, no one then thought
that the Balfour Declaration would become a reason for one of the
longest and unresolved conflicts in the Middle East up to this day...
From: A. Papazian