NATIONAL PACT

(Turkey)

   From July to August 1919 under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk), the Turkish nationalists held a congress in Erzurum in eastern Turkey. Here they drew up the National Pact (Milli Misak), which basically established modern Turkey's existing borders. Although recognizing the loss of the Arab provinces, this meant that Turkey would not accept an independent Kurdistan in southeastern Anatolia.

   Interestingly, the National Pact also claimed for modern Turkey the vilayet (province) of Mosul (northern Iraq), which was only grudgingly recognized as part of Iraq after the issue was settled by the League of Nations. The National Pact also pledged to maintain these borders even if the sultan's government in Istanbul were forced to abandon them under foreign pressure. Thus, the National Pact was an important step in the creation of the modern Republic of Turkey and the denial of Kurdish ethnic rights.