ISTANBUL - Stating that the Treaty of Lausanne is the seal of Kurdish denial, HDK Co-Spokesperson Esengül Demir said: "A new social contract must be written."

 

Peoples' Democratic Congress (HDK) held a panel titled "Lausanne in its Centennial: Accounting and Opportunity" at the Nazım Hikmet Cultural Center in Şişli on the centennial of the Treaty of Lausanne, which divided Kurdistan into 4 parts. In the panel consisting of two sessions, discussions will be held on the titles of "The century of Lausanne" and "Possibilities for my common future". In the first session of the panel, politician-historian Mutlu Öztürk, lawyer Emran Emekçi, writer Pakrat Estukyan, historian Erdoğan Aydın attended as speakers. In the second session of the panel, Prof. Dr. Baskin Oran, sociologist Rojda Yıldız and research writer Osman Tiftikçi will make presentations.

 

HDK Co-Spokesperson Esengül Demir made the opening speech of the panel attended by many politicians, writers and intellectuals. Emphasizing that Lausanne, which was signed under the name of "Peace", did not keep peace, Demir said: "A period of exclusion and identities were ignored with the Treaty of Lausanne. The state became 'unified' with the Treaty of Lausanne. The Republic has not been able to provide social peace or unity. Unfortunately, the nation state tried to put the straitjacket on the Middle East and Turkey. He aimed to eliminate every difference and diversity that came his way. However, politics should include social politics. Uniforming is a system that rejects different views and understandings and destroys existing ones. We can say that the parallel history of the Republic was the suppression of resistance. This monism, together with the last social memory, brought us back as the Independence Tribunals, the Gazi, Sivas massacres, executions, tortures, village evacuations and the Roboski massacre.

 

'LAUSANNE LEFT KURDS WITHOUT STATUS'

 

Stating that the global powers, beyond separating the places where the Kurdish people live with Lausanne, confronted the Kurds with deprivation of status, Demir said: "The Kurds were chosen as the 'victim' people of the Middle East. The concept of 'common homeland' expressed in Lausanne is based on 'allegiance' to the powerful. Lausanne is the seal of denial of the Kurds. It is our duty to destroy this seal."

 

‘WE WILL WRITE OUR OWN STORY’

 

Stating that the people, who have been trying to write their own stories against the dominant politics for a century, continue their struggle, Demir said: “We are trying to write our own story. This system is constantly trying to renew and rewrite its own story through us. But we will continue to stand and change the regime with other stories and means of struggle."

 

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC EVENT

 

Emphasizing that rejecting such a period that caused great suffering, distanced peoples from each other and prevented people's contact, Demir said: “We reject Sèvres, we do not accept Lausanne in its current form. We think it should be rebuilt. Or we have to rewrite our own story outside of Lausanne. We need a democratic constitution for this. It is necessary to write a new social contract that covers all segments of society and that can guarantee their right to life in the new life. The way to make the constitution democratic is a study that will include all peoples and incorporate their ideas into this contract. A social contract that will include women, workers, minorities, ignored identities and bring their demands in the new life to the surface is an inevitable reality. Of course, the way to get the republic out of this autocratic, monist and anti-democratic state created by Lausanne is through the Democratic Republic."

 

The panel continues with its first session titled “The century of Lausanne”.