Analysis traces Kurdish exclusion to Treaty of Lausanne, post-Ottoman order

ANKARA, Türkiye — An analytical review published this week argues that the Treaty of Lausanne, signed on July 24, 1923, reshaped the political map of the Middle East after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and invalidated earlier provisions recognizing Kurdish self-determination. The article contends that international powers sidelined Kurdish aspirations to secure interests such as the oil of Mosul and the mandate over Syria, opting instead to back Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's military successes. As a result, Kurds were divided among four separate political entities without recognition of a national identity, according to the analysis. The piece frames Turkey as having positioned itself during the Cold War as a Western partner against communist expansion and Islamist movements while suppressing Kurdish demands. It says Ankara's foreign policy shifted from a "zero problems" approach in the early 2000s to a "zero friends" posture after developments in Syria, Egypt and Iraq, with Kurds pursuing rebellion and political struggle across periods including Koçgiri and Sheikh Said up to the present. The analysis concludes that the nation-state structure established by Lausanne codified the systematic denial of Kurdish democratic rights, and argues that any resolution must move beyond a model that deepens ethnic and sectarian conflict, proposing instead a democratic nation model that recognizes all components without border changes.