Lausanne Treaty turns 102: Demonstration in Switzerland denounces the “marginalization of the peoples of Beth Nahrain” 

LAUSANNE, Switzerland – On Friday, the Swiss city of Lausanne witnessed a demonstration organized by activists and representatives of institutions and parties from the regions of Beth Nahrain and Kurdistan, marking the 102nd anniversary of the signing of the Lausanne Treaty. Participants viewed the treaty as a pivotal moment in history “denying the peoples of the region their political and cultural rights” and redrawing its borders without representing its indigenous components. 

During the demonstration, banners and slogans were raised affirming participants’ rejection of the treaty, signed on July 24, 1923, under the slogan: “We do not recognize a 102-year-old treaty that denied the existence of the peoples of Beth Nahrain.” 

A number of political and religious figures took part in the event, including Bethnahrin National Council executive council member Subhi Aksoy, and representatives from the European Syriac Union (ESU). Father Mikhael Aziz, priest of the Mar Ephrem Church in Switzerland, also delivered a speech expressing his rejection of what he described as the “exclusionary policies” pursued by the Turkish state against the Syriac (Aramean–Assyrian–Chaldean) people. 

In speeches delivered during the demonstration, participants described the Lausanne Treaty as an “extension of the major massacres of 1915,” which targeted Armenians, Syriacs, and Greeks at the hands of the Ottoman Empire and allied Kurdish tribes. They argued that the treaty helped entrench policies of erasure and marginalization against these peoples, who still suffer from its consequences to this day. 

Tuma Çelik, speaking on behalf of the MUB, stated: “The Genocide of 1915 and the Lausanne Treaty laid the foundation for the eradication of the national, religious, and cultural existence of the region’s peoples.” He added that the people of Beth Nahrain must “work to solidify their presence and engage across all arenas and platforms to assert their demands and realize their entity.” 

This demonstration comes at a time when several nationalist and cultural movements in the diaspora are increasingly calling for a reassessment of the Lausanne Treaty, which divided spheres of influence in the Middle East after World War I and was signed between the Western powers and the then-newly established Republic of Turkey. 

Activists say the lack of international recognition of the historical rights of the peoples of Beth Nahrain — including the Syriacs (Chaldeans-Assyrians-Arameans) — has led to a sharp decline in their political and cultural presence in the region. They are calling for international measures to restore recognition of this deep-rooted cultural and human heritage.