Page 630 - Mastermind: The Truth of the British Deep State Revealed

The French delegation, coming from a country that had made great prof-

its out of capitulations, insisted that capitulations be replaced with another
system. İsmet Pasha refused the offer, completely aware that the new and un-

known system could jeopardize the security or independence of the state.

Lord Curzon claimed that capitulations were based on rights given by the

treaty and that even the Germans, the ally of the Ottomans, opposed the abol-
ishment of the system. He also said that capitulations could not be abrogat-

ed unless they were replaced by a new system agreed upon by the parties. 433

However, capitulations were non-negotiable for Turkey, no matter what
happened. On December 28, 1922, the talks reached a dead-end. The pro-

posals of the other side were rejected on the grounds they violated Turkish
sovereignty. İsmet Pasha defended the Turkish case and said that "the Turk-

ish justice system would be on par with the best justice systems in the world".
He considered the replacement of the system with a similar one, or assign-

ment of foreign judges in Turkey and all other similar proposals, an assault
on Turkey's independence. 434

Nothing came out of the discussions carried out under such circum-

stances. İsmet Pasha and the Turkish delegation refused to give into the de-

mands of new restrictions, no matter under what guise they were presented,
and fought off the pressure and oppression. The conference ended on Feb-
ruary 4, 1923 without reaching an agreement. 435

The Second Attempt Begins

As the Lausanne negotiations hit a dead-end and were suspended,

Mustafa Kemal gave a speech at Izmir Economic Congress on February 17,
1923 and made it clear that there would be no concessions on the capitula-

tions:

Ottoman Empire was deprived of its independence physically and effectively.
If a country cannot levy taxes on foreigners on its lands as it does on its own

citizens, if a country is banned from regulating its own customs… And, if a
country is not allowed to practice its rule of law for foreigners living on her

lands, then that country is not independent… 436

Mastermind: The Truth of the British Deep State Revealed