Armistice and National Organization in Eastern Anatolia

The negativities in the articles of the Armistice of Mudros concerning Eastern Anatolia and the willingness of the Armenian and Greek leaders to implement them, as well as the attitude of the peace conference convened in Paris towards the defeated, had a negative impact on the decision-making authorities in the Ottoman Empire. The leaders of the Committee of Union and Progress, the military authorities and the inhabitants of the regions whose cities had been occupied during the war saw the gravity of the situation that would arise with the implementation of the armistice and showed their willingness to take the initiative through civilian organizations. Starting from Istanbul and spreading across Anatolia, this structuring first focused on the Eastern Anatolia Region. The association for the Defence of National Rights in Kars, Ardahan and Erzurum were made possible by actual interventions from Istanbul. With Trabzon joining this union, the Erzurum Congress was convened, and Mustafa Kemal Pasha and Kâzım Karabekir Pasha were at the forefront of this organization and the implementation of the decisions taken. In this section, which we consider as an introduction to the Eastern Anatolia volume, the articles of the Armistice related to the region, their implementation, how and why the Vilâyât-ı Şarkiyye Müdafaa-i Hukuk-ı Milliye Cemiyeti (Association for the Defence of National Rights for the Eastern Provinces) was established, the role of Mustafa Kemal Pasha and Kâzım Karabekir Pasha in these efforts, and the scope of the Erzurum Congress were tried to be discussed.

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