Part Two<\/p>\n
As the Cilician mandate was long granted to France, let us examine the foundation upon which France relied to exercise its mandate rights during those years.<\/p>\n
In the early 20th century, France acted as the \u201cprotector\u201d of all Catholics in the East\u2014 the Armenians of Cilicia were Catholics\u2014and extended its influence through numerous schools and charitable institutions. France\u2019s policy on the Armenian Cause can be divided into two phases: from 1878\u2014when the Armenian Cause was internationalized under the Treaty of San Stefano\u2014until World War II, and the subsequent phase from World War II to the present day. In the first phase, France\u2019s policy toward Armenians can be characterized as pro-Turkish, reflected in its positions from San Stefano to Lausanne and beyond. During this phase, France\u2019s policy was dictated by the special interests of French monopolists and financiers in economic heights. For example, 62 percent of the Ottoman debt and half of the capital of tobacco enterprises belonged to France. These were the main factors that made France uninterested in the partition of Turkey and therefore in the liberation of Western Armenia. France\u2019s pro-Turkish stance was determined by the expression and supremacy of economic interests.<\/p>\n
On March 9, 1914, France signed a treaty with Turkey, granting it concessions for the construction of railways and roads in Western Armenia. Although France and Turkey were on opposing alliances in World War I, France did not engage in war against Turkey during the conflict.<\/p>\n
In 1916, with the secret Sykes\u2013Picot Agreement signed between Great Britain and France, Cilicia was placed in France\u2019s sphere of influence, and it was decided to create an Armenian Legion. In November-December 1918, French troops, along with the Armenian Legion, captured Cilicia, and France became a country representing peacekeeping forces, remaining there until 1922. Encouraged particularly by the presence of the Armenian Legion, around 150,000 Armenians returned to their homeland. If it weren\u2019t for the Armenians, the presence of French troops in Cilicia would have been meaningless (as was the case with the Russians in Artsakh recently). However, unfortunately, France\u2019s material interests proved more decisive than its peacekeeping mission.<\/p>\n
In December 1919, negotiations between France and Mustafa Kemal Atat\u00fcrk resulted in a draft agreement stipulating that France would return Cilicia to Turkey (in contrast to England, Italy, and Greece). This also meant that France recognized Kemal\u2019s government. France\u2019s subsequent actions were detrimental to the Armenians of Cilicia, particularly during the San Remo Conference in 1920, and later in S\u00e8vres and thereafter.<\/p>\n
The Treaty of S\u00e8vres, signed on Aug. 10, 1920, did not include Cilicia within the Armenian state\u2019s borders, but it was understood in the U.S. Congress that Cilicia should have an autonomous government under French protection. It should also be noted that under Article 88, Turkey acknowledged the independence of Armenia.<\/p>\n
The Turkish-French agreement signed on Oct. 20, 1921, in Ankara had disastrous consequences for the Armenians of Cilicia, as it stipulated the withdrawal of French troops from Cilicia by Jan. 4, 1922, excluding the Sanjak of Alexandretta.<\/p>\n
What did France gain in return? Turkey granted France concessions on several sections of the Baghdad railway. Later, these concessions were to extend to Turkey\u2019s mines, railways, ports, and rivers. In this regard, French historian J. Pichon noted, \u201cAll promises made to the Armenians were forgotten.\u201d<\/p>\n
Following the Treaty of S\u00e8vres, it was France that demanded a revision of the treaty, viewing it as \u201chighly contrary to French interests.\u201d This ultimately led to the convening of the Lausanne Conference, where there was no mention of Armenia. In fact, Armenian demands to either unite Cilicia with Armenia or grant Cilicia autonomy under French protection were rejected. The British project to establish an Armenian national home in Cilicia and unify the Armenian diaspora also failed. Cilicia faced the threat of Armenian depopulation. Ultimately, the French ceded most of Cilicia to the Turks under the 1922 treaties of Ankara and Lausanne. Taking advantage of France\u2019s position, in June 1939, Turkey annexed the Sanjak of Alexandretta (Hatay Province), which was part of Syria. France showed no resistance.<\/p>\n
Between 1922 and 1939, more than 160,000 Armenians emigrated, particularly to Syria, Lebanon, and other Arab countries.<\/p>\n
In summary, while the French were carrying out a peacekeeping mission, the safety of Armenians in Cilicia was ensured. However, France\u2019s material interests proved more decisive than the peacekeeping mission, leading to disastrous consequences and the depopulation of Cilicia.<\/p>\n
It is also noteworthy that since World War II, France has been a keen defender of Armenian rights and, in some respects, a strategic ally.<\/p>\n
To be continued<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Part Two As the Cilician mandate was long granted to France, let us examine the foundation upon which France relied to exercise its mandate rights during those years. In the early 20th century, France acted as the \u201cprotector\u201d of all Catholics in the East\u2014 the Armenians of Cilicia were Catholics\u2014and extended its influence through numerous<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2264,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n