Today marks the centenary of the signing of the Treaty of Sèvres, the peace treaty between the Allied Powers and Turkey.
The Treaty of Sèvres is the only treaty signed by both Turkey and the Republic of Armenia, by the free will of the Armenian side. The Treaty of Sèvres not only recognises Turkey as responsible for the crimes it committed against the laws of war, not only requires Turkey to take steps to facilitate the prosecution of those directly involved in the perpetration of those crimes, not only requires Turkey to declare null and void the law on “Abandoned Properties” adopted in 1915 and its amendments, and to return all confiscated properties to their individual and communal owners, but also provides the legal basis for the recourse to the arbitration of the President of the United States of America, Woodrow Wilson, to determine the Armenia-Turkey border.
Over the past hundred years, Turkey has continued and continues to deny the crime it committed against humanity — the Armenian Genocide; it has evaded and continues to evade its responsibility and obligations as a perpetrator; it has adopted a hostile attitude towards the Republic of Armenia since 1991; and in recent days it has intensified its rhetoric against Armenia, Artsakh and the Armenian people in general, and its preparations for possible military aggression.
The Treaty of Sèvres is a valid international treaty, although it was not ratified by all signatory parties, but it has also not been legally replaced by any other international document. At least from the perspective of the Armenian Cause — the rights of the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian nation — it continues to remain a promissory note based on international law.
Moreover, the arbitral award rendered by the President of the United States of America, Woodrow Wilson, on 22 November 1920, continues to remain the only international document delineating the legal Armenia-Turkey border.
One hundred years after the signing of the Treaty of Sèvres, the Republic of Turkey continues to display a hostile disposition towards the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian people in general. Until the full implementation of Turkey’s obligations based on the points constituting the premises of international law contained in the Treaty of Sèvres, Turkey is obliged to:
a) End the 27-year illegal land blockade of the Republic of Armenia.
b) Cease its belligerent actions directed against Armenia, especially in the recent period.
c) Cease its generally anti-Armenian policy both within Turkey — including on our historic and confiscated lands — and outside it — against the Armenian colonies formed as a result of the Genocide.
We are convinced that the day will come when Turkey, as the author and perpetrator of the Armenian Genocide, will bear its responsibility and compensate the Armenian people for all their losses.
We declare that, as in the past, so in the future, we — in cooperation with other Armenian political forces and especially with the Republic of Armenia — shall continue our struggle until the restoration of historic justice.
Central Board of the Social Democrat Hunchakian Party
Bureau of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
Central Board of the Armenian Democratic Liberal Party
10 August 2020
