On 24 July, at least 600 members from 175 political parties, non-governmental organizations, intellectuals and writers will participate in the “Great Conference of Kurdistan” organized by the National Congress of Kurdistan (Kongreya Neteweyî ya Kurdistanê – KNK) on the occasion of the centenary of the Treaty of Lausanne.

Regarding the major Kurdish conference in July 2023, KNK co-chair Ahmed Karamus said the Kurds have no choice but to unite.

On 24 July 1923, in Lausanne, Turkey, Great Britain, France, Italy, Japan, Greece, Romania and Yugoslavia signed the Treaty of Lausanne.

A century later, the “Great Conference of Kurdistan” will be held under the leadership of the KNK.

The final declaration of the conference, which will determine a roadmap for the fight against the concept of annihilation and denial of the Kurds, will be shared with the public.

The KNK co-chair Ahmed Karamus assessed the Treaty of Lausanne, the importance of the conference, and the Kurdish struggle against the concept of annihilation and denial in the new century.

Karamus said that meetings have taken place with all segments of Kurdish society and that these meetings have been positive. “All parties and organizations in the federated region of Kurdistan, except the KDP, have shown a positive attitude. They said they would attend the conference. We have not met with ENKS [Kurdish National Council of Syria] in Rojava, but we will send them an invitation to attend the conference. If there are any interview requests, we will try to meet them. We also had meetings with the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDK-I). We had meetings with political parties in Iran and they said they would attend the conference.”

Karamus said that the Treaty of Lausanne was signed against the will of the Kurds. He added that “all the Kurdish organizations took a stand against it and promised to attend the conference. We consider this attitude as significant and important. We will share our position with the international community, the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the United Arab States and all the countries of the world that we can reach. The Kurdish people have not accepted and will not accept this treaty. The Kurdish people showed their position against the treaty by resisting to it. The Kurdish people want their existence, their identity, their cultural, artistic and national rights. A new agreement or a new solution can only be found if the Kurdish national democratic will, language and rights of the Kurdish people are accepted. We will form a competent delegation in this field as part of the final declaration that we will present at the end of the conference, and this delegation will continue its work in the field of diplomacy. This delegation will represent the people of Kurdistan.”