ABOLISHMENT of SULTANATE
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Lossanne Peace Conference’s preparations were begun following Mudanya Armistice, and the Ottoman Government declared that they will represented by the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM), in the congress. Both Ankara and Istanbul governments were invited to the conference and this behaviour was revealing that the Entente States were still recognising the Ottoman Empire. Mustafa Kemal Pasha went in to action as he realised the intention of the Entente States. Grand vizier Tevfik Pasha sent a telegraph to Ankara to invite the assembly to act in accordance with the Ottoman government. Grand Assembly reacted against this proposal which was against the Constitution declared on 24th April 1920. With this Constitution, the sovereignty had been given to people’s own will.

On 30th October 1922, the majority of the deputies proposed an act to abolish the sultanate and to separate the caliphate. During the ardent discussions these opinions were dominant among the General Committee of the Assembly:

-The Sultanate should be abolished. The Assembly should elect the caliph.

-Sultanate and Caliphate could not be separated from each other. If the Sultanate will be abolished the Caliphate should be abolished, as well. This is unreasonable.

It was realised that : a group emerged by close friends of Mustafa Kemal as H. Rauf (Orbay) and Refet (Pele) Pasha claimed that Caliphate could not be separated from the Sultanate.

While the act was discussed in the commission of TBMM, the majority claimed that the caliphate and the sultanate were very close institutions and they could not have been separated from each other. Another group was insisting on that it is possible to abolish the sultanate and elect a Caliph. At last, Mustafa Kemal Pasha had begun to speak loudly. He made a historical and scientific explanation :

Sovereignty and sultanate can not be given to any one by another by discussion or debate. Sovereignty and the sultanate should only taken by force and by power. The Ottomans seized the sovereignty and sultanate of the Turkish Nation by force. They preserved this authority for six centuries. Now the Turkish Nation took the sovereignty in their hands and by warning these aggressors and by objecting their sultanate. This an accomplished fact. The issue is not that if we are going to give the sovereignty of the nation or not. The issue includes the accomplished fact. This is going to be conducted without fail. If the Assembly and everyone could see the fact, it will done naturally. Otherwise it might be accepted by reality. But it is a probability that some heads are going to be cut.”

At the end of this very important and historical speech the draft law was accepted as the decision number 308 on 1st November of 1922. With this decision new Turkey’s essence was revealed and caliphate and sultanate were separated from each other and the sultanate was abolished. The next day TBMM had chosen Abdulmecid Efendi as the caliph. The Istanbul government was accepted the decision, as well and they have resigned. Sultan Vahuiddin left the country under the protection of Britain and he went to Malta by Malaya Battleship. In the Ottoman history, any sultan had taken refuge to an enemy.

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