The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 1922. A TRIUMPHANT TURKEY.

Taranaki Daily News, 13 September 1922, Page 4

The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 1922. A TRIUMPHANT TURKEY.

The latest news from Asia Minor is by no means pleasant reading, even when allowing for the usual amount of coloring and the inevitable tendency to sensationalise. It is probable that the actual,position of affairs is very much as summarised by the Sunday Times as follows:—“We gave Greece our blessing and encouragement, while the French gave the Turks guns and tanks. The -result is a broken Greece, a triumphant Turkey, a jubilant France, and a Britain sore and dissatisfied. What will very quickly be upon us is the old Turkish question in a new guise. The Turks, after their resounding success in Anatolia, will become ‘emboldened and then dream of preparing for the recapture of Turkey in Europe. It would condemn all South-eastern Europe to perpetuitv of war if the Turks, through discord among the Allies, were allowed to slip back to their old position.” There can be no doubt that the representative of the Kemalist Government in Paris (Ahmed Gerid Bey) voiced the aspirations of the Turkish Nationalists when he said: “The Turks will clear the Dardanelles, no matter what troops are occupying it. Turkey will insist on having ♦possession of Constantinople, Adrianople and Tluace.” There is nothing extravagant in this assertion ; it represents accurately the determination of the Nationalists. and it is this menace which will have to be met and overcome. It was to Gallipoli the British returned after the collapse of Turkey and the signing of the Armistice, as the result of the complete defeat of the Turks by the British armies in Palestine and Mesopotamia. On November 9, 1918, British marines and infantry landed at Gallipoli and occupied the forts on the Dardanelles, and on the following day the first British ships passed up the straits en route to Constantinople. Thus, after many months, the way was cleared, and the final triumph gained. In the settlement which subsequently took place with regard to Turkey’s future a compromise was made which, like most compromises, was more harmful than beneficial to the cause of peace, the consequence being the defiance of the Nationalists, headed by Kemal Pasha, who practically represents militant Turkey at the present time. There was, of course, na thought at that time of Greece becoming a disturbing factor in the Near East, but the re-appearance of Constantine at the head of the Greeks very soon produced complications which have resulted in a situation that teems with trouble. It would seem that the Greeks were enthused with the

idea of occupying Constantinople on the strength of one of the oldest Gerek legends that when the throne is occupied by a King named Constantine and a Queen named Sophia, Constantinople will fall into the hands of the Greeks* For the first time in history these conditions exist, and the inherent weakness of Constantine explains the rest. That such a trivial cause should induce the Greeks to embark on a hopeless war against the Turks shows how strong a hold superstition still has in the East. Although the Greeks have awakened to the consequences of their illusion, they have placed the Western Powers in a most anxious position. The Turks crushed by defeat are a very different proposition to deal with from Turks flushed with victory, and their fanatical hatred of Christianity, as expressed by horrible cruelties and massacres, intensifies the menace, and demands effective protective action. It is not only Constantinople, the Dardanelles, and Gallipoli that have to be considered, but Egypt, Mesopotamia and Palestine, and. above all, India. While the landing of British troops at Smyrna may be magnified into a direct challenge to the Turks, in reali; it is merely a move to main!a.i- order, and the Kemalists are well aware of this fact. That, however, is a mere incident. The necessity for making preparations for an emergency was pressed on the British authorities some months ago, and both troops and warships despatched to be in readiness for trouble, should it arise. That the present situation will require most care--ful action is obvious, for there is no knowing to what extremes the Turks may proceed. It is, states the Cairo correspondent of the London Times, increasingly clear that the co-operation of the Entente Powers in the East is absolutely necessary if a peace with Turkey is to be concluded “which will not be an ignominious surrender.” It must either be peace or war. The present temper of the Turks is arrogant in the extreme; a war is to be avoided by every possible means, yet only by the Entente presenting a firm, united front will it be possible to emerge from the trouble without hostilities. Turkey should not be allowed to again menace the peace that has cost so much to achieve.