The Erzurum Congress convened with the participation of over fifty delegates who were mostly from Erzurum and Trabzon from July 23, 1919 to August 7, 1919. Mustafa Kemal was elected as the chairman of the Congress. At the end of the Congress; a proclamation was issued setting the basic principles of the resistance movement. In the preface of the proclamation, it was stated that the Congress was convened to protect the ‘holy existence’ of the eastern provinces in face of the following menaces:
- the occupation of Adana, Antalya, and İzmir
- the Greek atrocities in Aydın,
- the Armenian massacres extending into the Caucasian boundaries of the Ottoman state,
- the preparations to realize the Pontus state at the Black Sea coast and bringing Greek immigrants in crowds from the Russian shores to this effort,
For the protection of the eastern provinces against ‘treacherous perils’, the Congress reached the following conclusions:
- The province of Trabzon, the district of Samsun, and the six eastern provinces (Erzurum, Sivas, Diyarbekir, El-aziz, Van and Bitlis) are an inseparable whole. They cannot be separated from each other or from Ottoman territory for any reason.
- The preservation of the integrity of the Ottoman Empire and national independence, the protection of the sultanate and caliphate are dependent to the putting of national forces in charge and the recognition of the national will as sovereign.
- All occupation and interference will be considered undertaken on behalf of establishing Greek and Armenian states. Therefore, the principle of united defense and resistance is accepted. Christian elements will not be granted new privileges that can counter political sovereignty and social equilibrium. If the central government abandons any part of the territory under foreign pressure, measures and decisions, including the establishment of a provisional government in eastern Anatolia, will be taken in order to defend the national rights and the sultanate and caliphate.
- The legal rights of the non-Muslims as indicated in the laws of the Ottoman state are reaffirmed. The Congress is in consensus that the property, life, and honor of the non-Muslims are the basic tenets of religious practices, national traditions, and legal principles.
- The Congress completely rejects the division of lands and separation of peoples who were within the boundaries of the country at the signature of the Moudros Armistice on
October 30, 1918. - The scientific, industrial and economic assistance of every state which do not nurture imperialistic ambitions towards the country and who respect the principles of nationality will be accepted on the condition that the internal and external independence of the people and the state as well as the territorial integrity of the country are preserved.
- The Central Government should be dependent to the national will at a time when the nations have the right of selfdetermination. It should convene the National Parliament immediately. All decisions taken on the destiny of the nation and country should be under the supervision of the parliament.
Source: https://yokdersleri.yok.gov.tr/
