Associations for Defence of National Rights ( tr, Müdâfaa-i hukuk cemiyetleri) were regional resistance organisations established in the Ottoman Empire between 1918–1919. They would eventually unite into the Association for the Defence of Rights of Anatolia and Rumelia in the Sivas Congress.

Background

Following the defeat of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the Ottoman army was disarmed according to the Armistice of Mudros. Although the Ottoman Empire had to agree to give up vast areas including most of Middle East, the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

further retained the power of controlling what was left of the Ottoman Empire, namely

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. It soon became clear that the Allies were planning to allocate parts of Turkey to

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

and

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. Parenthetically, southern

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

was put under

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and Italian mandate.

The national associations

The occupations, especially that of

İzmir İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban agglo ...

, caused deep reactions among the Ottoman people. Several patriotic associations were formed simultaneously in different parts of Turkey as a result. The former Unionists as well as

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

ic soldiers and intellectuals, were active in these associations and were struggling to have their voices heard by peaceful methods like protesting, meetings, and publishing notices, which were not effective at changing the Allies' policy.

After the Congress of Sivas

During the

Congress of Sivas The Sivas Congress ( tr, Sivas Kongresi) was an assembly of the Turkish National Movement held for one week from 4 to 11 September 1919 in the city of Sivas, in central-eastern Turkey, which united delegates from all Anatolian provinces of the Ot ...

held in September 1919, these associations were united under the name of " Association for the Defence of National Rights of Anatolia and Rumelia" ( tr, Anadolu ve Rumeli Müdâfaa-i Hukuk Cemiyeti). This unified organisation became the main political force in Turkey up to the end of the

Turkish War of Independence The Turkish War of Independence "War of Liberation", also known figuratively as ''İstiklâl Harbi'' "Independence War" or ''Millî Mücadele'' "National Struggle" (19 May 1919 – 24 July 1923) was a series of military campaigns waged by th ...

. Its chairman was Mustafa Kemal (later surnamed Atatürk), who would go on to become modern Turkey's founding father. After the war of independence and the

Treaty of Lausanne The Treaty of Lausanne (french: Traité de Lausanne) was a peace treaty negotiated during the Lausanne Conference of 1922–23 and signed in the Palais de Rumine, Lausanne, Switzerland, on 24 July 1923. The treaty officially settled the conflic ...

, Atatürk proposed to change the name of the organisation to the ''People's Party'' on 9 September 1923, just one year after the

liberation of İzmir The Turkish Capture of Smyrna, or the Liberation of İzmir ( tr, İzmir'in Kurtuluşu) marked the end of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922), 1919–1922 Greco-Turkish War, and the culmination of the Turkish War of Independence. On 9 September ...

. After the Republic was proclaimed, the unified organisation was renamed to the

Republican People's Party The Republican People's Party ( tr, Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi, , acronymized as CHP ) is a Kemalist and social-democratic political party in Turkey which currently stands as the main opposition party. It is also the oldest political party ...

(CHP), which would rule Turkey until

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...

, and remains one of Turkey's main political parties to this day.

List of associations

The following are associations that took part in the grouping (with their location or main group component listed in parenthesis). * Şarkî Anadolu Müdafaa-i Hukuk Cemiyeti (

East Anatolia The Eastern Anatolia Region ('' tr, Doğu Anadolu Bölgesi'') is a geographical region of Turkey. The most populous province in the region is Van Province. Other populous provinces are Malatya, Erzurum and Elazığ. It is bordered by the Black Se ...

) * İzmir Müdafaa-i Hukuku Osmaniye Cemiyeti (İzmir) * İstihlası Vatan Cemiyeti ( Manisa) * Trakya-Paşaeli Müdafaa-i Hukuk Cemiyeti (

East Thrace East Thrace or Eastern Thrace ( tr, Doğu Trakya or simply ''Trakya''; el, Ανατολική Θράκη, ''Anatoliki Thraki''; bg, Източна Тракия, ''Iztochna Trakiya''), also known as Turkish Thrace or European Turkey, is the pa ...

) * Trabzon Muhafaza-i Hukuku Milliye Cemiyeti (

Trabzon Trabzon (; Ancient Greek: Tραπεζοῦς (''Trapezous''), Ophitic Pontic Greek: Τραπεζούντα (''Trapezounta''); Georgian: ტრაპიზონი (''Trapizoni'')), historically known as Trebizond in English, is a city on the Bl ...

) * Kilikyalılar Cemiyeti (

Adana Adana (; ; ) is a major city in southern Turkey. It is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the Mediterranean Sea. The administrative seat of Adana Province, Adana province, it has a population of 2.26 million. Adana lies in the heart ...

Mersin Mersin (), also known as İçel, is a large city and a port on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of Mersin Province, Mersin (İçel) Province. It is made up of four municipalities and dis ...

) *Hareket-i Milliye ve Redd-i İlhak Teşkilatları (İzmir) *Adana Vilayeti Müdafaa-i Hukuk Cemiyeti (Adana) * Kozan Müdafaa-i Hukuk Cemiyeti ( Kozan) *Anadolu Kadınları Müdafaa-i Vatan Cemiyeti (Women's organisation)

References

{{Turkish nationalism Turkish War of Independence 1918 in the Ottoman Empire 1919 in the Ottoman Empire

Republican People's Party (Turkey) politicians Organizations established in 1918 Organizations established in 1919 Anti-imperialism