Sheikh Said Rebellion

Sheikh Said rebellion is the first large-scale rebellion that emerged soon after the foundation of the Republic of Turkey. It is understood that the rebellion was based on multiple reasons. It can be said to emerge with the effects of religious, nationalist and exterior provocations. After the Treaty of Lausanne was signed on 24 July 1923, the regime of the new country was determined and republic was proclaimed. The reforms in politics which were already launched, and the abolition of the sultanate, and that of the caliphate accelerated the process to the republican administration. This fast reformation process might not be adopted by some parts of the public, particularly by the Kurds. It is understood that in particular the applications for secularism, and the abolition of the caliphate were not responded positively among the Kurds. Under these circumstances, Ali Fethi (Okyar), the Prime Minister of the term, tried to take the required measures in order to suppress the rebellion by putting the military units immediately in action. However, especially because of the severe conditions in winter, the military units sometimes remained insufficient and the rebellion started to expand. This situation caused anxiety and Ali Fethi faced with severe criticism from his own government. Ali Fethi, who rejected to take extraordinary measures to suppress the rebellion, resigned as a result of the insistence on this matter and İsmet Pasha (Inönü) who stood up for strict measures formed government. The first action of the government was to enact Law on the Maintenance Order which was martial law. In compliance with this law, Independence Courts were founded and the caught insurgents were imposed the required penalties. The rebellions till today, especially the ones staged by the Kurds show that the measures taken during and after the Sheikh Said rebellion had important insufficiencies with regard to the solution of the problem.

Keywords

Sheikh Said, The Kurds, Law on the Maintenance Order, Independence Courts.