The Turkish Peace — Page 9
9 restructure it, is an incredibly difficult task; perhaps akin to snatching away prey from the jaws of a lion. It is normal in our country to see small communities fight for their most minor rights which they are unwilling to relinquish at any cost, therefore, how can one expect that in the case of such an empire, upon whose existence rests the life and death of their civilisation, any decision or speech made at one of our conferences will influence the participant nations of the [Paris] Peace Conference 7 to immediately forgo the privileges they have achieved? Instead, this requires a level of industry and struggle that turns young men old, and a sense of endeavour that is well thought out, streamlined and founded on unity, and one in which the importance of wealth and time pales into insignificance. Set against this, the Allies have united together through various treaties [which uphold their mutual interests], belong to the same religion, share the same civilisation and have assembled thousands of people together to help settle 7 The Paris Peace Conference was the meeting of the Allied victors , following the end of World War I to set the terms of peace for the defeated Central Powers following the armistice of 1918. It took place in Paris during 1919 and involved diplomats from more than 32 countries and nationalities. Among the major decisions taken there was the awarding of German and Ottoman overseas possessions as mandates , chiefly to Britain and France. [Publishers]