The 1920-1940 period were the most difficult years for Turkey in all respects. One of the many problems faced by the Turkish nation (which emerged from the First World War and struggle for liberation against invasions), and its rulers was the issue of population and identity. The reproduction of the Turkish nation, which had reached the point of extinction as a result of long years of wars, as well as the achievement of a certain identity understanding formed the essence of the population policies of the period. In order to achieve this, every opportunity was used. In this context, the policy of increasing the population was followed in the first years of the republic. While measures were taken to reduce deaths, remedies were sought to increase fertility. Another way to increase the population was to bring the Muslim Turkish population, which was an Ottoman remnant and lived outside Anatolia, to the homeland. The exchange agreements signed with various Balkan countries, especially Greece, and Hatay’s accession to the homeland were important stages in these efforts.

As it is known, the Agreement and Protocol on the Exchange of Turkish-Greek People was signed in Lausanne on 30 January 1923. Subsequently, after being accepted in the Turkish Grand National Assembly, joint commissions were established and the process was initiated. Only then did another problem arise: Who would define the adjective exchangee? Because different nations, who lived together for hundreds of years, defining themselves after the empire became a mystery in itself. By means of marriages, births, exchanges and migrations, past identities emerged from each other. This situation must have become a problem for the exchange commission that was established, as the commission was only able to determine the identity that would be recognized as the determining factor for the exchange procedures four years later at its meeting on 31 March 1927. As a result of the meeting, the commission decided to interpret and apply the terms “Muslim Religion” and “Greek Orthodox Religion” regardless of race. The decision of the Exchange Commission in 1927 directly affected the definition of citizen of the newly established state and also the fate of the Gagauz people within the framework of our topic.

The greatest concern of Hamdullah Suphi Tanrıöver was that the Gagauz people would not be accepted by the state because they were Christians. For this reason, he gave examples showing that religious differences within the same nation would not be a problem, and he offered material evidence for his ideas and tried to prevent possible objections. Unfortunately, Hamdullah Suphi Tanrıöver will be justified in his concerns, in a sense, what he fears will happen to him. Suphi Bey, who could not get the turns that he expected from the government and could not do what he wanted to do, resorted to a new path in order to realize his plans. Using the power of the press, he wanted to tell the Turkish nation who the Gagauz people were and the difficult conditions they were in. Hamdullah Suphi Tanrıöver tried to introduce the Gagauz people to the Turkish people with the help of people he knew from the Turkish press. Possibly increasing the visibility of the Gagauz society will also create a public and state officials for their transport to Turkey can not remain indifferent to consider. 

The writings of Yaşar Nabi Nayır about the Gagauz people were really effective. Because, following the series of articles in question, letters written directly to İsmet İnönü by Tevfik Kâmil Koperler, who was the Ambassador in Madrid at that time, starting from 18 January 1936 are the most important proofs of this. What Tevfik Kâmil Koperler wrote would affect the decisions of the state dignitaries. Kâmil Koperler, who was also a law professor, served as the Clerk of the Lausanne Conference Turkish Delegation. However, more importantly, he was the Head of the Turkish Delegation of the Turkish Greek Population Exchange. Direct Addressing the Prime Minister Ismet Inonu, and reports that he wrote the Gagauz and that should not come to Turkey that Turkey has written. According to Kâmil Bey, who was personally present in Lausanne where the exchange decision was made, possible immigration is against Lausanne. The situation has been clarified and a sample of the Gagauz, if Turkey has even said that if they were in built-up to Greece because of the scope of the Exchange Agreement to be Orthodox.

In this historical process that the construction of national identity, national identity, they also define the founders of the newly founded Republic of Turkey. Of course, it was a painful process for the state, which was the remnant of the empire, to establish a new Turkish identity from the population dispersed from the Middle East to the Balkans. Although the main element of Turkish identity was seen as the ethnic element, in fact the dominant element of national identity for the founders of this period was the Islam religion. It has been established as a manifestation of the past. Because the Balkan nations always emphasized their being “Orthodox” when defining themselves. In these years when nations were almost rebuilt, the administrators chose “Islam” as the main backbone of the Turkish identity under the conditions of the period. In a sense, the 1927 Exchange Commission decision made it official.