Hatay dispute

The Hatay dispute emerged when Turkey annexed Hatay Province from the newly independent Syria in 1939. The Hatay dispute remained a controversial problem between Syria and Turkey from time to time between 1939 and 2024.[a][1][2]

The slogan "Hatay is Turkish and will remain Turkish" is used by Turkish nationalists.[3]

History

French–Turkish dispute

During the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, after the Armistice of Mudros, the Sanjak of Alexandretta (modern day Hatay) was occupied by France. Thus, the Turkish National Movement formed a front in Hatay.[5] On October 20, 1921, according to Article 7 of the Treaty of Ankara, Hatay would remain within the borders of Syria; although with the Turkish language and Turkish lira being official.[6]

Maps as old as 1764 had shown that Hatay was traditionally Syrian.[7] In 1936, out of the 220,000 people in Hatay, 46% were Arabs, 39% were Turks, 11% were Armenians, and the remaining 4% was made up of Circassians, Jews, and Kurds.[8][9] In the Treaty of Lausanne, Hatay was also included as a part of Syria.[10] Also in the Treaty of Lausanne the Hatay dispute was not specifically mentioned, when France withdrew from the Sanjak of Alexandretta in 1936 and gave it to Syria, Turkey refused to recognize Hatay as Syrian. When negotiations with France in Geneva did not yield results, they gave an official note to France on October 9, 1936, asking for the independence of the Sanjak of Alexandretta from Syria.[11]

In his opening speech to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey on November 1, 1936, Turkish president Mustafa Kemal Atatürk stated that "a major issue that keeps our nation busy day and night is the fate of İskenderun, Antakya, and their surroundings, of which the Turk is the true owner. We are serious about it and we definitely have to end it. This is the only and big issue between us and France, whom we always emphasise the importance of friendship with. Those who know the truth of this affair, and those who love the truth, understand and see the violence and sincerity of our affair."[12] Atatürk had also told the French Ambassador to Turkey that "Hatay is my personal cause. You must know that, it won't be a joke."[13] Atatürk also claimed that Hatay had been Turkish for 4,000 years, due to the false Sun Language Theory.[14] Turkish authorities referred to Alawites as "Hittite Turks" (Eti Türkleri) in order to conceal their Arab origins.[15] In 1938, the Turkish army entered İskenderun and expelled most Arabs and Armenians.[16]

Turkish annexation

Concerned that Atatürk may possibly invade Hatay, the French made a military agreement in which an election would be made in Hatay, although Turkish troops, under the command of Şükrü Kanatlı, entered Hatay before the elections could be held. In a speech, Şükrü Kanatlı said "I brought the greetings of Atatürk, the Army, and the homeland to the people of Hatay." Turks of Hatay welcomed Kanatlı and the crowds shouted "long live Atatürk". The Hatay State was established on September 2, 1938, after the Turkish government hosted elections on August 13. The Hatay Republic joined Turkey on June 29, 1939, after a referendum.[17] Many Arabs doubted the authenticity of the referendum, and claimed that it was rigged in favor of Turks.[18][19] For the referendum, Turkey crossed tens of thousands of Turks into Alexandretta to vote.[20] Many Arabs also fled to Syria after the annexation of Hatay by Turkey.[21] Arabs of Hatay protested the Turkification, and in 1930, Zaki al-Arsuzi became one of the biggest critics of Turkey's policies, and he became a symbol of the Arab struggle in Hatay.[22]

Syrians condemned France for violating their own mandatory responsibility to protect Syrian lands as part of article 4 of the mandate charter of the Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon. Many Arabs rejected the referendum results and claimed that the number of Turkish voters in the Hatay referendum was much higher than the number of Turks in Hatay.[23] The common sentiment among Syrians is that Hatay was illegally given to Turkey by France. Official Syrian maps continued to show Hatay as part of Syria.[24][25]

The Syrian community blamed Britain and France for cooperating with Turkey on the Hatay dispute, and accused them of ignoring the Arabs of Hatay and their demands.[26] The President of the Syrian Assembly sent a letter to the French government and the League of Nations Council, declaring that Hatay is Syrian and that Syria does not recognize the accession of Hatay to Turkey.[27]

Ba'athist Syria–Turkey tensions

October 21, 1989, an airplane of the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre of Turkey was shot down by a Syrian MiG-21 jet, which violated the border in the Altınözü district of Hatay. Although the Syrian delegation instantly blamed the attack on Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia or the Kurdistan Workers' Party, investigations confirmed that it was entirely Syrian pilots who carried out the attack.[28][29] Outside of Syria, Ba'athist propaganda under Saddam Hussein in Iraq also claimed Hatay, as well as Khuzestan, as Arab lands under occupation.[30] When Bashar al-Assad came power, there was a lessening of the tensions as Assad did not demand that Hatay should be returned to Syria, however no official agreement was made.[31] Under Assad, much progress was achieved, and 50 agreements were signed between Turkey and Syria in December 2009, although a water agreement over the Tigris and Euphrates rivers was halted when Turkey asked Syria to officially recognize Hatay as a Turkish province.[32]

In February 2011, the dispute over Hatay was almost solved, with both countries acknowledging the border, and planning to build a shared dam on the Orontes River. However, as a result of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan staunchly supporting the Syrian National Army during the Syrian civil war, all progress was halted, and the dispute over Hatay resurfaced. Ba'athist Syrian media increased its broadcasting of documentaries about the Arabness of Hatay, the history of the area, the Turkish annexation, and Turkification. Syrian organizations and parties also demanded an "end to the Turkish occupation".[33] However, Bashar al-Assad had never directly mentioned the Hatay dispute.[34] Tensions rose even further as a result of the demographic change in Hatay due to an increase in Syrian refugees.[35] In addition, the Syrian Democratic Council, established by the Syrian Kurds, also used maps similar to those of the Ba'athist regime.[b] The Turkish government has always considered it an offshoot of the PKK militant organization and has clashed with ANNES on numerous occasions.[36] After the fall of the Assad regime, the Syrian transitional government removed Hatay from some official symbols.[a]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b Implied by the logos of the Syrian Ministry of Information, and the General Security Service.
  2. ^ Only the Syrian Democratic Forces, which is expected to join the new Syrian Armed Forces, have continued to show Hatay Province as part of Syria on its flag. However, the flag has appeared during the Syrian civil war before the Assad regime collapsed in 2024.

References

  1. ^ Atabey, Figen (15 Temmuz 2015). "HATAY'IN ANAVATANA KATILMA SÜRECİ". Avrasya Uluslararası Araştırmalar Dergisi. 3 (7): 193-209. doi:10.33692/avrasyad.509271. ISSN 2147-2610.
  2. ^ Şafak, Yeni. "Suriye Parlamentosu'ndan bildiri: Hatay'ı geri alacağız | Ortadoğu Haberleri". Yeni Şafak (in Turkish). Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  3. ^ AŞKAR, Levent (1 July 2022). "Kurt: Hatay Türk'tür, Türk kalacak" (in Turkish). Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  4. ^ Werner, Arnold (2000). "The Arabic dialects in the Turkish province of Hatay and the Aramaic dialects in the Syrian mountains of Qalamun: Two minority languages compared". In Owens, Jonathan (ed.). Arabic as a minority language. Walter de Gruyter. p. 368. ISBN 9783110805451.
  5. ^ Tahsin Ünal, Türk Siyasî Tarihi, s. 575.
  6. ^ Picard, Elizabeth (Spring 1982). "Retour au Sandjak". Maghreb-Machrek (in French) (99). Paris: Documentation française.
  7. ^ "Map of Iskenderun, Joseph Roux, 1764". huji.ac.il. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  8. ^ Brandell, Inga (2006). State Frontiers: Borders and Boundaries in the Middle East. I.B.Tauris. p. 144. ISBN 978-1-84511-076-5. Retrieved 30 July 2013. According to estimates provided by the French High Commission in 1936, out of a population of 220,000 39 per cent were Turks, 28 per cent Alawites, 11 per cent Armenians, 10 per cent Sunni Arabs, 8 per cent other Christians, while Circassians, Jews and Kurds made up the remaining 4 per cent.
  9. ^ Kieser, Hans-Lukas (2006). Turkey Beyond Nationalism: Towards Post-Nationalist Identities. I.B.Tauris. p. 61. ISBN 978-1-84511-141-0. According to official French statistics of 1936 the total population (219,080) was made up as follows: Turks 38% Alawite Arabs 28% Sunni Arabs 10 Christians Arabs 8%
  10. ^ Fahir Armaoğlu, XX. Yüzyıl Siyasî Tarihi, s. 323-324.
  11. ^ Fahir Armaoğlu, XX. Yüzyıl Siyasî Tarihi, s. 348.
  12. ^ Ruşen Eşref Ünaydın, Hatıralar, s. 5-6.
  13. ^ Falih Rıfkı Atay, Atatürkçülük Nedir?, s. 44.
  14. ^ Duiker, William J.; Spielvogel, Jackson J. (2012). World History. Cengage Learning. p. 192. ISBN 978-1111831653.
  15. ^ Balanche, Fabrice. "The Alawi Community and the Syria Crisis". Middle East Institute. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  16. ^ Jack Kalpakian (2004). Identity, Conflict and Cooperation in International River Systems (Hardcover ed.). Ashgate Publishing. p. 130. ISBN 0-7546-3338-1.
  17. ^ Bekir Tünay ATATÜRK ARAŞTIRMA MERKEZİ DERGİSİ, Sayı 5, Cilt: II, Mart 1986
  18. ^ Jack Kalpakian (2004). Identity, Conflict and Cooperation in International River Systems (Hardcover ed.). Ashgate Publishing. p. 130. ISBN 0-7546-3338-1.
  19. ^ Robert Fisk (19 March 2007). "Robert Fisk: US power games in the Middle East". The Independent. Archived from the original on 10 November 2010. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
  20. ^ Robert Fisk (2007). The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East (Paperback ed.). Vintage. p. 335. ISBN 978-1-4000-7517-1.
  21. ^ "ARMENIA AND KARABAGH" (PDF). Minority Rights Group. 1991. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 September 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  22. ^ Choueiri, Youssef M. (16 March 2001). Arab Nationalism: A History Nation and State in the Arab World. Wiley. p. 144. ISBN 978-0-631-21729-9.
  23. ^ Arnold Twinby, 1938 Survey of International Affairs p. 484
  24. ^ parliament.gov.sy – معلومات عن الجمهورية العربية السورية Archived 2007-06-02 at the Wayback Machine
  25. ^ "The Alexandretta Dispute", American Journal of International Law
  26. ^ TÜRKİYE - SURİYE İLİŞKİLERİ Zişan ŞİRİN AYRANCI sayfa 66
  27. ^ Melek Fırat- Ömer Kürkçüoğlu, “Ortadoğu’yla İlişkiler”, Türk Dış Politikası sayfa 290
  28. ^ Milliyet gazetesi 22 Ekim 1989 12. Sayfa "Suriye Uçağımızı düşürdü"
  29. ^ Milliyet gazetesi 23 Ekim 1989 11. Sayfa "Suriye saldırısı vahim"
  30. ^ Iran at War: 1500-1988, Kaveh Farrokh, 2011, pp. 344, ISBN 9781780962214
  31. ^ Navon, Emmauel (20 December 2018). "Withdrawing from the Golan talks". www.jpost.com. Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  32. ^ PM vows to build model partnership with Syria Today's Zaman 23 December 2010
  33. ^ "Syria's "Lost Province": The Hatay Question Returns". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Archived from the original on 28 March 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  34. ^ Lundgren Jörum, Emma: Beyond Syria's Borders: A history of territorial disputes in the Middle East (London & New York: I.B. Tauris), p 108
  35. ^ "Hatay Büyükşehir Belediye Başkanı Savaş'tan Suriyeli çıkışı. Hatay'ı kaybetmekten korkuyorum". Yeniçağ Gazetesi (in Turkish). 25 September 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  36. ^ "Turkey and Syrian Democratic Forces Hold Direct US-Brokered Talks Amid Regional Realignments". Kurdistan 24. 3 June 2025.
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