syria and turkey

So as my hubby is of syrian roots we obviously follow this war as much as possible.Whilst talking with a friend the other night we were shocked that the majority of his village are stocking up on guns as they are worried about the situation.Just recently they had a huge group of refugees in Hatay ( where his family live ) spouting hatred about the goverment i mean please they have sought refuge in turkey and there they are slagging off the very place helping them.Its this that is worrying the locals and especially as its becoming more and more fundamentalist where they are.They really do feel there is going to be a civil war and that is worrying.My hubby always says dont believe everything you read in the paper as thats what they want you to see that Bashar al-Assad is really the bad guy and of course its never the other side.I think its hard to really know ever what goes on,has anyone else got relatives fearing the same thing? or any thoughts on this.If turkey go into a civil war they have a lot of support from nato etc so watch this space.

Hi Hayley,

I don't really know that much about the politics of it all, but from what I've seen on TV and read in the papers it looks to be potentially very serious. It seems as though at any moment an out and out bloody war could ensue.

I wonder why it's Turkey that seems to be in the firing line and is being goaded into retaliation? All the other countries bordering Syria are being left alone (and they all have Syrian refugees) so I'm wondering if there's more to this fighting between Syria and Turkey than meets the eye?

The thing is that if it does escalate (and it seems to be heading that way) there is a real risk of a massive war, and besides all the horrors and deaths that will occur, the ramifications of that will be huge.

What is extremely worrying is that the US, Israel and Saudi are all involved in this, so who knows how far this will go? It is a terribly worrying situation and if it does escalate it will most certainly spread......

Strawbs

Turkish-Syrian dispute In Ottoman times, Hatay was part of the Vilayet of Aleppo in Ottoman Syria. After World War I, Hatay (then known as Alexandretta) became part of the French Mandate of Syria. Unlike other regions historically[vague] belonging to Syrian provinces (such as Aintab, Kilis and Urfa)[citation needed], Alexandretta was confirmed as Syrian territory in the Treaty of Lausanne agreed upon by Kemal Atatürk; although it was granted a special autonomous status because it contained a large Turkish minority. However, culminating a series of border disputes with France-mandated Syria, Atatürk obtained in 1937 an agreement with France recognizing Alexandretta as an independent state, and in 1939 this state, called the Republic of Hatay, was annexed to Turkey as the 63rd Turkish province following a controversial referendum. Syria bitterly disputed both the separation of Alexandretta and its subsequent annexation to Turkey.

Syria maintains that the separation of Alexandretta violated France's mandatory responsibility to maintain the unity of Syrian lands (article 4 of the mandate charter). It also disputes the results of the referendum held in the province because, according to a League of Nations commission that registered voters in Alexandretta in 1938, Turkish voters in the province represented no more than 46% of the population.[10] Syria continues to consider Hatay part of its territory, and shows it as such on its maps.[11][12] However, Turkey and Syria have strengthened their ties and opened the border between the two countries.


Protests in Damascus by women demonstrators against Turkish annexation of the Sanjak of Alexandretta in 1939. One of the signs reads: "Our blood is sacrificed for the Syrian Arab Sanjak."Syrians hold the view that this land was illegally ceded to Turkey by France, the mandatory occupying power of Syria in the late 1930s. Syria still considers it an integral part of its own territory. Syrians call this land Liwa' aliskenderun (Arabic: لواء الاسكندرون‎) rather than the Turkish name of Hatay. Official Syrian maps still show Hatay as part of Syria.[11][12]

Under the leadership of Syrian President Bashar al Assad from 2000 onwards there was a lessening of tensions over the Hatay issue. Indeed, in early 2005, when visits from Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Turkish prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan opened a way to discussions between two states, it was claimed that the Syrian government announced it had no claims to sovereignty concerning Hatay any more. On the other hand, there has been no official announcement by the Syrians relinquishing their rights of sovereignty.

Following changes to Turkish land registry legislation in 2003 a large number of properties in Hatay were purchased by Syrian nationals, mostly people who had been residents of Hatay since the 1930s but had retained their Syrian citizenship and were buying the properties that they already occupied. By 2006 the amount of land owned by Syrian nationals in Hatay exceeded the legal limit for foreign ownership of 0.5%, and sale of lands to foreigners was prohibited.[13]

There has been a policy of cross border co-operation, on the social and economic level, between Turkey and Syria in the recent years. This allowed families divided by the border to freely visit each other during the festive periods of Christmas and Eid. In December 2007 up to 27,000 Syrians and Turks crossed the border to visit their brethren on the other side.[14] In the wake of an agreement in the autumn of 2009 to lift visa requirements, nationals of both countries can travel freely.[15] However, out of 50 agreements signed between Turkey and Syria in December 2009, the Hatay dispute stalled a water agreement over the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Turkey asked Syria to publicly recognize Hatay as a Turkish territory before signing on to the agreement.

This is why it is probably worse for this part of turkey as ive copied the above to help explain why.Our friends have also said that the job situation is bad at the moment as a lot of people went across to syria for goods as they are cheaper over there and were bringing them back etc and as its so dangerous now they are too scared to go,hence making it difficult in their village and city especially.Im actually nervous about travelling there at the moment as its always the villages that come under attack first,especially as where they live in hatay is a small drive from the border.when we went swimming at the sea there syria was literally just round the corner from where we were :/

The other reason its bad as you may have seen on the tv the other night is that a shell from syria went over the border and killed 5 people in turkey hence why they fired back soooo yh this is a nasty situation

hayleyvemehmet wrote:Turkish-Syrian dispute In Ottoman times, Hatay was part of the Vilayet of Aleppo in Ottoman Syria. After World War I, Hatay (then known as Alexandretta) became part of the French Mandate of Syria. Unlike other regions historically[vague] belonging to Syrian provinces (such as Aintab, Kilis and Urfa)[citation needed], Alexandretta was confirmed as Syrian territory in the Treaty of Lausanne agreed upon by Kemal Atatürk; although it was granted a special autonomous status because it contained a large Turkish minority. However, culminating a series of border disputes with France-mandated Syria, Atatürk obtained in 1937 an agreement with France recognizing Alexandretta as an independent state, and in 1939 this state, called the Republic of Hatay, was annexed to Turkey as the 63rd Turkish province following a controversial referendum. Syria bitterly disputed both the separation of Alexandretta and its subsequent annexation to Turkey.

Syria maintains that the separation of Alexandretta violated France's mandatory responsibility to maintain the unity of Syrian lands (article 4 of the mandate charter). It also disputes the results of the referendum held in the province because, according to a League of Nations commission that registered voters in Alexandretta in 1938, Turkish voters in the province represented no more than 46% of the population.[10] Syria continues to consider Hatay part of its territory, and shows it as such on its maps.[11][12] However, Turkey and Syria have strengthened their ties and opened the border between the two countries.


Protests in Damascus by women demonstrators against Turkish annexation of the Sanjak of Alexandretta in 1939. One of the signs reads: "Our blood is sacrificed for the Syrian Arab Sanjak."Syrians hold the view that this land was illegally ceded to Turkey by France, the mandatory occupying power of Syria in the late 1930s. Syria still considers it an integral part of its own territory. Syrians call this land Liwa' aliskenderun (Arabic: لواء الاسكندرون‎) rather than the Turkish name of Hatay. Official Syrian maps still show Hatay as part of Syria.[11][12]

Under the leadership of Syrian President Bashar al Assad from 2000 onwards there was a lessening of tensions over the Hatay issue. Indeed, in early 2005, when visits from Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Turkish prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan opened a way to discussions between two states, it was claimed that the Syrian government announced it had no claims to sovereignty concerning Hatay any more. On the other hand, there has been no official announcement by the Syrians relinquishing their rights of sovereignty.

Following changes to Turkish land registry legislation in 2003 a large number of properties in Hatay were purchased by Syrian nationals, mostly people who had been residents of Hatay since the 1930s but had retained their Syrian citizenship and were buying the properties that they already occupied. By 2006 the amount of land owned by Syrian nationals in Hatay exceeded the legal limit for foreign ownership of 0.5%, and sale of lands to foreigners was prohibited.[13]

There has been a policy of cross border co-operation, on the social and economic level, between Turkey and Syria in the recent years. This allowed families divided by the border to freely visit each other during the festive periods of Christmas and Eid. In December 2007 up to 27,000 Syrians and Turks crossed the border to visit their brethren on the other side.[14] In the wake of an agreement in the autumn of 2009 to lift visa requirements, nationals of both countries can travel freely.[15] However, out of 50 agreements signed between Turkey and Syria in December 2009, the Hatay dispute stalled a water agreement over the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Turkey asked Syria to publicly recognize Hatay as a Turkish territory before signing on to the agreement.

This is why it is probably worse for this part of turkey as ive copied the above to help explain why.Our friends have also said that the job situation is bad at the moment as a lot of people went across to syria for goods as they are cheaper over there and were bringing them back etc and as its so dangerous now they are too scared to go,hence making it difficult in their village and city especially.Im actually nervous about travelling there at the moment as its always the villages that come under attack first,especially as where they live in hatay is a small drive from the border.when we went swimming at the sea there syria was literally just round the corner from where we were :/

The other reason its bad as you may have seen on the tv the other night is that a shell from syria went over the border and killed 5 people in turkey hence why they fired back soooo yh this is a nasty situation

Flippin heck thats heavy reading Hayley!! Gone over me head that has. It sounds well serious I wonder if will spread?

Pipxoxo

Hi pip yup heavy reading but i hope it helps people understand a bit more.Dont worry its not often i put up big posts so i wont for a bit now lets hope it can be sorted.

hayleyvemehmet wrote:Hi pip yup heavy reading but i hope it helps people understand a bit more.Dont worry its not often i put up big posts so i wont for a bit now lets hope it can be sorted.

Dont worry about Pip Hayley....LOL....she can only read ten words in one sitting...LOL....I enjoy a good read and long post.....you carry one girl its interesting.....sad situation imo.....