Hatay dispute

The Hatay dispute emerged when Turkey annexed Hatay Province from the newly independent Syria in 1939. The Hatay dispute remains a controversial problem between Syria and Turkey from time to time.

History
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. 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 lira being official.

Maps as old as 1764 had shown that Hatay was traditionally Syrian. 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. In the Treaty of Lausanne, Hatay was also included as a part of Syria. Also in the Treaty of Lausanne, the Hatay dispute was not specifically mentioned, although France had withdrew from the Sanjak of Alexandretta in 1936 and gave it to Syria. Turkey refused to recognise Hatay as Syrian. When the meetings with France at the League of Nations meeting 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.

In his opening speech to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey on November 1, 1936, 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 of. 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." Atatürk had also told the French Ambassador to Turkey that "Hatay is my personal case. You must know that, it won't be a joke." Atatürk also claimed that Hatay had been Turkish for 4,000 years, due to the false Sun Language Theory.

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 made. 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. Many Arabs doubted the authenticity of the referendum, and claimed that it was rigged in favor of Turks. Many Arabs also fled to Syria after the annexation of Hatay by Turkey. 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.

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 amount of Turkish voters in the Hatay referendum was much higher than amount of Turks in Hatay.

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.

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. 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 recognise the accession of Hatay to Turkey.

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. In the incident, İsmail Faik Ayten, Talat Gencer, Yusuf Gören, Fikri Köşker, and Selahattin Çelik lost their lives. 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. 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. 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.

Syrian media was silent on the issue. 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. Syrian media began broadcasting 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". However, Bashar al-Assad had never directly mentioned the Hatay dispute. Tensions rose even further as a result of the demographic change in Hatay due to an increase in Syrian refugees.

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