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Coll 6/81 'Syria: Status of Alexandretta and Antioch.' [‎101r] (202/576)

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The record is made up of 1 file (286 folios). It was created in 17 Sep 1936-31 Aug 1939. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY’S GOVERNMENT
EASTERN (Syria).
January 4, 1937.
[E 25/3/89]
CONFIDENTIAL.
Sir P. Loraine to Mr. K
Section 2.
Copy No J19
(No. 627.)
Sir,
Angora, December 1936.
I HAVE the honour, with reference to my telegram No. 193 of the
14th December, to acquaint you with the terms of a speech - made on the
14th December on the occasion of the opening of the Turkish “ Week of Thrift ”
by the President of the Council, regarding the question of Alexandretta and
Antioch.
2. General Ismet Inonii began by explaining the Turkish view of France’s
position and obligations in the matter. He claimed that Alexandretta and
Antioch, which Turkey had ceded by the treaties of 1921 and 1923, subject to
certain special conditions, should recover their independence as a result of recent
developments. Asa first step Turkey considered it essential that measures should
be taken to ensure the preservation of public security in the sanjak in order that
no untoward incident might take place and that the situation might be discussed
in an atmosphere of calm. General Inonii went on to emphasise the friendliness
of relations between Turkey and France and the desire of Turkey to arrive at a
friendly solution of the problem.
3. Turning to a discussion of the question in so far as it affected Syria,
General Inonti observed, in the course of a somewhat obscure disquisition, that
certain elements in Syria professed to see in Turkey’s attitude an attempt by
what they called the traditional enemies of the Arabs to steal a part of the Arab
heritage. This was not the case. Turkey was not an enemy of the Arabs. If
Arabs had suffered under the Ottoman regime, so had Turks, and, moreover, in
many cases the guiding force in the administration of the Sultans had been
Arab, and not Turk. Again Turkey had consistently stood out, after the war,
against the establishment of mandates over the Arabs and had wished them to
direct their own destinies. Republican Turkey, too, had officially adopted as its
policy the principle of leaving the Arab countries to the Arabs, but would not
agree that Arabs should be in a position to draw away from their Turkish
nationality a population of a region bordering on Turkey. One zone of
Alexandretta and Antioch was not Arab but Turkish, and Turkey had never
ceded it to Syria. Though viewing with all sympathy Syria’s progress towards
independence, and eager for good neighbourly relations with that State, Turkey
was surprised and hurt by the expressed desire of Syria to exercise domination
over a Turkish territory—a domination which Turkey would never tolerate. The
opinion had been expressed that Syria needed a port in the Alexandretta zone;
this, however, did not imply the necessity for Syrian sovereignty over that zone.
The regions of Turkey for which the port of Alexandretta was needed were far
vaster than the parts of Northern Syria which were served by that port. The
economic aspect of the question could easily be separated from the question of
sovereignty, but Syria must clearly understand that Turkey considered the
question of Alexandretta and Antioch and neighbourhood as a national question.
4. In conclusion General Inonii reiterated Turkey’s fidelity to the principles
of the League of Nations and her confidence that it would be possible to reach a
satisfactory solution of the problem through the mechanism of the League.
5. I am sending copies of this despatch to His Majesty’s Ambassador at
Paris and to the United Kingdom delegation at Geneva.
I have, &c.
PERCY LORAINE.
[906 d—2]

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Content

This file documents the British response to developments regarding the status of the Sanjak [administrative district, referred to in Arabic as Liwa] of Alexandretta, including the cities of Alexandretta [İskenderun, Turkey] and Antioch [Antakya, Turkey].

The file features the following principal correspondents: His Majesty's Ambassador, Istanbul (Sir Percy Loraine, succeeded by Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen); His Majesty's Ambassador, Bagdad [Baghdad] (Sir Archibald Clark Kerr, succeeded by Sir Maurice Drummond Peterson); His Majesty's Ambassador, Paris (Sir George Russell Clerk, succeeded by Sir Eric Phipps); the British Consul, Aleppo (Archibald William Davis); the British Consul, Damascus (Gilbert MacKereth); His Majesty's Minister at Jedda (Sir Reader William Bullard); the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Anthony Eden); officials of the Foreign Office.

The correspondence includes discussion of the following:

  • The demography of the Sanjak of Alexandretta.
  • Turkey's claim for the Sanjak to be given autonomy.
  • The progression of Franco-Turkish negotiations, brokered by the League of Nations and resulting in the Sanjak's new autonomous status (in its internal affairs only), as granted in a League of Nations statute, concluded in January 1937 and brought into force on 29 November 1937.
  • Reports of both Arab and Turkish demonstrations in Alexandretta and Antioch during January 1937 (as well as Arab demonstrations in Aleppo).
  • Pressure from Syria and Iraq for the Sanjak to be partitioned between Syria and Turkey.
  • The reported registration of non-Turkish electors in the Sanjak as Turks.
  • Reported divisions in the Syrian Nationalist Government.
  • The conclusion of a treaty of friendship between France and Turkey in July 1938.
  • The announcement in September 1938 that the Sanjak of Alexandretta will in future be known as the Republic of Hatay, with Antioch as its capital.
  • The Franco-Turkish agreement regarding the change of status of Hatay to that of a Turkish province, concluded in June 1939.

The French language material in the file consists of several items of correspondence, plus copies of the aforementioned Franco-Turkish agreement (dated 23 June 1939) and the Turco-French treaty (dated 4 July 1938).

The file includes two dividers which give a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. These are placed at the back of the correspondence (folios 2-3).

Extent and format
1 file (286 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 287; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio.

Written in
English in Latin script
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Coll 6/81 'Syria: Status of Alexandretta and Antioch.' [‎101r] (202/576), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2154, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100049233825.0x000005> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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