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Coll 6/81 'Syria: Status of Alexandretta and Antioch.' [‎282r] (564/576)

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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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J^This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty’s Government, and should be
returned to the Foreign Office if not require d for official use.]
/
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To SY;IT£3RLMD
Cypher telegram to Britisn Delegatiojio '(^■enevaT'• ^
o n n* r i i
, >< y / \
'oreign Office, 10th December
No. 141. MfflDIAT'E
Alexandretta.
‘Purkish attempt to secure establishment of Sanjak as indepen
dent unit is open to very serious objections (aescrioed in a
separate memorandum which will be sent to you uonighu) and Turkish
attitude seems Quite unjustified. Moreover irench Government
have now appealed to us for support in resisting furmish proposals,
if only on perfectly sound ground that amputation of Sanjak will
produce violent reaction in Syria and Arab world likely uO be no
less dangerous to British than to French interests.
2. de shall therefore sooner or later be obliged to oppose
Turkish case and I think it desirable that you should make this
clear to M. Aras in frank private talk if possible before Council
meeting. You should explain that His Majesty’s Government fully
appreciate motives of Turkish proposal and would be ready to sup
port any measures merely designed to guarantee rights and liberties
of Turkish population of Sanjak provided it is not detached from
state of Syria. But they consider that Turkish proposals for de
taching Sanjak cannot fail to lead to serious and far-reaching
political difficulties and to introduce a further element of in
stability and danger in international relations in the Mediterranean
thus rendering re-establishment of peaceful atmosphere to which
both Turkey and His Majesty’s Government attach so much importance
more difficult.
3. If Turks reply by repeating their disclaimer of any desire
to absorb Sanjak you may point out that new unit t»ould scarcely

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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.' [‎282r] (564/576), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2154, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100049233826.0x0000a7> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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