From the Israel Archives |
Coverage of the Events since October 2000
Hände weg von Israel und Islam!
Land Dispute Between Turkey and Syria to be Solved with Barter
2005-06-11
zaman.com [Turkish online newspaper]
www.zaman.com/?bl=national& alt=&trh=20050611&hn=20562
A step was taken to find a solution for the land dispute between Turkey and Syria that emerged with Hatay's annexation to Turkey in 1939. The land exchange formula will prevail for a solution.
The friendly relations between Turkey and Syria have begun to yield results. After the Adana Agreement that was signed in 1939 and the borders were drawn, peace process was sped up by the reciprocal visits of presidents and prime ministers of both countries. Hence, historical disputes waiting for a solution came to the agenda. While some Syrians were forced to leave their lands in Hatay during the annexation, some Hatay locals were also forced to leave their lands in Syria.
The land exchange was put forward during the negotiations between the foreign ministers of two countries. Foreign ministry authorities confirmed that works on the issue had improved, and added that the amount of land involved in the land exchange will be clarified following a commission report. Syrians have 241,000,000 square meters land in Turkey and Turks have 1,240,260,000 square meters agreed land and 2,284,902,000 square meters non-agreed lands. Land that is located near to the Amik Savanna evaluated to be worth trillions of Turkish Lira. Thousands of square meters of land of which most are either possessed or owned produce crops two or three times a year and provide impressive incomes for the landowners.
Turkish-Syrian relations that have began to recover mostly please those possessing land in both countries. It is expected that the friendship bridge between Ankara and Damascus built by the Adana Agreement will solve the land dispute as well. One of those whose lands remained in Syria due to the Ankara Agreement is the Kahraman Family who are from the Reyhanli township of Hatay. Osman Kahraman who is the grandson of Sih Osman Kahraman said his family went to Kilis 35 years ago and found the real estate registers of the Ottoman archives. Expressing that he had at least 6,000,000 square meters of land, many houses and building sites located in Syria, Kahraman went on: "My family then went to Syria and learned the location of our properties. My grandfather's father Haci Hamo had been the agha of five villages. Since the entire village and the real estates belonged to the agha, all land in the village belonged to my grand grandfather as well. My grandfather has four siblings and my father has 12 and returning all those lands to their rightful owners will not only please us, but also the thousands of people like us."
Source: IMRA – Independent Media Review and Analysis
