Turkish Republic's diplomatic victory: Hatay

By Gokhan Celiker and Tugba Altun

The southern province of Hatay, which lies within the borders of the National Pact, was incorporated into Türkiye on July 7, 1939, amid the pre-World War II atmosphere and thanks to the strong diplomacy pursued by the Republic of Türkiye.

Experts spoke to Anadolu on the process of Hatay's accession to Türkiye and the views of the republic's founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, on the issue.

- Background of the accession

The British deployed troops to the Sanjak of Iskenderun, as it was called at that time, on Nov. 25, 1918, citing the provisions of the Armistice of Mudros, which was signed as a result of the Ottoman Empire's loss of World War I.

When the British troops, who occupied Antakya and its surroundings and stayed in the city for about a week, withdrew from the region on Dec. 7, 1918, they were replaced by French soldiers who entered Antakya.

Although it was within the borders of the National Pact, Hatay, as a result of the Ankara Agreement signed with France on Oct. 20, 1921, was included in the Syrian territory under the French mandate with a special status, except for its Dortyol and Hassa districts, and remained outside the borders of Türkiye.

Speaking to Anadolu, Prof. Ercan Karakoc from Istanbul's Yildiz Technical University Faculty of Science and Letters stated that the then-Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Kemal Tengirsenk, added the 7th article to the agreement and accordingly, a special administration was established in Hatay and Turkish was the official language.

"So that Turkish citizens can be organized to develop their culture and language. This article is important because Türkiye had started to give diplomatic notes to France using this article since 1936," he said.

Türkiye, which announced its independence to the world with the Lausanne Peace Treaty on July 24, 1923, could not fully achieve its goal in Lausanne regarding Hatay.

- Hatay issue in the changing world balance

In 1936, after France announced that it would give Syria independence within three years, Hatay became one of the main agenda items of Turkish foreign policy.

Assoc. Prof. Mahmut Bolat from Ahi Evran, University Faculty of Science and Letters, also mentioned France's decision to grant independence to Syria and Lebanon in 1936 and stated that the future of Hatay and the Turks there came under the spotlight.

Regarding this process, Bolat said, "Mustafa Kemal Pasha followed a truly diplomatic and beautiful path here. He wanted the independence given to Syria and Lebanon for Hatay as well. Not by wanting land, but by wanting the independence given to Syria and Lebanon for Hatay as well."

"He tried to solve the issue by various means. He followed a two-stage plan: first, to make Hatay independent and then to reintegrate it into Turkish territory," he added.

Pointing out that the political conjuncture that occurred before the Second World War was very effective, Bolat said, "Türkiye's friendship has become a sought-after friendship and its alliance has become a sought-after alliance. UK and France want to draw Türkiye to their side."

For his part, Karakoc also emphasized that Türkiye showed that it would not hesitate to use diplomacy and military force when necessary and that the issue was resolved with diplomacy without firing a bullet for Hatay, and said, "The basis here, the factor that makes things easier for Türkiye, is the understanding that Germany would disrupt the peace in Europe again, and the expectation that Italy will act together with Germany and drag the world towards a new war."

Karakoc also added that this atmosphere forced both the UK and France to decide on a plan.

"They pondered whether they would leave Türkiye alone in its rightful causes, which they thought would push Türkiye to Germany. They also weighed on whether they would accept Türkiye's demands and form an alliance with it. They later chose to accept Türkiye's demands. Türkiye also signed an alliance agreement with UK and France before the war started," he added.

- Hatay's independence process

Pointing out that the most difficult point diplomatically in the process of Hatay joining Türkiye was that France slowed down the process, Karakoc stated that France referred the issue to the League of Nations for this reason and that France had decided that Hatay had a separate place within Syria. He also stated that France wanted Hatay to remain as an entity within Syria, but Türkiye proved successful in step-by-step diplomacy.

The start of negotiations in Geneva in December 1936 and the investigations of the observer delegation in Hatay ensured that the issue became one of the items in the international community's agenda.

While Türkiye applied to the League of Nations for the "independence" of Hatay, although France resisted, as a result of Türkiye's intense efforts, on Jan. 27, 1937, it was declared a "separate entity," which would later pave the way for the unification of Hatay with its homeland. The parties reached an agreement in principle with the "Sandler Report."

In the following process, the "Hatay State" was established on Sept. 2, 1938, and Tayfur Spkmen, who played an important role in the organization of the armed resistance movement that started against the French in the region with the occupation of Hatay after the Armistice of Mudros, became the first president of the state.

Reminding that doctor Abdurrahman Melek also served as the Prime Minister of the established state during the period when Hatay declared its independence as a separate state, Karakoç said that these names would later be elected as Turkish MPs after Hatay became a Turkish province following a referendum.

Karakoc stated that one of the leading figures in the process was Feridun Cemal Erkin, who would later become the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and that when Hatay started to interfere, he went there, prepared a report and presented it to Ataturk. "After this report, Ataturk said, 'We were working towards expanded autonomy in Hatay, but we should develop a policy to annex Hatay.' Erkin says this in his memoirs as the Consul General of Beirut."

- Hatay's annexation to Türkiye

With the "Agreement on the Final Solution of the Territorial Problems Between Türkiye and Syria" signed between Türkiye and France on June 23, 1939, the Turkish-Syrian border was drawn so that Hatay remained within the borders of Türkiye.

In line with the unanimous decision of the Hatay National Assembly, Hatay decided to join its homeland, Türkiye, on June 29, 1939.

With the "Law on the Establishment of Hatay Province" issued by the Turkish Grand National Assembly on July 7, 1939, the province of Hatay was established, with its center in Antakya.

- The importance Atatürk gave to Hatay

While the people of Hatay did not accept living "detached" from Türkiye during the occupation process, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk uttered his famous remarks after the people of Hatay welcomed him during his trip to southern Adana province on March 15, 1923: "The forty-century-old Turkish homeland cannot remain a prisoner in the hands of the enemy!"

Atatürk, who defined Hatay as his "personal cause" and attached great importance to the Hatay issue, announced that he would do everything he could for Hatay if necessary, with the following words: "In such a case [if an armed resistance is necessary] I will immediately resign from the head of state or even from being a member of parliament. As a free Turkish citizen, I will go to Hatay territory with my friends working in this field. I will try to resolve the issue properly and sincerely with the fighters there and the forces that I have no doubt will escape from the homeland and join us."

In his opening speech to the parliament on Nov. 1, 1936, Ataturk said, "The major issue that occupies our nation day and night is the fate of Iskenderun, Antakya and its surroundings, whose real owners are Turks. We have to stand on this seriously and decisively."

Karakoc pointed out that Ataturk played a huge part in the issue, declaring that he saw the Hatay case as a "personal cause."

"The most important thing is that he moved to Mersin and Adana in 1938 when he was sick, and everyone was insistently advised by their doctors to rest. He sacrificed his health by being on his feet all the time. We can easily say that Ataturk played a leading role in resolving Hatay's issue because he saw it as his personal matter."

Bolat also explained that during this period, Ataturk's illness and "the perception that he could not do anything anymore" spread in the international media and that Mustafa Kemal Pasha went to the south after the ceremonies on May 19, 1938, despite his illness.

"Doctors said that his health is at serious risk. Even though he said that it was risky and that going on such a trip would risk his life, he went on this trip because he took this issue as a personal matter and risked everything. That's why we, the people of Hatay, call Mustafa Kemal Pasha the 'Hatay martyr' because after this trip, his illness got worse and afterward, he passed away."

- Reactions to Hatay's inclusion in Turkish territory

Regarding the reactions of other countries to the annexation of Hatay to Türkiye, Karakoc stated that when Syria became an independent state, it considered Hatay, which was under the control of France, as its own territory and that there were negative statements from Syria at first.

Quoting statements of the then-Prime Minister Ismet Inonu on the subject, Karakoc said, "'We left this land to France with the Ankara Agreement, we did not give it to Syria. Therefore, we want our justified demands regarding Hatay from France. Our addressee is France."

"In a period of time when Syrians are about to gain their independence, they should prefer Türkiye's friendship, not its hostility. This would be for the benefit of both states," he also quoted Inonu as saying.