|
2024-07-09 The Grand Turk
|
|
Pogroms and attacks: Türkiye pays the price for supporting the Syrian opposition
|
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Dmitry Polyakov
[REGNUM] Mass protests are taking place in the northern regions of Syria controlled by Turkey. The strikes that began have resulted in armed clashes between local residents and the Turkish army. The reason for the tension was reports from Turkey.
Waves of pogroms and attacks on objects associated with Syrian migrants swept through Kayseri and later other cities in the country. The cause of the unrest was the news of a Syrian man molesting an underage girl.
This is the narrative that informs the publications covering the latest events in the Turkish-Syrian borderland. However, the problem is multi-layered and has deeper roots.
NON-INTEGRATED MIGRANTS
First of all, the current tensions are a direct consequence of Turkey's active role in the Syrian crisis, as well as Ankara's nearly ten-year military presence in the north of the country.
After the start of the "Arab Spring" in the Syrian Arab Republic (SAR), the Turkish government almost immediately sided with the Syrian opposition and opened the borders to refugees.
The result of this policy was the migration of a huge number of Syrians to Turkey. As of 2024, there are more than 3.6 million of them. It is important that only a small part of the refugees were able to integrate into Turkish society. This is the first reason for the discontent that arises among the Turks.
The second is of an economic nature.
Turkey has been experiencing hyperinflation since 2018
| …it’s expensive to swan around the world like you really are a neo-Ottoman empire instead of a mere wannabe subsidized by Gulf Oil money… |
and millions of residents are barely making ends meet. Against this backdrop, the population considers the costs of social support for migrants an unnecessary burden for the Turkish economy.
Moreover, after the conclusion of the agreement between Ankara and Brussels on refugees, Turkish society increasingly views its country as a “migration hub” for Europe, and this is clearly at odds with national interests.
Considering that Syrians make up the largest proportion of the total number of refugees, it is they who are the focus of public discontent.
Meanwhile, there are also tensions between Syrians and Turks on the other side of the border. Since 2015, Ankara has carried out three military operations in the SAR and created two military protectorates in the north and northwest of the country.
The first is governed by the Interim Government of Syria, the political body of the Syrian opposition, and the second by the Syrian Salvation Government, an administrative and political body created by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham
| …formerly Jabhat al Nusra, before that Al Qaeda in Iraq and Syria, which remained loyal to the home office when ISIS spun itself off… |
(an organization banned in Russia) in 2017.
The socio-economic security of these zones is directly linked to the southern Turkish provinces adjacent to the Syrian border.
In addition, Ankara is the main sponsor of the Syrian National Army, the armed wing of the Syrian opposition.
It would seem that the population of the northern and northwestern regions of Syria should be grateful to Ankara for its support. However, it is not that simple. The residents of these regions have accumulated fatigue from living in an uncertain status.
It is obvious that the opposition's coming to power in Damascus by armed means is unrealistic. The option of a political settlement with major preferences for the opposition is also not in sight.
In the current situation, the population of the northern regions blames the Turkish authorities, who entered into negotiations with the allies of the Syrian government.
In addition, there is discontent in society with the Turkish military presence. Opposition media often report on various tragic incidents involving Turkish soldiers. All this also leads to anti-Turkish demonstrations by local residents.
LOCALS DON'T WANT DAMASCUS TO RETURN TO POWER
Another reason that has provoked the increase in violence in the northern regions of Syria is the ongoing process of normalizing relations between Ankara and Damascus.
It was launched in late 2022, when the defense ministers of Russia, Syria, and Turkey met in Moscow. However, by the summer of 2023, the rapprochement between the parties had frozen.
It is noteworthy that during the period of normalization negotiations, anti-Turkish protests took place in the northern regions of the SAR, which are under Ankara’s protection.
In the summer of 2024, the process of restoring relations was restarted. The parties softened their positions, removing the harsh preconditions that had appeared earlier. Moreover, the presidents of the two countries publicly spoke about the prospects for establishing ties.
"Syria has a positive attitude towards normalizing relations with Turkey, if this process is based on respect for its sovereignty and the desire of the Syrian state to restore it over the entire territory of the country," said the country's President Bashar al-Assad.
His Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, returning from the SCO summit in Astana, also announced Ankara’s intention to reach an agreement with Damascus: “We have no reason not to restore diplomatic relations with Syria.”
Erdogan's words were met with hostility by the population of northern and northwestern Syria. Therefore, protests would have taken place in any case, as they already did in late 2022 - early 2023. The pogroms in Kayseri only accelerated the process.
A strong trigger was also the trial opening of the Abu al-Zindine crossing between areas controlled by the official government and areas controlled by the opposition.
Subsequently, the checkpoint was supposed to become a permanent commercial crossing that would strengthen trade and economic ties between the zones.
However, this move was negatively received by local residents, who came out to protest and blocked the road to the checkpoint.
The reaction of the population is indicative: some people are against the normalization of relations between the Syrian and Turkish governments, since under this condition the opposition areas will again come under the control of Damascus.
Thus, the current clashes have a “double bottom”. Firstly, it is the fatigue of the Syrians living in the northern regions of the SAR from the Turkish presence. Secondly, it is the response of local society to the possible normalization between Syria and Turkey.
Opposition-minded citizens are against the return of the official government's power to their areas of residence. In addition, the population perceives Ankara's actions as a betrayal.
At the same time, the anti-Syrian pogroms in Turkey did not become the primary cause of the outbreak of violence, but only accelerated the expected reaction of the residents of northern Syria.
|
Posted by badanov 2024-07-09 00:00||
||
Front Page|| [11135 views ]
Top
File under: Sublime Porte
|
|
08:15 Seeking Cure For Ignorance
08:14 Besoeker
08:05 Grom the Affective
08:02 Procopius2k
08:01 Procopius2k
07:59 Procopius2k
07:41 Procopius2k
07:37 Procopius2k
07:37 Super Hose
07:36 Besoeker
07:35 Besoeker
07:33 Super Hose
07:33 Besoeker
07:32 Super Hose
07:29 Super Hose
07:28 Super Hose
07:26 Besoeker
07:23 badanov
07:09 Besoeker
07:01 Besoeker
06:45 Besoeker
06:43 Richard+Aubrey+
06:38 NN2N1
06:28 Grom the Affective
|
