Like Iran, Turkey penetrates into Syria through culture
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Failing to gain profits in the military field, like Iran, Turkey started to penetrate into northwest Syria through cultural aspects. By that, Turkey will not make enmity with its friends countries, who are at the same time its contestants, in Syria.
In mid-2021, Iran started a new stage to strengthen its presence in different vital sectors in Syria’s northern city of Aleppo.
Soon, features of the presumed stage started to appear as Iran opened a consulate and an attached economic office in Aleppo. Not only that, it went more to implement some essential projects in the Shiite religious sites preparing for a long stay inside Aleppo and its countryside.
In the framework of regional interests, Turkey and Iran reached agreements over the situation in Syria. Accordingly, Iran and Turkey will avert military confrontations to expand territorial ambitions in Syria.
In mid-November, the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu met with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amira-Abdollahian in the capital of Iran in order to boost regional cooperation between the two countries.
Affirmed convergence
Such certain convergence is not coincidental, nor it is the outcome of a current situation that brought the two countries together. It seems, it is a strategic ground that imitates the upcoming developments of the region.
Russia’s intervention in Syria has interrupted the Turkish expansionist ambitions. This interruption caused several disputes between the two countries, and summoning meetings between Russia’s president Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Despite frequent meetings between the two, disagreement continued. Especially that Russia insisted to return the areas of northwest Syria to the sovereignty of Syria, according to monitors.
Amid Turkish-Russian contest on territorial expansion in Syria, and reaching no form of understanding that could end the escalation between the two, Turkey adopted another policy, which is increasing its infiltration in Syria through culture, calculating it will probably gain profits it has failed to achieve on the military aspect.
Last week, Turkish officials opened the first institution in Azaz city, northern Aleppo countryside. The institution “Turkish Anadolu Academy” is one of the policies adopted by Turkey to continue the ‘Turkification’ process in the territories it control in northwest Syria.
The opening of the Anadolu Academy coincided the anniversary of the Arabic Language Day.
Turkey seeks to impose its own culture to facilitate the operation of strengthening influence in Syria. Thus, imposing the de facto policy in northwest Syria in cooperation with Syrian armed opposition factions.
Since controlling Afrin and its environs in March 2018, Turkey has imposed Turkish language in the educational curricula at all levels as part of Turkey’s policy of Turkification and demographic change.
Expansionist plan
Turkey has opened nine universities in northwestern Syria, including: Aleppo University, Idlib University, Mari University in Saraqib, Shimal Private University, in Sarmada, International University for Science and Renaissance, Sham International University, in Azaz, and others.
Activists and observers argue that Turkey is paving the way, through education and other means, for expansionist plans similar to the scenario of The Sanjak of Alexandretta, which was taken by Turkey in 1936.
According to activists and observers, Turkey is strengthening its policy of Turkification, to give the civil and cultural sectors a Turkish character with the aim of annex these areas to it. This, of course, contradicts the official Turkish statements that keep talking about the unity and integrity of the Syrian territories.
Two days after the opening of the center, the Turkish Minister of Interior, Suleyman Soylu, visited the industrial zone in the town of al-Ra’i, in the northern countryside of Aleppo.
This is the third visit to the Aleppo countryside and the fifth to northwest Syria in general. His first visit was in May 2020, when he visited al-Ra’i crossing to congratulate the Turkish soldiers on Eid al-Fitr.
Soylu published pictures on his Twitter account, showing his meeting with a number of traders and industrialists in al-Ra’i.
The Turkish minister was not accompanied by any official from the opposition Interim Government, while he met officials from local councils.