On August 2016, the Turkish occupation forces and their affiliate of Syrian armed groups launched the so-called ‘Euphrates Shields Operation’ and occupied towns and villages in north and northeast of Aleppo.
After the Turkish military occupation, Turkey applied its plans and agendas to Turkify the occupied Syrian towns and villages.
Syrian journalist Khrshed Delli said that “ Sulmyan Soylu, the Turkish Interior Minister and Deputy of the Justice and Development Party believes in the now obsolete Ahd i-Milli ( the National Pact) which considers the people of north Syria and Iraq as Turkish citizens.”
“The Turkish government gave about 94000 Syrians the Turkish citizenship. This is the official number but I think the real number is more,” Delli said during an interview with Syria Times.
“The Turkish regime is practicing systematical Turkification plans in the Syrian occupied lands in all walks of life, including education, mosques, police stations, charities and everything,” Delli said.
Turkification of Education:
Turkey established branches of its universities and schools in the so-called “Euphrates Shields” towns of A’zaz , Jarabulus, Al-Rai, Al-Bab and others.
Syrian students are being forced to study in Turkish in addition to Arabic. Turkey markets this issue as a must if students want to move to Turkey in the future.
Turkey runs the schools and universities and gives the teachers and administrative staff their salaries in Turkish liras via the Turkish Post Office (PTT) which opened offices in all big towns of the so-called “Euphrates Shields” such Azaz and Al-Bab.
According to local sources, the Turkish Ministry of Education runs about 700 schools that teach about 200.000 students in the so-called ‘Euphrates Shield Region’.
“The Turkish regime enforced its educational curriculum and language in all schools. Our children are forced to learn from these Turkish curricula which have different information and culture from the Syrian curriculum,” Abu Mohammad, 40-year-old father of two sons lives in Azaz town.
“I prefer to not send my children to the Turkey-run schools and learn from Turkish books. It is a national stance. There are many students who go to the schools and today they speak Turkish language and learn the history of Turkey not the history of Syria,” Abu Mohammad said to Syria Times.
Turkification of currency:
The Turkish government gives the Syrian militants, policemen, teachers, Sheikhs, scholars of mosques, doctors , nurse, employees and workers in municipalities monthly salaries in Turkish lira so, making the Turkish lira a de-facto issue, instead of the Syrian national currency.
It has become normal to pay with the Turkish lira for anything, monthly rent, buying a truck or a car, buying foodstuff- everything. Turkey encourages Syrian traders and sellers to deal with the Turkish lira.
On June 25, 2020, Syrian Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade Dr. Samer Khalil stated that “the Turkish occupation is taking serious measures to Turkify the economy sector in northern Syria and enforce the Turkish lira on the trade deals and this hurts the Syrian national currency.”
Minister Khalil said that “the Turkish occupation fabricates videos and propaganda on the deterioration of the Syrian economy at the same time with the American Caesar Act.”
“Turkey works to merge the occupied Syrian region’s economy and trade with its national economy. Turkey links roads and routes between Turkey and all occupied cities and towns. Turkey is building a big industrial zone in Al-Bab town to hire the low-salary Syrian professional workers and employees to work in its run factories,” Delli said.
“The Turkey-run local Syrian authorities prevented dealing with the Syrian pounds, specially the 2000SP note, in the Turkish occupied cities and towns in north Syria,” Delli
said.