STATUS OF SYRIA

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22518, 8 September 1936, Page 9

STATUS OF SYRIA

MANDATE REPLACED ALLIANCE WITH 1 FRANCE PROVISIONAL AUTONOMY By Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright (Received September 7, 6.5 p.m.) PARIS, Sept.. i. Negotiations between the French Government and semi-official' representatives of Sj ria have been concluded by the initialling of a draft treaty of friendship and alliance.

This will replace the French man date over Syria which will receive full autonomy subject to a military convention enabling France to maintain armed forces in the Jebel Druze and Latakia territories. The convention also places two aerodromes at the disposal of the French and provides that in future the Syrian Army shall employ French instructors and use the same armament and equipment as France. The treaty is closely modelled on the Anglo-Irak Treaty of 1930. France was assigned the mandate for Svria by a decision of the Supreme Council of the Allied Powers at San Kemo, Italy, in. April, 1920. This decision was confirmed by the League of Nations in the Declaration of London on July 24, 1922. The territory under the French mandate is bounded by the Mediterranean on the west, by Palestine on the south, by Irak on the east and by Turkey on the north. The frdntier between Syria and Turkey was settled by the Franco-Turkish agreement of June 22, 1929., • The country was originally organised in five territories, but in 1925 two of these, Damascus and Aleppo, were united to form a single -State, now the .Republic of Syria.. The remaining territories are those of Latakia, Lebanon and Jebel Druze. The total area subject to the mandate is about 60.000 square miles, and in 1929 the total population of the area was 2.831,022. Arabic is the prevailing language, but there is a largo influx I of foreign elements.