Syria fears that traditional economic ties between Turkey and Israel, now in focus as Ankara seeks partners in a de-mining project on its southeast frontier, could trigger a crisis of Syrian national security, reports Bassel Oudat from Damascus The Turkish parliament has passed a law -- now authorised by President Abdullah Gul -- for the removal of mines in the regions bordering Syria within five years. The law also allows for this land to be rented and used for agricultural production. Syria initially heaped praise on the Turkish move when first announced last May, setting its eyes on cooperating with Turkey to invest in the de-mined border area. But the Turkish government subsequently announced that it received several bids from companies specialised in mine removal, including US, British, Ukrainian, Bulgarian and -- most alarmingly for Syria -- Israeli companies. Turkish parliamentary and media sources suggest the Israeli bid could win because it is the least expensive and most dependable. The law then raised concerns among the Turkish opposition, and Syria has since expressed its fear that if an Israeli company wins the bid, the Syrian-Turkish border would be laid bare to Israeli companies, which would threaten Syria's national security. During the 1950s, and following a rise in border smuggling, Turkey planted hundreds of thousands of mines along the border with Syria, especially along Turkey's southeast frontier. It later planted even more mines following fears that fighters from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is now banned in each country, might illegally cross the borders. Experts estimate that approximately 650,000 land mines were planted between 1950 and 1975 in an area of 19,000 square kilometres -- twice the area of Lebanon -- along the border with Syria. This area begins west of Antakya and stretches to Silobi in the east. It is a narrow stretch of land, more than 510 kilometres long and between 300 and 750 metres wide. According to Turkish sources, the city of Mardin has been chosen as the first area for mine removal. The de- mined area of 49,000 dunams will be planted with cotton and the city's residents will economically benefit from its returns. Next, mines will be removed from an area of 55,000 dunams in Shanli Orfa, west of Mardin, and then 34,000 dunams in Calis and 15,000 dunams in Ghazi Antab. International observers note that the Turkish decision to remove mines planted along the border bears no relation to political or military relations between the two countries. Rather, they claim, it is the result of an international decision obliging Ankara to remove land mines from its borders within 10 years because it ratified the Ottawa Agreement on landmines in 2003. In keeping with this agreement, Turkey must destroy all mines, whether those in stockpiles or those planted in the ground, by 2014. There is no direct relation to political rapprochement with Syria, observers say. The mined borders have been a topic of discussion between Syrian and Turkish officials for the last five years. Syria has argued that the mines should be removed because the original justifications for planting them are no longer valid. It has further requested the removal of electric barbed wire and Turkish military detachments stationed along the border. The Turkish parliament began discussing the controversial de-mining bill early this month in charged sessions. The bill opens the way for the land to be rented out to foreign companies for leases of over 40 years in return for clearing the mines. The Justice and Development Party (JDP) government has tried to defend the bill by saying that it will spare the country the exorbitant cost of removing the mines and will develop the neglected border region for agricultural use. Yet opposition parties, especially the Republican People's Party and the Nationalist Movement Party, consider the bill a "sale of Turkish sovereignty" to foreign parties. The JDP government was forced to halt progress on the bill and consider amendments. The Turkish military establishment has indicated that it is hesitant to undertake the de-mining mission due to its cost -- estimated at between $400 million and $1.2 billion -- and the difficulty of the task, given that many mines have moved over the years in floods and geological shifts. The Turkish army opposes Israeli companies undertaking the mission and has recommended European companies as an alternative. It has also pointed to the possibility of assigning the task to NATO's Maintenance and Supply Agency, which has extensive experience in this field. Despite the impassioned response of opposition parties, the bill won the approval of 225 parliamentarians over 91. The Turkish parliament approved the bill following amendments to two of its six clauses, now requiring the Turkish Ministry of Defence to undertake the mission, and should it fail to do it will allow the Ministry of Finance to resort to a bidding process, at which point the matter would be returned to square one. The issue is undoubtedly vital for Syria, with many Syrians living in the Turkish border region killed by these mines. Yet Syria is now worried that the project may prove catastrophic, undermining its national security. If granted the contract, Israeli companies would work for five years along -- and possibly across -- the border with Syria, and would remain Syria's direct neighbours for 44 years, the duration of the agricultural land investment lease on offer. Syria believes that if permitted Israeli companies will engage in espionage under the cover of agricultural and industrial projects, at the same time drawing close to the water resources of the Tigris and the Euphrates -- vital water flows to Syria and Iraq. It also fears that Israeli companies may construct agricultural and residential compounds that could not later be removed. Syria points to Israel's Zionist dream of controlling the region "from the Euphrates to the Nile", and that any de-mining contract would give it a valuable foothold in this project. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was harshly criticised for his statements and positions in opposition to Israel during its attack on Gaza last January, making him a hero in Turkey and a number of Arab states. He angrily left the room during a discussion with Israeli President Shimon Peres in Davos, Switzerland. Yet he is also the person who pressured the Turkish government to pass the draft law, expressing discontent with the opposition's criticisms of the bill, tying the matter to improving Turkey's economic condition. Economically, Israel has long been a strategic ally of Ankara. For their part, the Syrians are worried that the Turkish military won't be able to remove the mines and will pressure the government to make alternative plans, possibly giving the mission to Israeli companies. The mines issue could then set off a crisis between Syria and Turkey and unearth suppressed conflicts, including the separation of Liwa Askandarun from Syria, the fair distribution of Euphrates water controlled by Turkey, and the fate of Syrian property on the Turkish side of the border.
