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Sykes and Picot and how their pencil forever tore the Middle East apart

From VRT NWS · (2h ago) Dutch Critical tone

Translated from Dutch, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • The Sykes-Picot Agreement, a secret treaty from May 1916, divided the Ottoman Empire's territories in the Middle East into French and British spheres of influence.
  • Drawn by Sir Mark Sykes and François Georges-Picot, the arbitrary line disregarded existing tribal, trade, and ethnic boundaries, sowing seeds of future conflict.
  • The agreement's legacy continues to shape the Middle East, with its artificial borders contributing to a century of instability and mistrust.

VRT NWS, through its geopolitical analyst Björn Soenens, presents the Sykes-Picot Agreement not just as a historical footnote, but as the foundational act of division that continues to plague the Middle East. The tone is critical and somber, emphasizing the long-lasting negative consequences of Western colonial ambitions.

Het is een waangedachte dat het Midden-Oosten maakbaar is

— SoenensBjörn Soenens writes that the idea of the Middle East being 'makeable' or easily shaped by external forces is a flawed concept.

The article strongly conveys the sense of betrayal felt by the region's inhabitants. By drawing a line on a map without consulting the Arabs, Kurds, or Armenians, Sykes and Picot are depicted as architects of future misery, prioritizing imperial interests over local realities. This perspective aligns with a common narrative in the Middle East that views external powers as the primary source of its persistent conflicts.

De Grote Oorlog woedde en het Ottomaanse Rijk liep op zijn laatste benen.

— UnspecifiedThe article sets the context for the Sykes-Picot agreement in May 1916, during World War I, when the Ottoman Empire was weakening.

From this viewpoint, the arbitrary nature of the borders drawn is the core issue. The creation of artificial nation-states, forcing diverse groups together or splitting existing communities, is seen as a direct cause of the region's instability. The article serves as a stark reminder that the current geopolitical landscape is deeply rooted in historical injustices, a perspective often overlooked in Western media's focus on more immediate events.

Landjepik waaruit veel ellende zou volgen, maar dat wist men toen nog niet.

— UnspecifiedThe division of territories is described as 'land grabbing' that would lead to much misery, though the consequences were not fully understood at the time.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by VRT NWS in Dutch. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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