RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE OR WINDOW DRESSING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISTANBUL 001944

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/14/2014
TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV TU
SUBJECT: RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE OR WINDOW DRESSING

REF: A. ANKARA 6768

B. ANKARA 6116

Classified By: Consul General David Arnett for Reasons 1.4 (b,d)

This cable has been coordinated with Embassy Ankara.


1. (sbu) Summary: In trying to burnish ruling AKP's religious
tolerance credentials, Prime Minister Erdogan attended the
December 5 opening of a museum at an Armenian Hospital in
Istanbul and four days later presided over the opening
ceremony for a new mosque-church-synagogue complex near
Antalya. Both the Armenian Patriarch and Chief Rabbi
accepted invitations to join the PM in Antalya. Members of
the Armenian, Jewish, and Protestant communities, however,
characterized the appearances as "window dressing" designed
merely to put on a show for the EU about Turkey's religious
tolerance and harmony. End Summary.

Museum of Brotherhood
--------------

2. (u) Founded in 1832 with the permission of Sultan Mahmud
II, the Surp Pirgic Hospital in Yedikule is one of four
active Armenian hospitals in Istanbul. PM Erdogan attended
the December 5 opening ceremony to commemorate the hospital's
newly-renovated museum space that exhibits drawings and
photographs, religious garments, and antique medical
equipment and furniture. Dubbed the "Museum of Brotherhood"
for the occasion, the small museum focuses on the history of
the hospital and the Istanbul Armenian community, avoiding
the sensitive subject of the 1915-6 massacres and deportation
of Armenians living elsewhere in the country. The PM's
attendance turned the minor event into a gala occasion with
thousands of guests and luminaries in attendance. (Note:
Poloff particularly noted the slick media kits and public
relations efforts directed at foreign diplomats and media
representatives. End Note). The PM's speech was replete
with paeans to the shared history and culture of Turks and
Armenians ("As the children of this country, we have lived
together in peace and security for centuries. Our writers,
architects, human values, trade, folksongs, and cuisines have
mixed...").

Garden of Religions
--------------

3. (u) In a similar public display on December 8, PM Erdogan
presided over the opening ceremony of a new
mosque-church-synagogue complex near the Mediterranean city
of Antalya in the tourist resort area of Belek. The opening
of the new complex appears to be a direct response to
European and human rights critics who have chastised Turkey
for not allowing any new churches, even in areas where
increasing numbers of foreigners have settled. The leaders
of the religious communities in Istanbul were invited to
participate in the opening of the new "Garden of Religions,"
and both the Armenian Patriarch and Turkey's Chief Rabbi
featured prominently in the news coverage and photographs.
Echoing comments he also made at the hospital, PM Erdogan
remarked that "nobody who sees (this)... will be able to
ignore this country's identity."

What They Really Think...
--------------

4. (c) Members of the minority religious communities in
Turkey were quick to belittle the developments. Speaking at
a December 10 Istanbul conference, Turgay Ucal of the Turkish
Presbyterian Church characterized the "Garden" as mere
"window dressing" and "show" for the EU in advance of the
December 17 European Council summit. Hrant Dink, editor of
the Armenian weekly AGOS, told poloff that while the PM's
visit to the hospital was important to the Armenian
community, he doubted whether these events signified any kind
of meaningful shift in policy on outstanding religious
freedom issues. Moreover, we have heard other blunt voices
of criticism from within the Armenian community in Istanbul.
For instance, the Deputy Director of Surp Pirgic Hospital,
who is seen as a "useful fool" for the Turkish state by
members of the community exasperated by his attempts to cover
up the community's difficulties with officialdom, was slammed
for using the opening of the museum to curry favor with the
authorities. Lina Filiba, VP of the Jewish Community,
admitted that the Chief Rabbi had felt compelled to go
Antalya, but that the community had refused to donate a torah
and had no plans to send rabbis to perform services in the
new "show" synagogue. Finally, according to the daily
newspaper Milliyet, Father Alphonse Sammut, who attended the
ceremony in Antalya, claimed that "as long as the rights of
Catholics (to open churches) are not recognized, the
religious mosaic that we hope for will not be possible."
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew's notable absence in
Antalya, despite also being invited, was a clear sign that he
was reluctant to be used in a photo opportunity so soon after
the "ecumenical" furor during the Archons visit (ref A).

Comment
--------------

5. (c) Erdogan used both events to try to deflect criticism
and put a positive spin on Turkey's record of ethnic and
religious tolerance. Nobody we spoke to in the Christian and
Jewish communities harbored any illusions that this was
anything but an effort to influence the upcoming December 17
European Council decision on Turkey's EU membership
application. What will demonstrate true tolerance will be
the acceptance on the part of the AKP leadership, grassroots,
and Turkish society in general that Christians, Jews and
others who are not Muslims are as much Turks as anyone else,
and that they have the right to worship and proselytize to
the same extent as Muslims.
ARNETT