TURKISH PARLIAMENT PRESSES ANTI-ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 002189

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/14/2015
TAGS: TU AM PERL
SUBJECT: TURKISH PARLIAMENT PRESSES ANTI-ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
CAMPAIGN

REF: ANKARA 1841

(U) Classified by Political Counselor John Kunstadter, E.O.
12958, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: The Turkish Parliament is pressing its
campaign to tell the international community that there was
no Armenian genocide. PM Erdogan has sent a letter to
Armenian President Kocharian asking that Armenian scholars
participate in a joint Turkish/Armenian historical research
project that the Turks believe will exonerate them. The
Turkish Parliament and public are prepared for no other
result. End Summary.

Parliament Presses Turkey's Case
--------------


2. (U) Turkey's Parliament is pressing its campaign launched
in March to counter claims of Armenian genocide (reftel). On
April 13, PM Erdogan, FM Gul, and chief opposition party CHP
leader Baykal attended a session of Parliament to "debate"
the issue. The result was not a debate, but instead,
speeches in which Gul and CHP MP (and former Ambassador to
the U.S.) Sukru Elekdag vied to outdo each other in denying
Turkish wrongdoing. Noting calls for Turkey to make peace
with its history, Gul summarily trumpeted, "Turkey is at
peace with its history."


3. (U) Gul announced Turkey is sending a letter to Armenian
President Kocharian requesting Armenian scholars participate
in a proposed joint historical research project which the
Turks say will show there was no genocide. Gul called for
the Turkish government, bureaucracy, NGOs and press to
participate in the "national cause" to make the truth known.

A Selective Historical Approach
--------------


4. (U) Turkish Historical Society President Yusuf Halacoglu
has begun a series of university lectures across Turkey
presenting Turkey's historical argument. Using selected
documents, Halacoglu emphasizes Armenian anti-Ottoman
activities in World War I; portrays as inflated claims of
Armenian deaths, most of which he says were due to disease,
not deliberate killing; and highlights Ottoman efforts to
ameliorate the effects of Armenian deportations. When
Halacoglu made his presentation at Ankara's Cankaya
University on April 11, most "questions" from the audience
were expressions of outrage that Turkey could be blamed for
any wrongdoing.


5. (U) Also on April 13, the Turkish General Staff announced
it would publish selected documents about Armenian activity
between 1914 and 1918. According to press reports, the TGS
will publish them in four volumes.

An International Campaign Tailored for a Domestic Audience
-------------- --------------


6. (C) The Turkish campaign is ostensibly aimed at
international audiences but seems paradoxically tailored to
appeal to domestic audiences. The government is not
preparing the Turkish public for concessions. Publicly,
there is no mention that an objective historical approach
could do anything but totally exonerate Turkey. One AKP MP
who claimed to have thoroughly researched the Armenian
question seemed stumped when we asked him what would happen
if objective research led to a contrary result. After
several seconds' hesitation, all he could say was that would
not be acceptable.

No Comprehensive Approach
--------------


7. (C) There is no sign of a comprehensive approach to
Turkey's Armenia problem. The MFA office charged with
monitoring Armenian genocide allegations is part of the MFA's
Security Affairs Directorate; the office in charge in Armenia
is in the Caucasus regional bureau. Our MFA contacts in the
regional bureau have stoutly resisted our advice that
improved relations with Armenia could dampen the drive for a
genocide resolution. Security Affairs Department Head Arda
concedes that improved bilateral relations would give him
ammunition against the drive for genocide resolutions, but
his functional bureau has little clout.


8. (C) We see no change to Turkey's Armenia policy on the
horizon: in his April 13 Parliament speech, FM Gul
reiterated that Armenian concessions on occupied territory,
recognition of the border and dropping the genocide
resolution campaign were sine qua nons to restoring
diplomatic relations and open borders.

9. (C) The AKP government and Gul's MFA appear to have been
taken by surprise by the campaign, which originated with the
opposition CHP. Arda speculated that AKP joined in out of
concern that otherwise CHP would get the political upper
hand; the MFA was only brought into the process thereafter.
EDELMAN