MAGEN DAVID ADOM DEMARCHE IN RESPONSE TO SWISS

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 003415

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/17/2015
TAGS: AORC PHUM PREF PREL IS SZ TU ICRC
SUBJECT: MAGEN DAVID ADOM DEMARCHE IN RESPONSE TO SWISS
CIRCULAR NOTE FOR THIRD ADDITIONAL PROTOCOL

REF: STATE 104272

Classified By: POLCOUNSELOR John Kunstadter for reasons: E.O. 12958 1.4
(b,d)


1. (U) We delivered reftel demarche to Turkish MFA Head of
International Political Organizations Levent Sahinkaya, who
already had in his possession copies of the Swiss Circular
Note, the Draft Rules of Procedure and the Draft Third
Additional Protocol. Sahinkaya confirmed:

-- the Turkish Ambassador in Geneva, representing Turkey as
the OIC President, advised Ambassador Pfirter that the time
was not appropriate to convene a conference; and

-- the Israeli Ambassador to Ankara Pinhas Avivi presented
an identical demarche on June 8 to MFA Undersecretary Ali
Tuygan (Sahinkaya did not tell us Ambassador Tuygan's
response to Ambassador Avivi).


2. (U) Sahinkaya, however, clarified Turkey's position
related to Magen David Adom, noting that Turkey is not
against the Third Protocol and considers the use of a neutral
emblem as "reasonable."


3. (C) Defending Turkey's position as OIC President,
Sahinkaya insisted that Turkey could not go against the
prevailing wishes of the OIC, which he distinguished as
different from the Arab countries. Nevertheless, a visibly
uncomfortable Sahinkaya said that the prevailing Arab opinion
was against such a conference. Sahinkaya was unable to
reconcile Turkey's self-description as a secular country with
its OIC-influenced decision to not support a Third Additional
Protocol conference in October.
EDELMAN