ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH DISCUSSES HALKI OPTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISTANBUL 000136

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/11/2016
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL TU
SUBJECT: ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH DISCUSSES HALKI OPTION

REF: A. THESSALONIKI 019

B. 06 ISTANBUL 1302


1. (SBU) Summary. While in Istanbul to attend a session of
the U.S.-Turkey Economic Partnership Commission, EUR DAS
Matthew Bryza met separately with Ecumenical Patriarch
Bartholomew and Armenian Patriarch Mesrob II (septel.) In
his meeting with Bartholomew, the two touched on issues
related to the citizenship of the next patriarch, but
focused primarily on Halki Seminary. Bartholomew noted that
the governments of Egypt and Syria permit the election of the
Patriarchs of Alexandria and Antioch, respectively, without
respect to citizenship. End Summary.


2. (C) EUR Deputy Assistant Secretary Matthew Bryza met His
All Holiness EcumenicalPatriarch Bartholomew on February 8 at
the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Fener. In their private
meeting, Bartholomew repeated concerns regarding the
government's unresponsiveness to the Patriarchate on nearly
every issue, specifically mentioning an unanswered letter to
Foreign Minister Gul regarding the problem of Turkish
citizenship of the next patriarch. Echoing concerns voiced
during his July 2006 meeting with Bryza (ref B),Bartholomew
said both Syria and Egypt permit the election of the
patriarchs in Antioch and Alexandria without requiring all
candidates to hold Syrian or Egyptian citizenship. The Greek
Orthodox community in Turkey fears the election of a
patriarch who does not hold Turkish citizenship may bring the
church to an impasse with the Turkish government. DAS Bryza
informed the Patriarch that the Prime Minister's advisor,
Professor Ahmet Davutoglu, told him that while politically
sensitive, the AKP government had looked the other way when
new, non-Turkish citizen members of the church's Holy Synod
were elected for New York and Sydney, Australia. This
positive experience was one the patriarchate could build on,
said Bryza.

GETTING TO YES
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3. (C) Turning to the crucial issue of reopening Halki
Seminary, Bryza emphasized the February 6 announcement by
Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis of measures that would
provide greater authority to and recognition for Greek
Muslims (ref A.) While not a quid-pro-quo, these measures --
quietly encouraged by the U.S. -- could provide Ankara an
incentive to find a solution to opening Halki. Bryza asked
Bartholomew whether Halki could be opened under Turkey's
Ministry of Education as it had been in 1951 and whether the
patriarchate had any objection to the school being called a
"vocational school." Bartholomew concurred, and
enthusiastically described the plaque still hanging at
Halki's entrance containing a description of the school as a
Turkish Republic, Ministry of Education institution. What
was acceptable from 1951 through the school's closing in 1971
was fine today. The Patriarch said it was certainly "okay"
to refer to Halki as a vocational school under the Ministry
of Education.


4. (SBU) Ecumemical Patriarch Bartholomew noted the
patriarchate did not want to make changes to the school that
would be mandated should Halki reopen as a faculty under a
Turkish university. Such an arrangement would require
students to devote hours to unnecessary coursework that would
intrude on central courses in the theology, church history,
and canon law, for example. A university would require the
school to admit women, against the church's policy. A
Turkish university could not give appropriate space to hold
religious services. Bartholomew was concerned a university
could in time reacquire space once dedicated to a Halki
faculty and he could not envision the mechanism for choosing
and accepting students and visiting professors from abroad as
a university faculty.


5. (C) Bryza rehearsed a 4-point U.S. game plan to get the
school opened. 1.) U.S. pressure on the GOT to restrain
spurious property claims agains the Patriarchate; 2.)
improved rights for the Muslim minority in Western Thrace
(ref A) with a first phase already granted by Greece -- not
as a quid-pro-quo -- but which in fact provide room to
manouver for the GOT; 3.) GOT permission for Halki to
register as a vocational school under the 1951 regulation
that put the school under the Ministry of Education, and; 4.)
the Patriarch working with the Greek American community to
build support for the plan.


6. (C) Comment. Following the meeting, Bryza asked that
the Consul General work with the Istanbul Governor and his
office to urge the registration of Halki as a vocational
school subject to the 1951 regulation. He also indicated

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that further consultations with Davutoglu would be useful to
shepherd this request through the Turkish bureaucracy.
Although in no way linked to this issue in the U.S., the
consideration of an Armenia resolution by the Congress later
this Spring may hamper our ability to work with the typically
nationalist-leaning Interior Ministry, which controls the
Governor's office. End Comment.


7. (U) This cable was cleared by EUR DAS Matthew Bryza.
JONES