ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE STRESSES SECURITY CONCERNS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISTANBUL 000162 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/SE E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/25/2017 TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL AM TU SUBJECT: ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE STRESSES SECURITY CONCERNS TO STAFFDEL TILLEMANN REF: A. ISTANBUL 0061 ¶B. 06 ISTANBUL 2091 ¶C. ISTANBUL 0136 Classified By: Consul General Deborah K. Jones for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: Ecumenical Patriarchate senior advisor Metropolitan Meliton of Philadelphia summarized Patriarchate grievances against the GOT during SFRC Majority Staff member Tomicah Tillemann's February 22 visit. Meliton was particularly concerned about recent anonymous threats directed against the Armenian and Ecumenical Patriarchates and expressed his gratitude for recommendations Consulate RSO made earlier that week on how to improve security at Fener (septel). He thanked Tillemann for the support of 73 US senators who recently signed a letter to President Bush expressing their concerns for the future of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Though he appreciated recent EUR initiatives to re-open Halki Seminary, he believed the USG could be most effective in Turkey's election-year climate by addressing the dispute over Patriarchal succession since it is not as politically sensitive. End summary. ¶2. (C) Tillemann began the meeting by noting the US Senate's deep interest in issues affecting the Ecumenical Patriarchate and pointed out that 73 senators had sent a letter to President Bush in November 2006 expressing their concerns about the future of the Patriarchate. It was the only letter sent by senators to the President last year to receive such a broad endorsement, he added. Meliton stated he was familiar with the letter and appreciated the senators' support because it is critical for the President to make these issues a priority in order to influence the GOT to make progress on associated solutions. ¶3. (C) Meliton informed us the situation was currently "very bad" for the Patriarchate and the entire community; police had warned the Patriarchate earlier in the week that they had been tipped off to an email which said priests would be targeted in a "big attack" against Greek Orthodox and Armenian churches in Istanbul. Meliton added that he personally had received a phone call that morning from an anonymous individual who asked him what he was doing and then told him he would "be like Hrant Dink," referring to the recently assassinated Armenian-Turkish human rights advocate (ref A). He believed the police were responding to these heightened security conditions, noting, for example, that he was pretty sure he had been followed, "probably for security reasons," on at least two occasions during recent excursions outside of Fener. At the same time, Meliton also expressed concerns about his office being bugged and directly attributed the threats to the "deep state," which he believed would like nothing more than to see the Patriarchate disappear. ¶4. (C) Summarizing a list of the Patriarchate's key disputes with the GOT -- lack of legal identity, Patriarchal succession, property seizures and Halki Seminary among others (ref B),Meliton lamented the government's unwillingness to discuss these issues, let alone resolve them. While he appreciated the new USG initiative for re-opening Halki Seminary (ref C),Meliton proffered the USG could be most effective during this politically charged election year by addressing the problem of the succession of the Patriarch. Because it is an issue which "only comes up every 30 years or so" it may be seen as less controversial, he implied. ¶5. (C) Regarding the new Law on Private Education Institutions which went into effect February 14, Meliton complained it did not, as minority community members had hoped, give foreigners the right to attend minority schools. This is especially significant for the Greek minority community whose dwindling numbers make it difficult to sustain the continued operations of some schools without enrolling foreigners. ¶6. (C) Comment: Though our most accessible interlocutor at the Patriarchate, Meliton does not always reflect His All Holiness Bartholomew's priorities. He is generally more critical of the GOT and more pessimistic about the prospects for resolutions to the Patriarchate's associated disputes. Still, Meliton appeared even more frail (he looks significantly older than his 56 years and told us he had just been diagnosed with a heart condition that would likely require surgery) and worried than usual. Certainly the threats against the Patriarchate in the wake of the Hrant Dink assassination are cause for legitimate concern. Consulate RSO visited Fener on February 20 to advise the Patriarchate on measures to improve security, an offer made numerous times in the past but not accepted until the recent threats came to light. End comment. ¶7. (U) This message has not/not been cleared by Staffdel Tillemann. JONES