CONGRESSIONAL STUDY GROUP ON TURKEY MEETINGS WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ISTANBUL 000476 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE AND H E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/04/2017 TAGS: PHUM PREL TU SUBJECT: CONGRESSIONAL STUDY GROUP ON TURKEY MEETINGS WITH RELIGIOUS MINORITY LEADERS REF: A. ISTANBUL 0234 ¶B. ISTANBUL 0061 ¶C. ADANA 0056 ¶D. ADANA 0047 ¶E. ISTANBUL 0349 Classified By: CONSUL GENERAL DEBORAH K. JONES FOR REASON 1.5 (B) ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Religious minority leaders from the Armenian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox and Jewish communities met separately May 30 with the Congressional Study Group on Turkey. Discussions at the Armenian and Ecumenical Patriarchates focused on the possible effect of a congressional Armenian genocide resolution (AGR) and on the two institutions' differing visions for overcoming obstacles to train ecclesiastical staff. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I informed us community foundations had very recently been granted permission by the Istanbul Governor to proceed with board elections -- an important development regarding an issue flagged as a priority by the Patriarch in recent discussions (ref A). Jewish Community leadership stressed the correlation and negative impact of worsening U.S.-Turkish relations and rising xenophobia on the community. End summary. -------------- --- The Armenian Patriarchate: The Genocide Question -------------- --- ¶2. (C) Armenian Patriarch for Istanbul and all of Turkey Mesrob II spent much of the hour-long meeting with Study Group members reviewing the historical context of 1915 and associated congressional "Armenian genocide" draft resolutions. Asked whether the latter, if passed, would place at risk the lives of Turkish Armenians, Mesrob responded that to some extent the assassinations of Hrant Dink (ref B) and a priest in Trabzon and the more recent murders of Bible publishers in Malatya (ref C) were reactions to "external pressures." These types of bills were unhelpful, he said, as was the lack of participation by Armenian officials in interfaith dialogue initiatives, such as a recent Turkish-Armenian conference in Dallas where none of the invited Armenian partners attended except for him. Mesrob believed this lack of receptiveness to dialogue stemmed from populist-minded individuals trying to "satisfy the masses...pumped with the idea of genocide, without any means to turn away from it." ¶3. (C) Choosing his words carefully, Mesrob did not deny the magnitude of Armenian suffering (which he put at no fewer than 1.5 million victims) but noted that some Armenians, influenced by external forces and prompted by loaded sermons on the part of the then-Armenian Patriarch, had taken up arms against their Ottoman rulers. The Ottoman government responded by punishing all Armenians collectively and the community dwindled to 70,000 members, he said. Mesrob supported the Turkish government's proposal to establish a commission to study the events of 1915 but stressed that such a commission should include facilitative international observers as well as participation by insitutions such as Harvard and Oxford whose credibility was beyond dispute. Mesrob agreed that a congressional resolution calling for such an initiative would be useful. Clerical Training -------------- ¶4. (C) In response to a question, Mesrob honestly noted that he and the Ecumenical Patriarchate have different views on how to resolve the challenge of training Orthodox clergy in Turkey. Mesrob has proposed opening a comparative theology department with sub-units for each of the religious minority communities in Turkey at an existing Istanbul-based university. The curriculum could be used to educate clergy as well as language teachers for minority community schools, he said. Mesrob suggested the government was open to this proposal but would not act until after elections. Secularism and Islam -------------- ¶5. (C) Asked about Turkey's secularism and Islam's perceived growing influence, Mesrob observed that Turkey is not truly secular because it does not "maintain equal distance from all religions," as is the case in the United States. Rather, Turkey favors Islam by funding mosques through the Diyanet, while not supporting other religions in like manner. Nevertheless, Mesrob downplayed assertions of an Islamic resurgence in Turkey, claiming these were exaggerated by the ISTANBUL 00000476 002 OF 003 Army. He believed most Turkish Armenians would support the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) during the upcoming parliamentary elections, because it is "God-fearing" and has demonstrated an inclination to pursue reforms for minorities. Mesrob also expected the Turkish Armenian community -- currently unrepresented in parliament -- to gain one or two seats during the upcoming parliamentary elections. Cyprus -------------- ¶6. (C) Asked whether the Greek and Armenian Patriarchs had any common interests with respect to the unification of Cyprus, Mesrob said he'd been invited recently to participate in an event intended to bring a group of Armenians living in the southern part of Cyprus to visit a monastery in the "TRNC" controlled part. He sought GOC advice on whether or not to participate, but never received a response. The Turkish Foreign Ministry, for its part, advised him not to go, cautioning the Greek authorities there could exploit the event to suggest monasteries were not being cared for in Northern Cyprus. While acknowledging the GOT's restoration of a 10th century Armenian church on an island in Lake Van earlier this year (ref D),Mesrob lamented there were some problems with the project as the GOT refused to put a cross on the church and had re-opened it as a museum. -------------- -- The Ecumenical Patriarchate: Religious Freedom -------------- -- ¶7. (C) His All Holiness Bartholomew expressed appreciation for ongoing USG interest in the affairs of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, noting he had recently received a letter from the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs expressing concern for the religious freedom of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Reciting an oft-repeated list of grievances against the GOT (ref D),including the inability to re-open Halki Seminary, property disputes, lack of GOT recognition for the ecumenical title, lack of juridical personality, and the requirement for his successor to have Turkish citizenship, Bartholomew expressed hope the government would be able to take more concrete steps in favor of the rights of the religious minority communities after the July 22 elections. He noted the Istanbul Governor had, within the last few weeks, permitted Greek Orthodox foundations to hold elections to renew their Boards -- a critical step to avoid being declared "void" and, consequently, risk being confiscated (along with all associated property) by the government. The AGR -------------- ¶8. (C) Asked how an AGR would affect the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Bartholomew responded he could not foresee the Turkish reaction but said the question of how to characterize the events of 1915 was for the Turks and Armenians to answer. Though he could not express an official view, the Patriarch pointed out that in Anatolia there were once many Greeks and Armenians "who are not here today." Describing the circumstances which led to the depletion of the Greek minority community in Turkey (now numbering approximately 2000),Bartholomew recounted the "population exchange" of the 1920s when 1.5 million Greeks in Turkey were "exchanged" for 500 thousand Turks in Greece. The 1955 riots in which many Greek churches, businesses and homes were destroyed led to the departure of most of the remaining 120 thousand, he remarked. Clerical Training -------------- ¶9. (C) In response to a query from the delegation, Bartholomew was dismissive of the Armenian proposal for religious minority clergy education, on which he'd not been consulted. This proposal, in his view, failed to take into consideration Halki Seminary's unique mission to provide both theoretical and practical training to an all male student body of future ecclesiasts, who prayed twice a day and learned to conduct religious ceremonies. Bartholomew offered his oft-expressed view that it was in Turkey's interest to open the Seminary because the next generation of Church leaders will come from other institutions and will have developed a more narrow-minded attitude against Turkey and its EU accession aspirations. Interfaith Dialogue -------------- ISTANBUL 00000476 003 OF 003 ¶10. (C) Long an advocate of interfaith dialogue, Bartholomew recounted the Patriarchate's leading role in convening ten official dialogues with Islam and six with Judaism in addition to inter-Christian initiatives such as the Papal visit to Turkey last November. Asked whether any imams spoke out for increased religious freedom in Turkey, His All Holiness pointed to Fetullah Gulen, now in the United States, and his followers, explaining they were also strong supporters of inter-faith dialogue. -------------- -------------- The Jewish Community: Anti-Semitism and Anti-Americanism -------------- -------------- ¶11. (C) The Study Group also met with the Turkish Jewish Community's Chief Rabbi Haleva and its secular leadership prior to a tour of the Neve Shalom synagogue. Rabbi Haleva asserted the Jewish community has had a "peaceful, comfortable life for over 500 years in Turkey. Not quite as upbeat, the secular leadership lamented a trend in Turkey of increased xenophobia and anti-Semitism, particularly in the press. Community Deputy Vice President Sami Herman and foreign relations committee chairman Daniel Navaro attributed much of this change in attitude to the situation in Iraq and to nationalist conspiracy theories -- from all levels of society, claims Navaro -- suggesting the United States intends to undermine Turkey's territorial integrity. Navaro explained that such perceptions affect the community negatively, whereas the strong U.S.-Turkey alliance used to be a source of great comfort to the community. ¶12. (C) Asked why the U.S. commitment to a unified Iraq has not proven reassuring to Turks, Navaro opined that many Turks believe the U.S. presence in Northern Iraq has facilitated increased PKK activity and that the U.S. has failed to live up to its responsibility to counter this activity. At the same time, the U.S. claims it has other priorities in Northern Iraq, he said. The result, warned Navaro, is that neither side understands each other and the situation gets worse by the day. ¶13. (C) Responding to a question about whether Jewish community members felt accepted by their neighbors, Executive Vice President Lina Filiba claimed she felt no differentiation in her personal life, however the government had failed to show that minorities are equal citizens in Turkey. While the media generalizes and spreads conspiracy theories, the government remains silent added Herman. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶14. (C) Comment: The divergence of approaches and viewpoints amongst these various groups accurately reflects their attempts to make the best of Turkey's unique situation, in which an elected Islam-oriented government has proven more approachable or sympathetic, at least rhetorically, than an entrenched secularist bureaucracy. Uncertainties related to the upcoming elections undoubtedly have exacerbated their anxieties. ¶15. (C) Comment Continued: That the Greek Orthodox foundations have recently been permitted to proceed with board elections is a significant, positive development. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew told the Ambassador in March that the Istanbul Governor had denied all but one request from foundations to hold elections. In a follow on meeting in April (ref E),the Consul General suggested to the Governor that any positive steps to resolve Ecumenical Patriarchate grievances at a time when Turkey's religious minorities were in the spotlight following the Malatya murders, would be favorably viewed. While one might have hoped for something a bit more dramatic than the granting of permission to hold foundation board elections, it is nonetheless a postive step and perhaps as much as can be hoped for in the current domestic political stew. End Comment. ¶16. (U) Congressional Study Group members were unable to clear this message prior to their departure from Turkey. JONES