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.

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The Armenian Patriarchate: The Genocide Question
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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
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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

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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.

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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
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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.

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The Jewish Community: Anti-Semitism and Anti-Americanism
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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.

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Comment
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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