US embassy cable - 03ISTANBUL1517

C O N F I D E N T I A L ISTANBUL 001517 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/09/2013 
TAGS: PHUM, PGOV, TU, Istanbul 
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH MINORITY RELIGIOUS LEADERS 
 
Classified By: Consul General David Arnett for Reasons 1.5 (b&d) 
 
 
1. (sbu) Summary: During courtesy calls on the Armenian 
Patriarch, Chief Rabbi, and Syrian Orthodox Metropolitan, 
Ambassador Edelman promised to maintain close relations with 
each community and to press the GOT to implement broader 
protection for religious freedom in Turkey.  Each of the 
community leaders detailed his principal concerns and 
problems, including a general shared frustration with the 
state bureaucracy's failure to implement recent legislative 
changes.  End Summary. 
 
 
Armenian Patriarch Mesrob Mutafyan II 
------------------------------------- 
2. (c) Mesrob reminded the Ambassador that the 65,000-strong 
Armenian community is the largest non-Muslim community in 
Turkey.  In addition to supporting one of only four Armenian 
Orthodox Patriarchs, its 45 churches, 17 schools, and active 
press give it an important voice in the global Armenian 
community.  Additionally, Mesrob said that he estimates there 
are about 1 million Turks of "concealed" Armenian descent 
living as Muslims in Turkey and about 120 of them "convert 
back" to Orthodoxy each year.  Mesrob's principal complaint 
about the GOT is its failure to recognize the legal 
personality of the patriarchate (unlike the Greeks, Mesrob is 
content to send Armenian priests abroad -- to Jerusalem or 
Armenia -- for training).  Mesrob said that, despite press 
reports, he does not believe his being denied a seat on a 
plane to Van was the result of any deliberate harassment. 
Mesrob said that he actively supports Turkey's EU membership 
and has done what he can to bring Turkey and Armenia together 
(a task that he said has been complicated by aggressive 
statements from the Armenian government).  Mesrob added that 
he hopes to visit the Armenian communities in Baghdad and 
Jerusalem when the security situations there improve. 
 
 
Chief Rabbi Isak Haleva 
----------------------- 
3. (sbu) Haleva and the members of the Jewish Lay Council 
told the Ambassador that the 22,000-strong Jewish community 
has had "no particular problems or difficulties" with the 
Turkish government.  When occasional issues arise, they 
prefer to use their "excellent" personal relations with the 
PM, FM, and even Turkish military to resolve them.  Lay 
Council President Bensiyon Pinto noted that while the Greeks 
are seeking to reclaim and register over 2000 properties, the 
Jewish community has only 4 such claims.  The community has 
17 active synagogues, a school, a museum, and other social 
facilities.  Agreements with two U.S. universities enable 
them to send students and future rabbis abroad for training. 
Members of the Council claimed that while they have 
experienced no direct restrictions on their freedom to 
worship, occasional problems with the bureaucracy make life 
difficult.  Others added that some of the pro-Islamic press 
often print anti-Semitic remarks. 
 
 
Syrian Orthodox Metropolitan Yusuf Cetin 
---------------------------------------- 
4. (sbu) Cetin told the Ambassador that the Syrian Orthodox 
community in Turkey had shrunk from 60,000 to 15,000 in the 
last 30 years, largely due to immigration to Europe, 
Australia, and the U.S. (where he said there are two 
Metropolitans ministering to 25,000 Syrian Orthodox).  The 
remaining community is centered in Istanbul and the 
Southeast, particularly near Mardin.  With only one church in 
Istanbul and restrictive laws preventing them from building 
others, the local community has been forced to seek 
agreements with churches of other denominations.  With no 
religious schools, its priests are educated at two 
monasteries in Istanbul and five in the Southeast (although 
students also study simultaneously at public schools).  Cetin 
said that he too supports Turkey's EU membership and is 
pleased with recent legislative reforms, but following up on 
implementation will be very important.  He pointed to recent 
attacks on the first non-Muslim university rector (a 
Christian) as an example of how Turkish society needs to 
change. 
 
 
5. (sbu) In all three of these meetings the Ambassador 
stressed his determination to maintain close relations with 
the religious communities, to press the Turkish government to 
follow up in implementing recent positive reforms and to 
further broaden its protection of religious freedom.  The 
Ambassador told his interlocutors that he has already raised 
these issues with the PM and the relevant ministers and is 
hopeful that progress can be made before or during the May 
2004 NATO Summit in Istanbul and the likely visit of 
President Bush. 
ARNETT