US embassy cable - 03ANKARA7007

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 007007 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/07/2013 
TAGS: KPAO, PREL, TU, GR 
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH EDUCATION MINISTER CELIK 
 
 
CLASSIFIED BY AMBASSADOR ERIC S. EDELMAN FOR REASONS 1.5 (B) 
& (D). 
 
 
1. (C) SUMMARY: In the Ambassador,s October 31 courtesy call 
on Huseyin Celik, Minister of National Education and a 
co-founder of the AK (Justice and Development) Party, Celik 
praised the high level of educational cooperation between the 
U.S. and Turkey.  While characterizing himself as a friend of 
the United States, he criticized American foreign policy for 
creating and embracing dictators.  He spoke only briefly 
about the controversial and highly politicized draft law for 
higher education reform, but asked for another meeting with 
the Ambassador in the near future.  END SUMMARY 
 
 
Challenges in Education 
----------------------- 
 
 
2. (C) At the outset of the meeting, Minister Celik 
characterized as excellent relations between the U.S. and 
Turkey in the area of educational exchange.  The Ambassador 
noted that approximately 12,000 Turkish students are 
currently enrolled in U.S. universities, making Turkey our 
eighth largest source of international students, above any 
other European or predominantly Muslim country.  He noted the 
successful Fulbright program, with active exchanges in both 
directions, and the large English Language Fellows program in 
Turkey, which includes a curriculum specialist working at the 
Ministry of Education.  The Ambassador stressed that Turkey 
and the U.S. face the common challenge of educating citizens 
to the highest standard in order to compete in the global 
economy. 
 
 
3. (U) Celik said that a $300 million World Bank project 
dedicated to restructuring Turkey,s secondary school system 
has just been completed, and that a second tranche of $300 
million will soon be available to continue these reforms. 
Turkey, he added, would like to benefit from good models in 
western countries rather than copying the educational systems 
of neighboring countries such as Iran, Iraq, and Syria.  He 
described the emphasis on rote memorization and the lack of 
critical thinking as a great weakness in Turkey's current 
educational system.  In addition, he noted that while at 
present 34% of Turkey,s students are in vocational schools 
and 66% are in regular schools, this ratio should be 
reversed.  He said that each year two million Turkish 
students wish to enter Turkish universities, but there is 
space for just 10% of this number.  He said that some of the 
approximately 100,000 Turkish students studying abroad, many 
elect this course because there is no space for them in 
universities at home.  If tuition were lower in American 
universities, he said, Turkey would send four times as many 
students to the U.S. 
 
 
4. (U) Although the Minister is at the center of a 
controversy over higher education reform, he spoke only 
briefly about this issue.  He said this government,s efforts 
to reform the university system mark the first time a 
civilian authority in Turkey has taken on this difficult 
task.  (The previous four major reforms were all undertaken 
following military coups.)  The Minister argued that the 
draft educational law would change the entrance requirements 
for universities, creating a level playing field for 
graduates of vocational schools and &imam hatip8 high 
schools (in addition to the regular state-set core 
curriculum, imam hatip schools have courses in theology and 
the Koran) who are now penalized in the numerical coefficient 
that determines university admissions. 
 
 
5. (U) The Ambassador contrasted education in the Arab world 
and in Turkey by recounting the findings of a recent UNDP 
Arab Development Report.  Among the factors behind the slow 
development of the Arab world are dysfunctional educational 
systems, lack of democracy, lack of opportunities for one 
half of the population (women), limited penetration of the 
Internet, and few venues or means for the free expression and 
dissemination of ideas.  The Ambassador noted that these 
constraints diminish artistic as well as scientific 
achievements.  While the entire Arab world now produces only 
about 1900 literary works in a year, Turkey alone produces a 
similar number annually.  The Ambassador predicted that as 
Turkey moves closer to Europe, the educational gap between 
Turkey and the Arab world will further increase. 
 
 
Dictators, Iraq, and the Halki Seminary 
--------------------------------------- 
 
 
6. (C) Turning to foreign policy, Minister Celik 
characterized himself as a friend of the United States and 
said that, as such, he wanted to give the U.S. some friendly 
advice.  He lamented that too often the U.S., in pursuing its 
national interests, has created &Frankensteins8, such as in 
Iran and Saudi Arabia.  The U.S. motto, he said, seems to be 
&my dictator is a good dictator.8  Celik said that on March 
1 he voted against Turkey opening a northern front for the 
U.S. into Iraq because the U.S. continued to support 
Pakistan,s Prime Minister Musharraf after he brutally 
suppressed citizens who protested his alliance with 
Washington.  On the other hand, Celik said that last month he 
voted in favor of sending Turkish troops to Iraq because 
&Iraq needs peace.8 
 
 
7. (U) The Ambassador replied that the Minister's point is 
one reason that President Bush has stressed the need for more 
accountable governments and more transparent economies.  He 
added that a closed political system with a high unemployment 
rate, particularly among young adults, is a recipe for social 
explosion. 
8. (C) The Minister raised the issue of the Halki Seminary, 
emphasizing that while Turkey has made concessions to its 
Greek minority, the Greeks have not done the same for the 
Turkish minority in Greece.  He said that while the problem 
of Halki has not yet been settled, it is not insurmountable. 
The Ambassador, in turn, emphasized the importance of 
resolving the Halki issue prior to President Bush,s visit 
next year, especially since the President would probably meet 
with the Ecumenical Patriarch.  He added that if the school 
were forced to move elsewhere, Turkey,s prospects for EU 
accession would dim.  Celik stressed the problems faced by 
the Turkish minority in western Thrace, but repeated that the 
opening of Halki would be consistent with democratic 
principles.  The Ambassador also noted the positive effects 
that a resolution would have on Turkey,s relations with the 
U.S. and with the influential Orthodox community in 
particular. 
 
 
9. (C) Finally, Celik was critical of tighter visa and 
security requirements in the U.S.  He complained that on a 
recent official trip to the U.S. he was required to remove 
his shoes at an airport security check.  The Ambassador noted 
that Al-Qaeda was still trying to use shoe bombs.  Celik 
cited the difficulty many Turkish students encounter in 
obtaining a visa, saying it is &harder to put a camel 
through the eye of a needle8 than it is to obtain a U.S. 
visa.  At the conclusion of the meeting, Celik expressed his 
desire to have a follow-up meeting with the Ambassador at the 
Embassy where he could be more &critical8, which we 
interpret to mean to speak more openly about the issue of 
higher education reform. 
 
 
10. (C) COMMENT: Celik has tried to reform the 
primary/secondary and higher education system,  which all but 
a tiny fraction of Turks recognize as essential.  However, 
the general perception is that the present draft law does 
little to improve the quality of university education. 
Rather the debate has been over who will control higher 
education.  Furthermore, the legislative drafting and related 
public relations campaign has not been handled effectively. 
Owing to entrenched opposition, a Halki solution remains more 
difficult than Celik has recently implied in public 
statements.  His remarks to the Ambassador reflect the 
probable continuing GOT approach, which will be to seek a 
reciprocal step from Greece.  END COMMENT. 
EDELMAN