US embassy cable - 04ISTANBUL843

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISTANBUL 000843 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/21/2014 
TAGS: PHUM, PGOV, TU, Istanbul 
SUBJECT: "WE'RE HERE TO HELP YOU": NEW COMMISSION DISPLAYS 
OLD ATTITUDES ON RELIGIOUS MINORITY ISSUES 
 
Classified By: Consul General David Arnett for Reasons 1.5 (b&d) 
 
 
1. (c) Summary: A delegation of the new inter-ministerial 
commission charged with resolving outstanding minority issues 
visited Istanbul in January to meet with the leaders of the 
religious communities and to follow up on complaints that the 
religious leaders had passed to Prime Minister Erdogan last 
fall.  Although this commission replaced the now-abolished 
(and previously scret) "Minority Control Commission," its 
delegaton to Istanbul clearly demonstrated that old habits 
die hard.  End Summary. 
 
 
2. (c) The EcumenicalPatriarchate and the Armenian Orthodox 
Patriarchshared their accounts of January 20 meetings with 
delgaionfr 
nkra sent by the new inter-miiseral 
cmmssin harged with resolving the miority communities' 
outstanding human rights and eligious freedoms issues.  Both 
Metropoliton Melton (the Ecumenical Patriarch's de facto 
chief aviser) and Armenian Patriarch Mesrob II remarked o 
the composition of the delegaton-- mbassador olukbasi, 
two other repreenttiesfrm te inistry of Foreign 
Affairs,andon frm he Ministry of Interior (they were 
joined by a representative from the Istanbul Polie 
Department) -- as yet another indication of how the Turkish 
government continues to treat the minority communities as 
"foreigners" in their own country.  dditionally, rather than 
conduct the meetings in their personal offices, the religious 
leaders were asked to come to the Governor's office where 
(after being greeted by the Governor) they met with the 
government delegation. 
 
 
3. (c) Patriarchal Elections: The Greek Orthodox Community 
has long complained about requirements (based only on 
pronouncements by the Istanbul Governor) that those voting 
and those elected to serve as the Patriarch and on the Holy 
Synod be Turkish citizens.  With less than 3000 Greek 
Orthodox left in Turkey, the community's ability to produce 
qualified clergy and its very sustainability are in doubt. 
 
 
Following up on these concerns, the delegation insisted on 
the legality and the continued applicability of these 
restrictions.  Bolukbasi also questioned whether it would 
ever be possible to confer Turkish citizenship on a 
non-Turkish Patriarch, as was done with Patriarch Athenagoras 
in 1948 (Note: Athenagoras, an American citizen and then 
Archbishop of America, was elected as Ecumenical Patriarch 
with the support of the U.S., Greek, and Turkish governments 
at the time.  End Note).  Rather than address the community's 
underlying concern about its long-term viability, Bolukbasi 
simply suggested that current restrictions be maintained and 
a new legal procedure be established for future elections. 
In his meeting with Mesrob, Bolukbasi indicated that they 
hoped to use a draft regulation that he had proposed after 
his own election as a model for the other communities. 
 
 
4. (c) Halki Seminary: Closed since 1971, the Ecumenical 
Patriarchate hopes to reopen this school under its former 
status (i.e., largely independent).  The Turkish government 
has insisted that as a "higher education" institution, it can 
only be reopened as a part of a university under the direct 
control of the Higher Education Council. 
 
 
On this issue, Bolukbasi pointed to the declining numbers of 
Greek Orthodox in Turkey and questioned whether such a 
seminary would find enough students in order to be 
financially viable.  In response to the Patriarch's request 
that the school be reopened under its prior status as a 
"vocational high school" and be able to educate foreign 
seminarians, Bolukbasi simply said that any school providing 
4 years of post-high school education could not be so 
classified and that foreign students would need special 
permission to study there (and would be banned from working 
in Turkey in any case).  Bolukbasi insisted that the school 
could only be opened under the authority of the Higher 
Education Council, i.e., as a faculty of an existing 
university.  The Armenian community has no desire to open a 
seminary (its priests are trained in Jerusalem), but Mesrob 
noted the need for a college or university faculty that could 
teach the Armenian language, literature, and culture. 
 
 
5. (c) Orphanage: A historically-significant orphanage on 
Buyukada that once belonged to the Greek Orthodox community 
has fallen into disrepair.  The Ecumenical Patriarchate 
discontinued plans to renovate the building (and rent it out 
as a hotel) when its ownership was challenged by the Turkish 
government. 
 
 
While refusing to acknowledge the Patriarchate's legal title 
to the property, Bolukbasi nevertheless urged the Patriarch 
to cooperate in having the building restored.  (Note: 
Subsequent to this meeting the orphanage was formally 
expropriated by the state). 
 
 
6. (c) Other Issues: Bolukbasi deflected a request to have 
the 1936 foundations law amended to give the state the power 
to return expropriated properties.  Asked to help obtain 
residence permits for foreign clergy (who are obliged to 
leave Turkey every 3 months to renew their tourist visas), 
Bolukbasi merely suggested that they submit applications to 
the relevant authorities (Note: A previous such applicant had 
been deported as a result). 
 
 
Comment 
------- 
7. (c) The mere fact of the visit and the desire to put an 
end to the problems of the religious communities represents 
progress of a sort.  But the reported attitudes of the 
delegation in the meetings does not bode well for the 
resolution of these outstanding issues in the near-to-medium 
term.  Mesrob himself noted that the participation of 
Ambassador Bolukbasi was "particularly unfortunate and 
discouraging" since this diplomat "is believed to be an 
inveterate proponent of the traditional Kemalist line 
concerning minority issues." 
 
 
ARNETT