US embassy cable - 04ISTANBUL1944

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISTANBUL 001944 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/14/2014 
TAGS: PHUM, PREL, PGOV, TU, Istanbul 
SUBJECT: RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE OR WINDOW DRESSING 
 
REF: A. ANKARA 6768 
     B. ANKARA 6116 
 
Classified By: Consul General David Arnett for Reasons 1.4 (b,d) 
 
This cable has been coordinated with Embassy Ankara. 
 
1. (sbu) Summary: In trying to burnish ruling AKP's religious 
tolerance credentials, Prime Minister Erdogan attended the 
December 5 opening of a museum at an Armenian Hospital in 
Istanbul and four days later presided over the opening 
ceremony for a new  mosque-church-synagogue complex near 
Antalya.  Both the Armenian Patriarch and Chief Rabbi 
accepted invitations to join the PM in Antalya.  Members of 
the Armenian, Jewish, and Protestant communities, however, 
characterized the appearances as "window dressing" designed 
merely to put on a show for the EU about Turkey's religious 
tolerance and harmony.  End Summary. 
 
Museum of Brotherhood 
--------------------- 
2. (u) Founded in 1832 with the permission of Sultan Mahmud 
II, the Surp Pirgic Hospital in Yedikule is one of four 
active Armenian hospitals in Istanbul.  PM Erdogan attended 
the December 5 opening ceremony to commemorate the hospital's 
newly-renovated museum space that exhibits drawings and 
photographs, religious garments, and antique medical 
equipment and furniture.  Dubbed the "Museum of Brotherhood" 
for the occasion, the small museum focuses on the history of 
the hospital and the Istanbul Armenian community, avoiding 
the sensitive subject of the 1915-6 massacres and deportation 
of Armenians living elsewhere in the country.  The PM's 
attendance turned the minor event into a gala occasion with 
thousands of guests and luminaries in attendance.  (Note: 
Poloff particularly noted the slick media kits and public 
relations efforts directed at foreign diplomats and media 
representatives.  End Note).  The PM's speech was replete 
with paeans to the shared history and culture of Turks and 
Armenians ("As the children of this country, we have lived 
together in peace and security for centuries.  Our writers, 
architects, human values, trade, folksongs, and cuisines have 
mixed..."). 
 
Garden of Religions 
------------------- 
3. (u) In a similar public display on December 8, PM Erdogan 
presided over the opening ceremony of a new 
mosque-church-synagogue complex near the Mediterranean city 
of Antalya in the tourist resort area of Belek.  The opening 
of the new complex appears to be a direct response to 
European and human rights critics who have chastised Turkey 
for not allowing any new churches, even in areas where 
increasing numbers of foreigners have settled.  The leaders 
of the religious communities in Istanbul were invited to 
participate in the opening of the new "Garden of Religions," 
and both the Armenian Patriarch and Turkey's Chief Rabbi 
featured prominently in the news coverage and photographs. 
Echoing comments he also made at the hospital, PM Erdogan 
remarked that "nobody who sees (this)... will be able to 
ignore this country's identity." 
 
What They Really Think... 
------------------------- 
4. (c) Members of the minority religious communities in 
Turkey were quick to belittle the developments.  Speaking at 
a December 10 Istanbul conference, Turgay Ucal of the Turkish 
Presbyterian Church characterized the "Garden" as mere 
"window dressing" and "show" for the EU in advance of the 
December 17 European Council summit.  Hrant Dink, editor of 
the Armenian weekly AGOS, told poloff that while the PM's 
visit to the hospital was important to the Armenian 
community, he doubted whether these events signified any kind 
of meaningful shift in policy on outstanding religious 
freedom issues.  Moreover, we have heard other blunt voices 
of criticism from within the Armenian community in Istanbul. 
For instance, the Deputy Director of Surp Pirgic Hospital, 
who is seen as a "useful fool" for the Turkish state by 
members of the community exasperated by his attempts to cover 
up the community's difficulties with officialdom, was slammed 
for using the opening of the museum to curry favor with the 
authorities.  Lina Filiba, VP of the Jewish Community, 
admitted that the Chief Rabbi had felt compelled to go 
Antalya, but that the community had refused to donate a torah 
and had no plans to send rabbis to perform services in the 
new "show" synagogue.  Finally, according to the daily 
newspaper Milliyet, Father Alphonse Sammut, who attended the 
ceremony in Antalya, claimed that "as long as the rights of 
Catholics (to open churches) are not recognized, the 
religious mosaic that we hope for will not be possible." 
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew's notable absence in 
Antalya, despite also being invited, was a clear sign that he 
was reluctant to be used in a photo opportunity so soon after 
the "ecumenical" furor during the Archons visit (ref A). 
 
Comment 
------- 
5. (c) Erdogan used both events to try to deflect criticism 
and put a positive spin on Turkey's record of ethnic and 
religious tolerance.  Nobody we spoke to in the Christian and 
Jewish communities harbored any illusions that this was 
anything but an effort to influence the upcoming December 17 
European Council decision on Turkey's EU membership 
application.  What will demonstrate true tolerance will be 
the acceptance on the part of the AKP leadership, grassroots, 
and Turkish society in general that Christians, Jews and 
others who are not Muslims are as much Turks as anyone else, 
and that they have the right to worship and proselytize to 
the same extent as Muslims. 
ARNETT