US embassy cable - 05ANKARA4951

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 004951 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/24/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PHUM, TU, AM 
SUBJECT: "ALTERNATIVE" ARMENIAN CONFERENCE RESCHEDULED IN 
ISTANBUL 
 
REF: A. ANKARA 3032 
     B. ANKARA 4556 
 
 (U) Classified by A/DCM Timothy Betts, E.O. 12958, reasons 
1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1.  (U) This is a joint AmCon Istanbul/Embassy Ankara message. 
 
2.  (C) Summary:  A conference at which independent-minded 
intellectuals will speak about the massacres of Armenians in 
1915, canceled in May after Turkish government pressure (ref 
A), has been rescheduled for September 23-25 in Istanbul.  FM 
Gul accepted organizers' invitation to address the conference 
but canceled when the dates turned out to conflict with UNGA. 
 The re-scheduling, which one EU diplomat here called 
expected but positive, comes at a key time for Turkey's EU 
accession bid.  End Summary. 
 
University Confirms Rescheduling 
-------------------------------- 
 
3.  (C) Congen Istanbul confirmed with Bogazici University 
History Department Chair Professor Selim Deringil (strictly 
protect) that the university and other organizers have 
rescheduled the "Alternative Armenian Conference" for 
September 23-25 at Bogazici.  Chastened by the controversy 
that erupted in when the conference was first scheduled in 
May, organizers are circumspect about giving further details, 
except that the format will remain the same as was originally 
planned.   Press reports indicate that historians who 
challenge the official GOT position on the events of 1915, 
including Taner Akcam (author of a monograph on "Turkish 
Nationalism and the Armenian Genocide") and Halil Berktay, 
remain the featured speakers. 
 
4.  (U) Bogazici University had postponed the May conference 
after Justice Minister and AKP government spokesman Cemil 
Cicek denounced it as a "stab in the back of the Turkish 
nation."  Despite Cicek's statements, GOT officials insisted 
that government did not pressure the university to cancel the 
conference (see, e.g., ref B) and said they hoped the 
conference would be re-scheduled. 
 
5.  (C) In earlier conversations following the May 
cancellation, organizers rejected government assertions that 
the program was unbalanced.  Murat Belge, head of the 
Comparative Literature Department at Bilgi University, 
stressed that the conference's intent was to challenge the 
prevailing Turkish orthodoxy about the events of 1915. 
Inviting those who accept that orthodoxy, he argued, would 
make as little sense as inviting proponents of "creationism" 
to a conference on problems of evolution. 
 
6.  (C) For Bogazici and its relatively new rector, Professor 
Ayse Soysal, rescheduling the conference offers the 
opportunity for redemption following the strong criticism 
they came under for bowing to pressure from the government 
and postponing the conference.  Columnist Ismet Berkan, 
himself a Bogazici graduate, termed the cancellation a 
"turning point in terms of academic autonomy and freedom in 
Turkey."  The fact that the conference will remain at 
Bogazici, rather than a more isolated campus, such as that of 
co-sponsor Sabanci University, where it was initially rumored 
to be heading in late May, indicates a clear determination to 
make amends. 
 
FM Accepts Invitation to Speak, But Schedule Conflict Prevents 
--------------------------------------------- ----------------- 
 
7.  (C) Organizers invited FM Gul to make opening remarks at 
the conference.  Gul's cabinet chief told us the FM accepted 
the invitation "in principle," but had to cancel when the 
conference dates turned out to overlap with the UNGA.  Gul's 
special assistant added that the FM might attend the last day 
of the conference but was uncertain whether his schedule 
could accommodate this.  Neither had information on who, if 
anyone, will address the conference in Gul's stead.  Foreign 
Ministry spokesman Tan later publicly repeated what Gul's 
staff told us. 
 
8.  (C) The decision to invite Gul to open the proceedings 
highlights an additional issue some Bogazici contacts raised 
with Congen Istanbul: the problem lay not in the cancellation 
decision but in the failure to properly lay the groundwork 
with the government and public opinion.  Had this been done, 
some believe, the entire fiasco could have been averted. 
 
"Expected, But Positive" News for the EU 
---------------------------------------- 
 
9.  (C) News of the rescheduling broke on August 22, a key 
time in Turkey's EU accession process, with COREPER meetings 
set for August 25 and 31, a Gymnich set for September 1-2, 
all looking forward to the October 3 opening of accession 
negotiations.  The Danish DCM here told us that news of the 
rescheduling was "expected, but positive."  He predicts that 
reference to the cancellation will remain in the EU Progress 
report on Turkey, but will be softened in light of the 
rescheduling. 
10.  (C) Comment:  Compared to May, the GOT and Bogazici are 
initially handling the event more adroitly.  However, we 
expect nationalist rhetoric to heat up as the conference 
approaches.  End Comment. 
MCELDOWNEY