US embassy cable - 05ISTANBUL1557

UNCLAS ISTANBUL 001557 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/SE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, TU, Istanbul 
SUBJECT: TROUBLE IN PARADISE AS EXAGGERATED HARASSMENT 
CLAIMS ROIL ISTANBUL ISLANDS 
 
 
Sensitive but Unclassified - entire text.  Not for internet 
distribution. 
 
1. (SBU) Summary: Within weeks of Western press reports 
hailing them as a haven of tolerance and a lingering 
reflection of Istanbul's historic but much diminished 
diversity, Istanbul's Princes' Islands have again been in the 
news in recent days as a result of allegations by a local 
human rights group that non-Muslim residents of the island of 
Kinaliada have been systematically harassed by outsiders and 
Muslim "missionaries."  Longtime residents and visitors to 
the islands agree that there has been a change in tone on the 
islands, but challenge the argument that there is a 
systematic campaign against island minorities.  Our contacts 
in the Armenian, Jewish, and Greek Orthodox communities argue 
that two separate phenomena are at work: an increase in 
Muslim "missionary" activity, and a simultaneous rise in mass 
tourism to what previously was a sheltered and privileged 
enclave.  The tensions associated with the latter, our 
contacts argue, should not be conflated with "religious 
discrimination."  End Summary. 
 
2. (SBU) Kinaliada Problems: The island issue burst on the 
public stage on August 23 with the Istanbul branch of the 
Turkish Human Rights Association's press statement inviting 
government officials to take action against what it termed 
"systematic harassment" directed at minority communities 
located on Kinaliada in the Istanbul Princes' Islands.  The 
statement alleged that non-Muslim residents had for some time 
been harassed by outsiders, including verbal harassment, 
insults, and the "direct threat" of strangers ringing the 
doorbell and asking to use bathrooms, pools and balconies. 
In addition, the statement alleged, an increase in Islamic 
proselytzing had seen women with headscarves ring the bells 
of Christian homes and invite them to Islam, reciting 
passages from the Koran, or distributing brochures in front 
of churches. 
 
3. (SBU) Exaggerated: The allegations sparked a flurry of 
interest in the press, particularly as they came within weeks 
of Western press articles (notably in the "Christian Science 
Monitor") extolling the islands as one of the few remaining 
preserves of multicultural diversity in Turkey.  Most of our 
contacts within Turkey's minority community, however, believe 
that the allegations are exaggerated, and conflate two 
separate phenomena-- an undeniable increase in proselytzing 
activity by Muslim groups on the islands, and a parallel but 
separate increase in day trips to the islands by residents of 
outlying districts in Istanbul.  Jewish community leaders, 
for instance, concede that there is a genuine "change in 
tone" on the island, as it has become the target of mass 
tourism, but do not see the pervasive and systematic 
harassment that the human rights association spoke of. 
Contacts in the Armenian and Greek Orthodox communities 
concur.  Most outspokenly, Hrant Dink, the editor of the 
Armenian "Agos" weekly told "Hurriyet" newspaper that the 
allegations were "exaggerated" and "unfortunate," and that 
the local human rights association had been misled. 
Subsequently, local officials met with non-governmental 
organizations and minority representatives, reporting that no 
incidents of "systematic harassment" could be identified. 
 
4. (SBU) Comment: As much as it reflects continuing 
inter-religious tensions in Istanbul, the Kinaliada episode 
also appears to reflect tensions between the mass society 
that has emerged in Metropolitan Istanbul over the last 
thirty years and one of the few remaining vestiges of old 
Istanbul.  With public amenities on the islands insufficient 
for the throngs that now congregate there, tensions between 
day-trippers and local residents were inevitable.  While some 
were religiously motivated, the conflation of the two 
developments appears to have struck at least a temporary blow 
to the credibility of Istanbul's local human rights 
association.  End comment. 
JONES