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Dianne Wampler  12/13/2006 05:18:54 PM  From  DB/Inbox:  Dianne Wampler

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UNCLAS        ISTANBUL 02154

SIPDIS
CX:
    ACTION: POL
    INFO:   AMB RAO FCS PA MGT DAO CONS TSR PMA ECON DCM

DISSEMINATION: POL /1
CHARGE: PROG

VZCZCAYO519
RR RUEHAK
DE RUEHIT #2154/01 3460913
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 120913Z DEC 06
FM AMCONSUL ISTANBUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6444
INFO RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 5930
RUEHDA/AMCONSUL ADANA 2281
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ISTANBUL 002154 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/SE:BHUNT 
STATE FOR EUR/PPD:JRICKERT 
 
E.O 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KPAO OEXC SCUL PREL CVIS TU
SUBJECT: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF YOUNG POLITICAL LEADERS ENGAGES WITH 
TURKISH OPINION LEADERS IN ISTANBUL 
 
 
¶1.  Begin Summary:  A visiting American Council of Young Political 
Leaders (AYCPL) delegation engaged over dinner December 4 at the 
Consul General's Residence with a group of Turkish political party 
leaders, academics, business executives, and senior press columnists 
and editors.  The lively exchange of opinions regarding a wide range 
of issues effecting U.S.-Turkey relations offered the U.S. 
delegation a good idea of the marked differences in views and 
approaches between Istanbul's secular elite and the Islam oriented, 
religiously conservative segment of the population.  It also 
afforded the "Istanbullu" participants a rare opportunity for direct 
exchange amongst themselves. End Summary. 
 
¶2.  On December 4, the Consul General hosted a delegation of 
American Council of Young Political Leaders (ACYPL) whose 12-day 
visit to Istanbul, Ankara and Kayseri was co-sponsored by the State 
Department and the Turkish private sector and organized by the ARI 
Movement, a Turkish political and social NGO that encourages young 
people to take on leadership positions in politics.  The six members 
of the ACYPL delegation were:  Joey Fillingane, Mississippi State 
Senate (R); Ana E. Hernandez, Texas House of Representatives (D); 
Victor R. Ramirez, Maryland House of Delegates (D); Cy Thao, 
Minnesota House of Representatives (D); George Selim, Policy 
Advisor, Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, U.S. Dept. of 
Homeland Security (R); and Albert James Lama (Escort), Chief Hearing 
Officer, New Mexico Tax and Revenue Department (D).  The Turkish 
guests, the majority of whom were International Visitor Leadership 
Program alumni, were Public Affairs Section contacts from academia, 
political parties, business and media.  The guests discussed a broad 
spectrum of subjects including Iraq, Iran, Cyprus, the Pope's recent 
visit to Turkey as well as Turkish domestic policies. 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
Turkish-American Relations: Public Perceptions 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶3.  In response to a comment that some expatriates in Turkey 
believed Turks were less friendly to Americans in recent years due 
to the war in Iraq, Homeland Security's Selim commented that it was 
his understanding that Arabic/Muslim populations continue to like 
the American people but strongly object to American policies, 
particularly in Iraq and the Middle East.  Turkish guests agreed 
this was the case in Turkey.  An academic pointed to a recent poll 
indicating that Turks believed the number one threat to Turkey was 
the U.S., followed by an independent Kurdish state in Northern Iraq 
and the PKK terrorist organization. 
 
---- 
Iran 
---- 
 
¶4.  Rather surprisingly, an academic from Istanbul University 
remarked that it was the duty of the U.S. to support Israel and that 
this should be a factor in deciding how to react to Iran's nuclear 
program.  In the end, however, he argued it would be up to Iranian 
President Ahmadinejad to determine U.S. reaction, since he would 
decide how far to push his country's nuclear program. 
 
----- 
Visas 
----- 
 
¶5.  Taking advantage of the presence of an official from Homeland 
Security, several guests criticized the length of time it takes to 
issue U.S. non-immigrant visas, particularly when "additional 
screening" is required.  A number of prominent academics have missed 
conferences at which they were scheduled to deliver papers due to 
the long screening process, even though in several cases they had 
applied six weeks in advance.  Students have been forced to defer 
the beginning of their studies by a semester.  ConGen Offs 
underscored the importance of this issue, and Selim admitted that 
such delays occur, but noted that the only remedy was to start the 
visa application process as early as possible. 
 
---------- 
Cyprus, EU 
---------- 
 
¶6.  The problem of Cyprus and its impact on broader EU accession 
talks animated a number of conversations.  One television news 
producer accidentally sent a wine glass flying as he explained to 
delegation members the impossibility of expecting Turkey to 
compromise further than it already had on this issue (This preceded 
the GOT's reported offer to open one seaport and one airport in an 
effort to break the diplomatic logjam).  An ARI movement member (who 
described himself as a nationalist) strongly agreed, remarking that 
there were two nations on the island and asking them to join as one 
state and one nation was unreasonable.  A Turkish think-tank 
representative proffered his analysis of the suspension of Turkey's 
EU accession talks on eight to ten subject headings.  Whereas the 
AKP government had signed an additional, written protocol committing 
to the opening of ports, the Europeans in return had simply given a 
verbal commitment regarding the facilitation of Turkey's EU 
accession.  This resulted, he believed, in the Turkish foreign 
ministry being backed into a corner, and put in a position where 
Turkey was expected to honor the signed protocol, with no 
substantial guarantees in return. 
 
------------------------- 
Turkish Domestic Politics 
------------------------- 
¶7.  Turkish guests also engaged in an animated discussion on the 
likelihood of PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan's announcing his candidacy for 
the May 2007 presidential elections.  The vast majority believed he 
would do so, noting there were no promising alternate candidates. 
While they expected initial public outrage among the secular elite, 
they believed that the population would ultimately accept Erdogan as 
President.  A think-tank representative indicated that Turks could 
tolerate a devout male Muslim leader, but that they were less 
tolerant of devout Muslim women (referring to Erdogan's wife, who 
wears a headscarf).  He argued that Mrs. Erdogan's appearance 
presents a concern for the general public and that opposition to 
Erdogan's candidacy (or subsequent presidency) could be linked to 
the public's perception of his wife.  When the think tank 
representative pointedly asked the Justice and Development (AK) 
party mayor of one of Istanbul's largest local municipalities 
(Beyoglu) for an answer regarding Erdogan's intentions, the mayor, 
whose father is a close associate of the Prime Minister's, demurred, 
saying he had no knowledge on the subject. 
 
¶8.  When the discussion turned to secularism in the Turkish army, 
one ARI representative claimed that the military was in fact a 
religious entity since all mess hall meals are preceded by mandatory 
prayer.  He was contradicted by an academic, who claimed that the 
word "Allah" was not used in such prayers.  Instead, the generic 
Turkish word for God, "tanri" was used, which he believed made the 
prayer less religious.  There was also a heated discussion on 
whether the law banning headscarves from public buildings and 
universities should be rescinded.  The ARI participant complained 
that it was ironic that the State, which allows headscarves at 
religious vocational "Imam Hatip" high schools, would not let the 
same students dress the same way when they enter university.  He 
advocated extending the headscarf ban to include all high schools. 
Homeland Security's Selim remarked that wearing religious garments 
is not a concern in the U.S. unless it interferes with others' 
rights.  The ARI representative contrasted eastern provinces such as 
Erzurum where students not wearing scarves were treated with 
hostility with western provinces where scarf-wearing students were 
often humiliated. 
 
¶9.  The same self-styled ARI "nationalist" mentioned above drew 
astonished reactions from his fellow countrymen at one table when he 
suggested that there should be a separate Kurdish state in northern 
Iraq and southeastern Turkey. "I am a nationalist," he countered, 
"and I also support Kurdish nationalism." 
 
------------ 
Pope's Visit 
------------ 
 
¶10.  All the Turkish guests agreed that the Pope's visit was 
received very positively in Turkey and that the Pontiff had 
succeeded in bringing the Christian and Muslim worlds closer 
together.  Many noted that the Pope appeared to have "become a 
diplomat overnight" by making gestures such as waving the Turkish 
flag, using a few Turkish words, and especially by praying in 
Istanbul's famed Sultanahmed (Blue) Mosque.  His encouraging words 
regarding Turkey's EU accession were also very positively received. 
As one academic stated, "The visit could not have gone better." 
Another Turkish guest wryly concurred with local observations that 
"We Turks are funny people; two weeks ago we hated the Pope.  Now we 
love him." 
 
------------------------- 
Kayseri - Anatolian Tiger 
------------------------- 
 
¶11.  Upon hearing that the ACYPL delegation would be spending four 
days in Kayseri, a deeply religious and socially conservative city 
of 500,000 in central Anatolia, the vice-chairman of MUSIAD, the 
Islam-oriented business organization, noted that Kayseri has become 
such an economic success story that it has earned the title 
"Anatolian Tiger."  One of the ARI guests noted that his 
organization had recently completed a report entitled "Calvinist 
Islam," about the phenomenon of economically successful religiously 
conservative areas of Turkey.  He said that the title, which 
referred to a strong work ethic mixed with Muslim values, was 
heavily criticized by the devout, who believed it could be 
understood as an effort to Christianize Islam.  The MUSIAD 
representative agreed that the report was very controversial, saying 
the title had made his life difficult for months as many Western 
media outlets sought out his reaction.  The ARI representative 
attributed Kayseri's current success in part to the historical 
legacy of the city's economically successful Armenian and Greek 
populations, although he noted that this underlying factor was not 
included in the original report due to potential political 
sensitivities. 
 
¶12.  Comment.  This gathering at the Consul General's residence 
provided an opportunity not only for the young political leaders 
from the U.S. to meet their Istanbul-based counterparts, but for the 
latter group to meet and engage one another as well in an unusually 
neutral, relaxed atmosphere.  The wide-ranging nature of the 
conversation, and the emotion that some subjects (Cyprus, 
headscarves, secularism) engendered set the stage for the remainder 
of the group's visit to Turkey.  End Comment. 
 
JONES