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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 000073 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/14/2017 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL OSCE TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY:  MAIN ALEVI ORGANIZATIONS BOYCOTT PM 
ERDOGAN'S IFTAR 
 
REF: 07 ANKARA 3016 
 
ANKARA 00000073  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: Political Counselor Janice G. Weiner, reasons 1.4 (b),
(d) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary:  Turkey's main Alevi organizations boycotted 
a January 11 Muharram iftar organized by Justice and 
Development Party (AKP) MPs as outreach to Alevi communities. 
 They saw the event as "Sunni-centric", aimed at assimilating 
Alevis into mainstream Sunni society, and demonstrated their 
ire by threatening the extraordinary community step of 
"ostracizing" Alevi participants.  About 800 guests 
reportedly attended, the majority of whom were AKP deputies 
rather than Alevis.  Erdogan's outreach was well-intended but 
clumsily implemented and surprisingly naive: the approach 
indicated a lack of understanding of the disparate nature of 
Turkey's largely secular Alevi groups.  Erdogan's promise 
"not to remain indifferent" to Alevi demands was undercut by 
his claim that he hadn't heard their oft-repeated requests 
for more equitable treatment for their religion.  Until now, 
they may have talked but he truly may not have listened.  End 
summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
Participants Say Iftar a Historic Outreach Event 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
¶2. (C) Approximately 50 Alevis from several organizations 
risked shunning to attend a January 11 AKP-hosted iftar held 
to commemorate the Muharram month of mourning.  Participant 
Kurtcebe Noyan told the press, "This iftar was a first in the 
Republic's history.  Erdogan made remarks that could help 
thaw the ice between the state and the Alevi community.  He 
proved that the state has adopted a brand new stance toward 
the Alevis."  Alevi Professor Osman Egri told us the event 
was part of a wider governmental effort at Alevi outreach 
that includes establishing a training center for Alevi dedes 
(spiritual leaders) and his own project of publishing books 
on Alevi history through the Directorate of Religious Affairs 
(Diyanet). 
 
¶3. (U) AKP MP Reha Camaroglu, an Alevi advising Erdogan on 
Alevi issues, said the event was meant to launch AKP's 
broader Alevi outreach efforts (reftel).  He expected a 
number of groups to boycott, particularly groups that suspect 
AKP has a hidden religious agenda and is merely vote-seeking. 
 Those who accused Erdogan of insensitively hosting an iftar 
when Muharrem is about mourning were disingenuous 
ultrasecularists who generally shun all things religious. 
Erdogan is sincerely committed to resolving Alevi problems, 
Camaroglu claimed. 
 
------------------------------------- 
Main Alevi Groups Boycott AKP's Iftar 
------------------------------------- 
¶4. (U) Turkey's main Alevi organizations and most respected 
Alevi spiritual leaders boycotted AKP's iftar as a 
"Sunni-centric" AKP initiative which they said is aimed at 
assimilating Alevis.  Representatives of the Alevi Bektasi 
Federation (an umbrella organization representing 155 
associations and 35 foundations), the Cem Foundation, and the 
European Alevi Confederation told us Erdogan and Camuroglu 
organized an elaborate Sunni-style dinner during which they 
declined to discuss the Alevi problems that AKP has ignored 
for years.  Alevis traditionally fast and mourn for 12 days 
in memory of Hussein's death at Karbala and the sufferings of 
the 12 Imams, and break their fast at a modest gathering of 
friends and neighbors.  In a joint press conference prior to 
AKP's iftar, dedes (spiritual leaders) from these groups 
jointly condemned the event and stated they would shun Alevis 
who participated. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Alevi leaders harshly criticized Alevis who 
attended.  Pir Sultan Abdal Association President Kazim Genc 
told the press Alevi groups that participated were either 
"fake associations" or groups whose leaders had already been 
excluded from the Alevi community.  He noted that PM Erdogan 
did not use the word "Alevi" even once during his speech at 
the iftar.  Hussein Gazi Association's Ali Yildirim claimed 
no respectable Alevi attended. 
 
----------------------------------------- 
 
ANKARA 00000073  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
Boycotting Groups Question PM's Sincerity 
----------------------------------------- 
¶6. (SBU) Alevi groups maintain the PM demonstrated his 
insincerity toward resolving Alevi demands when he told the 
press January 13 that the Prime Ministry had not yet received 
a request to consider cem houses as temples -- a 
long-standing Alevi demand.  If there were such a request, 
Erdogan said the government would take necessary steps, 
including in the context of constitutional reform, to solve 
the problem.  Representatives from the Cem Foundation 
skeptically noted that the Prime Ministry in 2005 had 
received and rejected that very request.  In the past, GOT 
officials have used the excuse that it was not possible under 
current Turkish law.  The Cem Foundation appealed to the 
Ankara Administrative Court, which on January 11 -- the same 
day as AKP's iftar -- unanimously denied their appeal.  The 
court ruled that no place other than a mosque can be deemed a 
"place of worship" and receive a share of the GOT budget. 
 
-------------------------- 
CHP Tries to Fill the Void 
-------------------------- 
¶7. (U) Opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader 
Deniz Baykal was quick to use the iftar controversy for his 
own outreach to Alevis, an important segment that 
traditionally votes for CHP.  On January 13, he invited Alevi 
organizations to eat ashure (the traditional Alevi Muharram 
meal) at CHP headquarters, saying the Alevi community can 
overcome the grief of the killings of Imam Hussein through 
unity and solidarity. 
 
--------------------------------- 
Reactions from Media and Academia 
--------------------------------- 
¶8. (C) Several commentators welcomed the iftar as a positive 
step.  "Aksam's" Ismail Kucukkaya praised the PM and 
Camuroglu for organizing the "historic event."  "Radikal's" 
Murat Yetkin said Erdogan's attendance at the dinner was a 
very positive step despite criticisms. 
 
¶9. (C) Academic experts on Alevi issues told us the event's 
"clumsy" organization caused the initially constructive 
outreach initiative to backfire.  Professors Aykan Erdemir 
(Middle East Technical University) and Tayfun Atay (Ankara 
University) described the event's organizer, Camuroglu, as a 
"brilliant intellectual" who, as an inexperienced politician, 
failed to take into account the political complexity of the 
issue. 
 
¶10. (C) Comment:  AKP's iftar revived Alevi fears of AKP 
desires to assimilate rather than accommodate them.  The 
Alevi community's strong reaction highlights the work ahead 
for PM Erdogan if he truly wants to narrow the wide 
credibility gap that exists between the AKP and fiercely 
secular Alevi communities.  AKP has put forth some 
groundbreaking proposals (reftel), but will need to fine-tune 
its apparently rudimentary understanding and approach if it 
wants to make real progress on winning over the disparate 
Alevi factions.  End comment. 
 
Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey 
 
WILSON