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DE RUEHAK #0448/01 0670909
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 070909Z MAR 08 ZDS
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5507
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/EUCOM POLAD VAIHINGEN GE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC//J-3/J-5//
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RUEUITH/ODC ANKARA TU//TCH//
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEUITH/TLO ANKARA TU
RUEHAK/TSR ANKARA TU
RUEHAK/USDAO ANKARA TU

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 000448 
 
SIPDIS 
 
C O R R E C T E D  C O P Y -- ADDED CAPTION 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIRF PHUM PREL OSCE TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY'S COMPULSORY RELIGION COURSES ILLEGAL, TOP 
ADMINISTRATIVE COURT RULES 
 
REF: 07 ISTANBUL 1088 
 
ANKARA 00000448  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  Turkey's highest administrative court 
ruled March 3 that students may be exempted from mandatory 
religious education classes.  Alevis welcomed the ruling as a 
major victory, urging its immediate implementation.  The EU 
called it a landmark decision, noting the court relied not 
only on Turkish law but also European Court of Human Rights 
(ECHR) case law and the European Convention on Human Rights 
(the "Convention").  Officials from the ruling Justice and 
Development Party (AKP) have made conflicting statements 
about whether the GOT would implement or challenge the 
ruling.  End summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
Court Rules Mandatory Religion Courses Illegal 
--------------------------------------------- - 
¶2. (U) Turkey's Council of State (Danistay) ruled March 3 
that students may be excused from mandatory religious 
education classes.  An Alevi father in Istanbul filed the 
case, objecting to his 7th-grade son's forced attendance at 
Sunni-oriented classes.  The Danistay ruling noted a conflict 
between Constitution Article 24, obligating secondary and 
high school students to attend classes on religion, culture 
and morality, and the Convention provision stating parents' 
beliefs must be respected in providing religious education. 
The current courses, according to the court, could not be 
considered classes on culture and morality because they fail 
to take into account the beliefs of a broad section of 
society.  "For the Religious Culture and Morality course to 
be mandatory under its current content is against the law," 
the Danistay ruled.  The Danistay ruling may still be 
appealed to the Council of State Supreme Board. 
 
¶3. (U) The court cited a similar October, 2007 ECHR decision, 
stating the GOT breached the rights, accorded by the 
Convention, of an Alevi father and daughter by denying the 
father's request to exempt his daughter from compulsory 
religion courses (reftel). The ECHR awarded the plaintiffs 
legal fees and deemed it appropriate compensation for Turkey 
to bring its educational system and domestic legislation into 
conformity with the Convention. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
Alevis Welcome Ruling; Urge Immediate Implementation 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
¶4. (SBU) Alevi Bektasi Federation (an umbrella organization 
representing 155 associations and 35 foundations) President 
Turan Eser told us the ruling was a major victory for 
Turkey's approximately 15 million Alevis.  "The court backed 
our argument that the classes violate the Constitution, and 
put an end to the Islamization of education," he said.  Eser 
expects the Ministry of Education immediately to implement 
the decision.  If it does not do so by May, federation 
members would withdraw their children from the classes and 
file an onslaught of additional legal complaints, Eser said. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Pir Sultan Abdal Association President Kazim Genc 
told us the Danistay decision paralleled the October ECHR 
decision.  If the decision is not implemented soon, his 
organization plans to have thousands of parents petition EU 
parliamentarians and file court cases in Turkey and the ECHR. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
EU:  Danistay's Recognition of ECHR Precedent Key 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
¶6. (SBU)  Ankara European Commission contacts are very 
pleased by the decision.  EC political officer Sema Kilicer 
said protecting religious liberties is one of the most 
important conditions for Turkey's accession bid.  The EC 
consistently has pressed Turkey to address long-standing 
Alevi complaints, including the mandatory education courses, 
failure to officially recognize Alevi places of worship ("cem 
houses"), and government funding only for Sunni Islam 
institutions. 
¶7. (SBU) The EC's Serap Ocak believes the Danistay's respect 
for the ECHR's recent ruling on this controversial issue is 
an important precedent for Turkey's judiciary.  Though the 
Danistay judges may have acted to protect the interests of 
secular Alevis, reliance on an ECHR decision could signal a 
shift in attitude by Turkey's higher courts, which have 
 
ANKARA 00000448  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
historically turned a blind eye to international juridical 
precedents. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
AKP Officials Issue Conflicting Statements 
------------------------------------------ 
¶8. (U) State Minister for Religious Affairs Said Yazicioglu 
told the press the verdict was similar to the recent ECHR 
decision, which Ministry of Education experts have been 
studying to formulate a solution consistent with the 
Constitution.  One solution might be to make religion courses 
electives, he noted.  In contrast, AKP deputy leader Dengir 
Mir Mehmet Firat, speaking March 5 in New York, said the 
Danistay usurped the Constitutional Court's authority.  Only 
the Constitutional Court may assess the Constitution, he 
argued.  Firat, a lawyer, added the Constitutional Court is 
the correct institution to implement the October ECHR 
decision.  The Minister of Education, who agreed with Firat's 
jurisdictional point, also told the press the Danistay 
decision was based on an old curriculum, since replaced, and 
claimed the Ministry would appeal the decision.  State 
Minister Mehmet Aydin also argued that textbooks and 
curriculum have changed since the case was filed. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
Religious Affairs Head Criticizes Decision 
------------------------------------------ 
¶9. (U) Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) President 
Ali Bardakoglu said in a March 6 press conference that 
courses on religion should be compulsory and that raising 
children who have no knowledge of religion will lead to 
serious harm.  Bardakoglu maintained it would not be correct 
to abolish courses on religion just because there are a few 
mistakes in the curriculum.  "Giving information on a 
religion doesn't necessarily mean imposing the fundamentals 
of that religion on individuals," he stated. 
 
 
 
Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey 
 
WILSON