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RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 7608
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 4205

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001825 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EUR/SE, EUR/PD, DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC KMDR TU PREL KPAO
SUBJECT: TURKISH MEDIA CRUCIFY PATRIARCH, THEN RECANT 
 
REF:  ISTANBUL 464 
 
ANKARA 00001825  001.3 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (U) SUMMARY:  Turkish media and political figures initially 
criticized Greek Patriarch Bartholomew for his perceived anti-GOT 
comments on the December 20 "60 Minutes" program.  But the harshness 
of the commentary ebbed as columnists re-examined the Patriarch's 
comments through the prism of minority rights in Turkey.  Following 
Turkish government officials' criticism, however, several articles 
openly discussed the Patriarch's assertion of second class 
citizenship in Turkey.  END SUMMARY 
 
--------------------------------------- 
Sensationalist Fodder for a Tired Press 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) The Patriarch's "60 Minutes" observations on his struggle 
for the reopening of Halki Seminary and the continuation of the 
Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Istanbul provided sensationalist 
fodder for a Turkish press seemingly exhausted by reports of 
terrorist attacks, parliamentary upheaval and national unrest. 
Initial extensive and predominantly negative reports appeared 
December 20 ahead of the program and zeroed in on the Patriarch's "I 
feel crucified" and "like a second class citizen" comments.  As 
reported REFTEL, comments by Turkish FM Davutoglu and other 
officials were widely disseminated. 
 
¶3. (U) The invective continued with mainstream, pro-government 
HaberTurk's Yigit Bulut's complaint that "Bartholomew is giving the 
wrong information.  The closure of Halki seminary was a result of 
the Patriarch's insistence on disobeying Turkish laws and its claims 
to treat the seminary with ecumenical status."  Even liberal Radikal 
expressed disappointment.  Radikal's conservative columnist Akif 
Beki - the former press advisor to PM Erdogan - labeled the CBS 
interview as "threatening" and concluded: "by making such 
statements, the Patriarch cannot gain anything positive for his 
cause." 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
Day Two: Low Status for Minorities Rings True 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (U) After the initial media blitz, however, by December 21 
Turkish pundits began assessing the Patriarch's words from the 
perspective of minority rights in Turkey.  Mainstream Hurriyet's 
Mehmet Yilmaz told those criticizing the Patriarch: "don't get 
upset, just look in the mirror," noting that there is a solid basis 
for minorities to feel like second-class citizens and that "Turkey 
should deal with the problem rather than just reacting."  Meanwhile, 
Milliyet noted that "you crucified me" or "me stavronis" is a 
typical expression in Greek society and quoted an official from the 
Patriarchate that it was not aimed at the government. 
 
------------------------------------- 
Day Three: "Let's Not Fool Ourselves" 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (U) By day three, the debate turned inward with leading 
columnists lambasting the GoT for its slow pace on minority rights 
and empty promises regarding Halki Seminary.  Writing in the tabloid 
Posta, leading TV commentator Mehmet Ali Birand called for the 
government to keep its promises and act with courage.  In "Yes We 
are Crucifying Him," Birand notes "Bartholomew has every right to 
get upset.  Along with a disinformation campaign against the 
Patriarchate for many years, as well as never-ending conspiracies 
about its intention, the AKP government failed to keep its 
promises."  Birand adds that "nobody should be surprised if 
Bartholomew goes to the European Commission on Human Rights."  In 
"Who Is Right?" mainstream Hurriyet senior columnist Oktay Eksi 
observed: "Whenever the Patriarch had meetings with PM Erdogan, he 
repeatedly brought up the same two issues -- reopening of Halki 
Seminary and the return of properties."  In return, Eksi says the 
Patriarch only got "evasive answers or false promises." 
 
¶6.  (U) Others looked to history for commentary.  In "Crucifixion 
and Other Forms," Hurriyet's Sedat Ergin reviewed a decades-long 
list of violations against individual and minority rights, and 
countered FM Davutoglu's "we do not crucify" argument by saying "you 
are right Mr. Minister, we don't crucify but we certainly violate 
human rights in many other forms."  In "Mentality Change is Needed," 
 
ANKARA 00001825  002.3 OF 002 
 
 
Mehmet Barlas in Sabah opines: "The issue is treating every 
individual and every group as equal citizens. . .this requires a 
major mentality change."  Dogan Satmis in mainstream HaberTurk 
underlines a double standard: "How one can explain the closure of 
Greek Orthodox schools if Turkey genuinely considers this community 
as 100 percent Turkish citizens?"  Referring the latest State 
Department Religious Freedom Report, the pundit adds: "Turkey is 
listed among countries with democracy but characterized as limiting 
religious freedoms significantly; so let's not fool ourselves 
anymore." 
 
¶7.  (U) While a front page story in Islamist and pro-Saadet Party 
daily Milli Gazete used the headline "Bartholmew Went Over His 
Limits," other conservative media had adopted a more reasoned 
approach by December  22.  Writing in Today's Zaman (English), Yavuz 
Baydar chastened Davutoglu for his hurried retort to the Patriarch, 
when Turkish leaders "are fully aware of the problems of non-Muslim 
minorities in Turkey.  The only thing that seems rational is to go 
ahead with whatever reforms are necessary."  Meanwhile, Taha Kivanc 
from Islamist Yeni Safak opined that Halki Seminary is the key to 
the problem and predicts that Education Minister Cubukcu will likely 
announce new measures in early 2010.  Circulation giant Zaman did 
not editorialize on December 22, but carried an exclusive interview 
with Patriarchate Spokesman Dositeos Anagnostopulos, who emphasized 
"the crisis over crucifixion demonstrates the need for dialogue." 
The paper played up the spokesman's comment that "when the 
Patriarch talked about feeling like a second class citizen, he did 
not mean Turks are intolerant to Christians, but the leaders of 
Turkey should be able to address problems we have as well.  We want 
not only tolerance but also we want solution to our problems." 
 
 
¶8.  (SBU) COMMENT:  While Patriarch Bartholomew's assent to a 
leading CBS metaphor clearly raised the GoT's hackles and offended 
Turkish national sensitivities, the fast shift in direction of the 
media commentary is notable, and may owe much to the Patriarch's 
reputation as a respected and sincere spokesman on these issues.  In 
addition, it seems to be widely acknowledged that the GoT's record 
on Halki remains a series of largely unfilled promises. 
 
SILLIMAN