Cablegate: Saadet Party Protests Pope's Visit

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SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV ASEC CASC TU
SUBJECT: SAADET PARTY PROTESTS POPE'S VISIT

This message was coordinated with Embassy Ankara.

1. Summary: On November 26, the Islamist Saadet (Felicity)
Party organized a rally in the Sisli district of Istanbul to
protest the Pope's upcoming visit to Turkey. Despite claims
of hundreds of thousands of attendees on the party's website
press estimates on participation varied from 20,000 to 50,000
participants. The party initially hoped to attract a million
protesters. Both current Saadet leader Recai Kutan and
former leader Necmettin Erbakan addressed the rally. Despite
some hostile slogans and banners and the burning of both the
U.S. and the Israeli flags the protest was generally
peaceful. Given the possibility for additional protests
during the Pope's visit to Ankara on November 28,
Izmir/Ephesus on November 29 and/or Istanbul on November 29
and 30, the peaceful protest provided a useful dry run for
Turkish security forces. End Summary.

2. The November 26th protest was the third largest protest
organized by the Saadet party this year, drawing a smaller
crowd than earlier rallies protesting the Israeli action in
Lebanon and the Danish cartoons. The November 26th rally was
covered by the international press as well as local press,
with Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya providing live coverage.
Turkish newspapers on November 27 noted the rally's smaller
than expected size, as well as the Pope's statements on
Sunday at the Vatican, the foreign press attention to the
visit and the possibility of PM Erdogan holding a meeting
with the Pope at the airport.

3. In his speech, Saadet Party leader Recai Kutan argued
that the Pope should not come to Turkey and suggested that
the Haghia Sofia -- first a Byzantine church, then a mosque
and now a museum -- should be turned back into a mosque.
Kutan also claimed that the Pope's remarks in Regensburg,
Germany were "just more proof that Turkey could not join the
EU." In a short speech by video link former Saadet leader
Necmettin Erbakan claimed that the Pope was coming to Turkey
to "revive Byzantium by emphasizing the ecumenical nature of
the Greek Orthodox church."

4. Although the rally was generally peaceful, protesters
shouted hostile slogans, including "Istanbul Will be the
Grave for the Pope." Party organizers attempted to control
the message and worked with police to confiscate unauthorized
banners. Banners, some of which were in English, had to be
approved in advance by organizers and the police collected
unauthorized banners as protesters entered the square. The
most common slogans were "Say No to the Crusader Alliance"
and "The Pope Should Not Come". Some banners included
pejorative depictions of the Pope and Ecumenical Patriarch as
entwined snakes referring to another common slogan, "Don't
Let The Ignorant and Sneaking Pope Come." A small group
burned Israeli and American flags, a typical scene at
Islamist protests in Turkey.

5. The Consul General received an official invitation to the
rally from Osman Yumokullar, Saadet Party Istanbul Provincial
Director. The invitation letter read "We would have welcomed
the Pope if he hadn't slandered Turkey. However, he broke
our hearts when he did not apologize for what he said. We
wish to protest his visit. We will meet and demonstrate with
the slogan of "Don't Let The Pope Come to Turkey" on November
26 at 12:00 in Caglayan. By this movement we will reply to
his and the Ecumenical Patriarch's slanders and their plan
for Istanbul. We'd be honored to see you among us during
this demonstration." The Consulate General did not send an
official observer to the rally.

6. Further demonstrations are expected during the Pope's
four-day visit to Turkey. With more than 3,000 journalists
seeking accreditation, media coverage will be abundant and
irresistible to those playing to a wider audience. The
November 26 protest served as a dry-run, especially for
Turkish security officials, of the main events, which start
tomorrow.
JONES

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