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This cable was coordinated with Embassy Ankara.
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¶1. (SBU) Summary: After briefly basking in the reflected<br /> glow of last week’s exciting UEFA Champion’s League Final in<br /> Istanbul between Milan and Liverpool, corporate sponsor<br /> Mastercard has found itself dealing with a public relations<br /> nightmare in recent days following public criticism of<br /> inclusion in its match city guide of critical commentary<br /> about both Turkey and its revered founder, Mustafa Kemal<br /> Ataturk. The offending passages, first publicized in the<br /> liberal Islamist daily “Zaman,” addressed the issue of<br /> Turkish-Kurdish relations and the Armenian tragedy of 1915.<br /> Mastercard briefly closed its office following death threats<br /> against its General Manager, and has since officially<br /> apologized, noting that the offending material had not been<br /> reviewed by any company officials, but instead emanated from<br /> the “Lonely Planet,” which produced the bulk of the<br /> publication. The public reaction, which has also included<br /> calls for a boycott of the company by Turkish NGO’s and the<br /> threat of public prosecution from the Istanbul Governor,<br /> highlights once again how close to the surface core<br /> nationalist reflexes and taboos are in the post-December 17th<br /> environment. End Summary.
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¶2. (SBU) Shortlived Honeymoon: Mastercard officials, whose<br /> biggest problem last week was the deluge of calls they were<br /> receiving seeking tickets to the May 25th Milan-Liverpool<br /> match, faced a more serious crisis on May 30 when “Zaman”<br /> newspaper published extracts from the city guide the company<br /> distributed to its VIP guests and journalists. In the<br /> “Lonely Planet” produced publication, which was written by an<br /> Istanbul-based British journalist, brief reference was made<br /> to the issue of minorities in Turkey, with sections covering<br /> both the Kurds and the Armenians. The breezy narrative noted<br /> that “Ataturk banned any expression of Kurdishness in an<br /> attempt at assimilation,” adding that major battles and<br /> atrocities followed in the 1920s and 1930s, with the deaths<br /> of more than 30,000 coming since 1984. On the equally<br /> sensitive Armenian issue, the guide noted that while most<br /> Armenians had remained loyal to the Ottoman Empire, some had<br /> rebelled, engaging in terrorism that set off a powerful<br /> anti-Armenian backlash and the “widespread massacre of<br /> innocent Armenians in Istanbul and elsewhere.”
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¶3. (SBU) Harsh Reaction: The publication sparked harsh<br /> reaction from most quarters, with Istanbul Governor Guler<br /> denouncing the “insult” to Turkey and warning that “such a<br /> sponsorship firm needs to be more cautious.” He added that<br /> officials would investigate the publication and determine if<br /> it constituted a criminal offense. NGO’s were also quick to<br /> leap on the bandwagon, with the Consumers’ Union calling for<br /> a boycott of the company if it did not officially apologize.<br /> Turkish sports officials also expressed disappointment with<br /> the publication. More worryingly, anonymous callers phoned<br /> in death threats, and nationalist groups indicated that they<br /> would organize protests, resulting in closure of Mastercard’s<br /> office early this week and the provision of extra security<br /> for General Manager Ozlem Imece.
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¶4. (C) Damage Control: Since the story broke on May 30,<br /> Mastercard has been engaged in damage control. In an initial<br /> announcement on May 30, the company admitted its mistake and<br /> noted it had contacted the “Lonely Planet” to demand the<br /> removal of “erroneous information” from the guide. When this<br /> did not quell the furor, the company went further a day later<br /> and officially apologized. In a public statement, General<br /> Manager Imece observed that she had not known of some of the<br /> material that was to be included in the publication, and was<br /> “deeply shocked” by it. Privately she has told us that the<br /> company was blind-sided by the furor, having been focused on<br /> security for their VIP guests last week. This, she said, was<br /> something that “no one expected.”
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¶5. (C) Comment: Given the sensitivities that exist here,<br /> inclusion of any material on topics such as Turkey’s minority<br /> policy or the Armenian tragedy in a sporting guide was in<br /> retrospect a serious mistake. The harsh, instinctive<br /> reaction, however, shows the heightened sensitivities and<br /> hair-trigger nature of public discourse here since the<br /> December 17th EU decision. Post RSO has reached out to<br /> Mastercard, which is an active member of the OSAC Advisory<br /> Council, to ensure that they are satisfied with the police<br /> response they have received and to provide assistance if<br /> needed. End Comment.<br /> ARNETT
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