Obama tour also echoes in neighbor

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

Though it ended last week, U.S. President Barack Obama’s tour of Turkey is still in progress in many regions of the world.

The Greek public is now discussing his speech to Turkish Parliament and meeting with The Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomeos about the reopening of Halki Seminary and the Cyprus issue, while Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat is paying a visit to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington, D.C.

Hillary Clinton, on Cyprus, overturned her department’s attempt to bring de facto recognition to Turkish Cyprus by having her meet with Talat prior to meeting with the leadership of Greek Cyprus. She told some Greek opinion leaders that such a meeting was out of the question.

The Greek daily Ta Nea, on Monday, showed great reaction to Obama, writing, "he has undertaken the role of Turkey's advocate in Thrace," which was also reported in Turkish daily Milliyet.

Claims
According to Ta Nea, the U.S. president opened the issue of reopening a seminary on Halki island during a meeting with Patriarch Bartholomeos. The Greek diplomatic sources claim that Obama presented to Bartholomeos the Turkish arguments, according to which Athens should give something in return related to the Turkish minority in the region of Thrace.

Bartholomeos was put in an awkward position, having to explain that the Patriarchy is a separate topic and can in no way be related to the minority issue in Western Thrace.

The Greek American community’s reaction to President Obama’s statements during his parliamentary address was positive, while some concerns were voiced for the omission of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Istanbul, from his schedule, reported Greek news sources.

Many major Greek-American organizations in their statements on the trip assessed Obama’s statements on Cyprus and the Patriarchate as positive, while they remain cautious on the upgrading of Turkey in the foreign policy priorities of the U.S. administration.

President Obama reminded Parliament that Turkey has "its own responsibilities," including Cyprus. "The United States is willing to offer all the help sought by the parties as they work toward a just and lasting settlement that reunifies Cyprus into a bizonal and bicommunal federation," he said.

Earlier in the address, Obama also made a strong statement in favor of the religious freedom of the patriarchate. "Freedom of religion and expression lead to a strong and vibrant civil society that only strengthens the state, which is why steps like reopening Halki Seminary will send such an important signal inside Turkey and beyond," he said.

In a statement about the trip, the American Hellenic Institute, or AHI, commended President Obama for raising two very important issues: Cyprus and the Ecumenical Patriarchate. AHI points out there are a number of serious issues facing the patriarchate, not just Halki. Regarding Cyprus, AHI’s statement stressed that it wanted "to commend the president for raising these issues within the context of a ’bizonal and bicommunal’ federation."

Reuniting Cyprus
Ike Gulas, the national president of the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association, or AHEPA, issued the following statement: "We applaud him for specifically citing the reopening Halki and the importance of realizing peace in the eastern Mediterranean by reuniting Cyprus into a bizonal, bicommunal federation."

AHEPA thanked Obama for bringing the issues directly to the Turkish Parliament and said his words were courageous and unprecedented.

"The huge ’American ship of state’ is slowly beginning to turn in a just direction on issues regarding Hellenism and Orthodoxy, but it still has a long way to go to make up for the damage of recent years," said President of the Coordinated Effort of Hellenes Andy Manatos. CEH said in an unprecedented step, both Obama and Clinton, in different months, mentioned in major public remarks in Turkey the need to reopen the Halki seminary and called for a just and lasting settlement of Cyprus into a bizonal and bicommunal federation.