US embassy cable - 05ANKARA1883

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001883 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/EX 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/01/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PHUM, TU, OSCE 
SUBJECT: SOUTHEAST TURKEY:  IRF ISSUES IN MALATYA 
 
REF: A. ANKARA 0814 
 
     B. ANKARA 1342 
     C. ANKARA 1511 
 
CLASSIFIED BY POL COUNSELOR JOHN W. KUNSTADTER FOR REASONS 
1.4 (B) & (D).  THIS CABLE IS FROM AMCONSUL ADANA. 
 
1.  (C) Summary:  Poloff met with a member of the Protestant 
community in Malatya on March 22 to discuss religious freedom 
issues.  According to British national Angus Reid (please 
strictly protect), a small group of worshipers are meeting in 
private homes and are not being prevented by authorities from 
doing so.  In the past 18 months, however, a number of 
negative articles have appeared in the Malatya press casting 
doubt upon the motives of the Protestants in town.   Our 
interlocutor mentioned both Saadet Party and at least one 
Security Directorate official as sources for some of the 
articles.  Separately, one Protestant community member's 
request to participate with Christian books in a religious 
book fair in Malatya was denied by organizers (Note:  It is 
unclear if those who rejected the petition were government 
officials.  End note.)  Reid was extremely carefulin his 
characterization of the environment in Malatya and seemed to 
be exercising self-censorship.  A representative of Malatya's 
Alevi community described a more positive environment for his 
community, but was still critical of the state's mandatory 
religious education requirements and its record in approving 
the opening new Cem Evis, or Alevi houses of worship.  End 
Summary. 
 
(C) Focus on believers, not administrative matters 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
2.  (C) Per Reftel B, Consulate Adana had heard from various 
sources in town that Protestants were facing an intimidating 
environment in Malatya.  On March 22, poloff traveled to 
Malatya and met with one member of the small Protestant 
community there to learn about the situation first-hand. 
British national Angus Reid (please strictly protect) told 
poloff that he moved to Malatya less than two years ago from 
inside Turkey; he had lived previously in Izmir and Adana. 
Four families (his included) appear to make up the core of 
the Protestant community and a small group of less than 20 
people regularly worship with them.  To date they have been 
using homes for their worship, Reid said, usually in two 
separate groups.  The community does not have the resources 
to acquire property, he added, so they have not yet looked 
into the possibility of obtaining a building.  He did not 
indicate that the police officials were hindering worship 
services in private homes. He also stressed that until a 
critical mass of believers from Malatya itself were 
interested in finding a church building, he did not think 
that the "administrative" issues were pressing - they, the 
worshipers, rather than a concrete structure, form the 
"church." 
 
3.  (C) Reid stated that he himself had not had much contact 
with local authorities, outside of the Foreigners Branch of 
the police, which had shown understanding in his discussions 
with them about work permit matters.  He had had a work 
permit from his time in other cities in Turkey, but 
apparently had to re-apply given his relocation and new 
enterprise in Malatya.  Along with a German partner, Reid 
runs a translation service That serves several businesses in 
Malatya's organized industrial area.  (Note:  On two 
occasions he insisted to us that the business "is for real," 
leading us to believe that he has been accused of using the 
business as a cover for his religious activity.  End note.) 
He indicated that he had good personal relationships around 
town, including with his neighbors who were very devout 
Muslims.  In terms of contacts with authorities, however, he 
added that he had heard one of his Protestant colleagues had 
attempted to participate in a religious (in this case, only 
Sunni, they later learned) book fair, providing Christian 
literature, but was told by organizers it was not possible. 
Reid's impression is that the fair was organized by municipal 
or Diyanet officials.  His colleague attempted to participate 
in Fall 2003 and again in Fall 2004, both times 
unsuccessfully. 
 
(C) Negative Press, with help from SP 
-------------------------------------- 
 
4.  (C) Reid kept a positive and careful tone in 
communicating his personal experience to us, painstakingly 
choosing his words.  (Note:  He stated that one of his 
colleagues, also an expatriate, who was out of town, "would 
probably have more to say."  End note.)   In his most candid 
exchange, he shared that a number of negative articles had 
appeared in the media during the past year and a half about 
the Protestant community in Malatya and its motives.  That 
time period coincides with Reid's arrival in Malatya.  "I 
don't want to get into the details," he said, but when asked 
what the sources of those articles might have been, he 
indicated that a Saadet Partisi (SP) official had made a very 
"unhelpful" speech that had been cited, and that a Security 
Directorate official was quoted in one of the stories, as 
well, stating something that was "not true."  Reid said he 
had gone to visit the SP office in Malatya not long after one 
of the articles, and had what seemed to be a friendly 
discussion with someone there, but that attitudes had not 
changed.  When discussing actions police have taken in the 
name of protecting Protestant worshipers in some other towns, 
Reid claimed that he understood the police feeling threatened 
and their need to provide security.  "We would welcome 
plainclothes police in our worship, but not the uniforms and 
cameras," he said.  Perhaps naively, he indicated he would 
talk to the police directly to explain his preferences if and 
when it came to the point of the community securing a 
building and facing a possible police presence at their 
worship. 
 
Cem Vakfi:  Change Mandatory Religious Instruction 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
5.  (C)  Separately, Esref Dogan, President of the Cem 
Foundation's Malatya Chapter, told poloff that if Articles 10 
and 24 of the Constitution were implemented correctly in 
Turkey, things would be fine for his community. (Bio note: 
Dogan is a Bogazici University-educated, Ataturk lapel-pin 
wearing Turk who speaks fluent English and enjoys success in 
the apricot business.  His brother is involved at a high 
level in the Cem Vakfi in Istanbul.  End note.)  He focused 
on national-level issues such as the state's unwillingness to 
approve the opening of some Cem Evis, and the need to modify 
the existing mandatory religious instruction which centers on 
Sunni Islam.  He referred to the recent petition (which was 
denied) to open a house of worship in Cankaya in Ankara, 
characterizing as Ottoman -- like going to the Sultan -- the 
way in which the petition went from Kaymakam to Governor to 
Ministry of Interior to the Diyanet, and back down again.  He 
further stated that like-minded Alevi foundations were in the 
process of uniting, with 12 having just joined with the Cem 
Vakfi in Istanbul.  Other than the fact that downtown Malatya 
apparently has no Cem Evi, he did not seem to have many 
complaints specific to Malatya.   He told poloff that a tape 
of an Alevi celebration held in Istanbul's Abdi Ipekci center 
last September was broadcast by local television, and claimed 
he received many positive phone calls from curious citizens 
after the broadcast.  "People are scared of what they don't 
know," he said, adding that as people become more familiar 
with Alevi practices there is invariably a warm response.  In 
February, Dogan invited both the Governor and Mayor of 
Malatya to an important celebration in the community, and 
they attend for more than two hours. 
 
6.  (C)  Comment:  The AK Party Mayor of Malatya, in a 
meeting with Poloff during a meeting last fall, on more than 
one occasion hinted that Western ways were chipping away at 
southeast Turkey's identity and traditional values.  That 
view, on display in Malatya well before the March 11 
Diyanet-directed sermon implying that missionaries were in 
Turkey to "steal the beliefs of ...young people, " combined 
with the significant Turkish military presence in Malatya 
likely to be suspicious of outsiders, may explain why Reid 
came across as a man walking on eggshells.   He clearly is 
not seeking to get into a public battle of principle; indeed, 
his style and content of communication indicated 
self-censorship.  What is not clear is why:  is it fear of 
attracting more attention and thus harming his community's 
efforts to share its faith, fear of putting his Turkish 
co-religionists in jeopardy, or has he forgiven those who 
wrote the articles and truly feels it is not significant? 
The answer is not as important as the fact that in yet 
another town in southeastern Turkey, the media, driven by a 
variety of political actors, has created a negative 
environment for Protestant missionaries.  As mentioned 
earlier, some of Reid's comments indicated that one of his 
other colleagues in the community might be more outspoken 
about the situation there and post will continue to 
follow the situation.   End comment. 
EDELMAN