US embassy cable - 05ADANA182

UNCLAS ADANA 000182 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION. 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PHUM, ECON, SY, IZ, TU 
SUBJECT: GOOD NEWS AND BAD:  DIYARBAKIR'S PROTESTANTS AND ADANA'S 
CATHOLICS 
 
REF: A) ADANA 167  B) ADANA 162 
 
1. (SBU) Summary:  Diyarbakir's Protestant Church has been 
issued a license by local government offices designating its 
building as a "religious site facility," and expects to receive 
"settlement permission" soon, allowing their building to legally 
function as a church.  At the same time, in the aftermath of 
Adana's recently closed Catholic church, the small Catholic and 
Greek Orthodox community continues to feel isolated and 
pressured by official neglect and societal prejudice, while 
still hoping that officials in Ankara and the European 
Parliament can bring about a more positive outcome for their 
dilemma (reftel A).  End Summary. 
 
2. (SBU) In a recent telephone conversation with the Consulate, 
Diyarbakir Protestant Church Pastor Ahmet Guvener expressed 
gratitude for the Consulate's support during the church's court 
hearings regarding the church's zoning problems (reftel B). 
Guvener said the problems had been resolved and a license had 
been issued to the church that designated the building as "a 
religious site facility."  The license was signed by the 
Diyarbakir Municipality, the Cultural and Natural Heritage 
Preservation Committee and the Sur Municipality. Guvener said 
that he was confident that Sur Municipality will grant the 
church "settlement permission" some time during the week of 
October 17, allowing the Protestant group's building to legally 
function as a church.  He added that, modeled on the experience 
of the Kurtulus Church in Ankara, his congregation was working 
on founding an association dedicated to continuing the struggle 
for the church's right to carry on religious activities without 
facing any legal hindrance. 
 
3. (SBU) AMCON Adana spoke with staff of the Catholic Church's 
Bishopric for the Anatolian region October 11 to determine the 
Bishop's current intentions for the Adana Church now that he has 
stopped its operations.  His staff reported that the Bishop was 
in Rome at a Synod, but that they thought his decision to close 
the church "would get the Turks attention."  They said that they 
were frustrated by over 10 years of unsuccessfully raising 
zoning and encroachment issues with various local Turkish 
officials in Adana "and now the dialogue is with the Ambassadors 
and Turks in Ankara."  "It is also now a matter for the European 
Parliament," according to the Bishop's staff.  They said that 
the small Catholic and Greek Orthodox community, which the 
Church also serves, felt isolated and pressured by official 
neglect and societal prejudice and hoped that the officials 
would respond to their requests for closing the neighboring 
noisy wedding hall and creating the open space around a place of 
worship called for in Turkish law.  If so, they would re-open, 
said the staff. 
 
4. (SBU) Comment:  The Diyarbakir Protestant Church case is good 
news and represents progress on the religious freedom front, but 
we must also bear in mind the recent Adana Catholic Church 
closing.  End Comment. 
 
 
 
REID