Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05ADANA182
2005-10-13 08:21:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Consulate Adana
Cable title:  

GOOD NEWS AND BAD: DIYARBAKIR'S PROTESTANTS AND ADANA'S

Tags:  PGOV PREL PHUM ECON SY IZ TU 
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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

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