SOUTHEAST TURKEY: IRF ISSUES IN MALATYA

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