MFA BLOCKING PURCHASE OF ABANDONED CHURCH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 002206

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/19/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM TU OSCE
SUBJECT: MFA BLOCKING PURCHASE OF ABANDONED CHURCH

REF: A. ANKARA 2097

B. ANKARA 2061

Classified by Polcouns John Kunstadter; reasons 1.4 b and d.


1. (U) Summary: An American pastor and his wife operate a
Protestant "cultural center" in the Mediterranean tourist
city of Antalya. Although their work is primarily religious,
they hold work permits as owners of the company that runs the
center, which includes a cafe and a room where community
activities are held. They face less difficulty than
Protestants in larger cities like Istanbul and Ankara, but
the MFA has been blocking their efforts to purchase an
abandoned Greek Orthodox church for the past four years. End
Summary.

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AMCITs Come to Turkey to Preach
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2. (U) James and Renata Bultema came to Turkey in 1990,
attracted by the opportunity to live overseas and serve a
minority Christian community in a Muslim country. James, who
studied theology in Denver, started as a pastor at Union
Church in Istanbul. At first, the Bultemas viewed their time
in Turkey as a temporary, short-term mission, after which
they would return to the U.S. But when they stumbled across
an opportunity to open their own church in the Mediterranean
city of Antalya, they jumped at it.


3. (U) The Bultemas have been relatively successful in
negotiating the bureaucratic obstacles faced by religious
minorities seeking to worship in Turkey. They have
established a private company that enables them to reside
permanently in Turkey, and have formed a church
"association." But for the past four years authorities have
blocked their efforts to purchase an abandoned Greek Orthodox
church.


4. (U) Each church in Turkey has a different story. Turkish
laws and regulations provide no clear avenue for religious
denominations that want to open places of worship. National
and local authorities can be relatively flexible or rigid,
depending on factors such as the location of the church, its
religious denomination, the number of Turkish converts
attending the church, and whether church members perform
missionary work. Each church in operation today has its own,
unique strategy for dealing with the GOT. The Bultemas'
story provides one example; reftel A provides another, very
different example.

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Couple Opens Center in Antalya
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5. (U) The Bultemas, who met with us April 13 in Ankara, said
they had just about grown tired of Istanbul life when in 1996
they noticed an ad by the International Women's Association
of Antalya. According to the ad, the international community
in Antalya wanted to establish a church and needed a pastor.
The Bultemas replied immediately. They began work in Antalya
by holding congregations in hotels. They informed the
Governor's office in advance of each meeting, and
plainclothes police would attend the sessions. In 1997, the
police informed them they needed to find a permanent location.


6. (U) They purchased land next to a small, abandoned Greek
Orthodox church. In November 1999 they opened the St. Paul
Cultural Center at the site. The Center features a cafe and
a 100-capacity multi-purpose room used for a range of
activities including dance and aerobics classes, English
conversation clubs, concerts and seminars, and playgroups for
toddlers. On Sundays, the Bultemas hold an English-language
service and a group of Turkish Protestants rents the facility
for a Turkish-language service. A group of German
expatriates also used to rent the facility before opening
their own center nearby. Officially, the Bultemas are
businesspeople operating the company that runs the Center.
They hold work permits as owners of the company.


7. (U) James said operating as a businessman has been awkward
and sometimes frustrating. He is thinking about applying for
a work permit as a pastor, although he is not optimistic that
the government would approve such an application. Still, the
Bultemas realize that by moving to the international tourist
town of Antalya they have avoided the kind of intimidation
and harassment often experienced by Protestants in cities
like Istanbul and Ankara. There have been no protests in
front of their Center, no broken windows, and only a few
slanderous press stories.


8. (U) The only problem with local authorities came in April
2002, when police advised the Bultemas to take down their
signs because the Center is not zoned as a place of worship.
Parliament had recently adopted legislation designed to make
it possible for Christians and other religious minorities to
acquire zoning approval to build places of worship. However,
local authorities in many areas instead used the legislation
as a means to challenge the legality of existing churches.
The Bultemas sensed that the police, who have generally been
supportive, were not serious. They ignored them, and the
issue was never revisited.

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MFA Blocking Purchase of Church
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9. (U) The Bultemas' biggest frustration has been their
inability to buy the Greek Orthodox church, a goal they have
pursued since purchasing the adjacent property. The Turkish
owner has been anxious to sell since the beginning -- back in
2001 he and the Bultemas agreed on a price of USD 70,000.
Then, on the day they were to close the deal, the local
director of the titles and deeds department said the purchase
required approval from Ankara. Now, more than four years
later, the Bultemas are still waiting for that approval.


10. (U) Under pressure from German Government lobbying in
support of German expatriates, the GOT sent a group of
high-level bureaucrats to Antalya in 2003 to meet with
Protestants. The bureaucrats advised the Protestants to take
advantage of recent amendments to the Associations Law and
form church associations. They told the Bultemas that
association status would facilitate their purchase of the
church. They took the advice, and even won a battle to keep
the word "church" in their association title. But the
purchase remains blocked. The latest news came on April 12,
when an official from the MFA Real Estate Department told
James the MFA is still gathering information needed to make a
decision.


11. (U) GOT officials have told the Bultemas' attorney they
are investigating how the church came into private ownership,
and whether the transfer was legal. The church passed into
Turkish ownership in 1954, during a period of conflict
between Muslims and Greek Orthodox; the Bultemas note that
the Greek Orthodox owner most likely fled the country. The
original Turkish owner has died, and the property now belongs
to his daughters and son in law. The Bultemas say their
attorney has confirmed the authenticity of the deed.


12. (U) While the MFA reviews the purchase application, the
church falls into greater disrepair year by year. "The
building is collapsing. It will eventually fall down," James
said.

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Comment
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13. (C) The Bultemas are the type of Christians the GOT finds
easiest to tolerate. They are foreigners catering primarily
to other foreigners, rather than Turkish converts to
Christianity. They do not organize bible distributions or
other missionary activities. They are located in a
cosmopolitan tourist city.


14. (C) However, GOT authorities are clearly wary of their
plans to buy and restore the Greek Orthodox church. Allowing
the Bultemas to conduct services in a traditional church
building, it seems, would raise the profile of the church too
high in the eyes of the authorities. GOT leaders often boast
of Turkey's historic religious tolerance and diversity. As
reported reftel B, FM Gul recently denied the existence of
religious prejudice in Turkey by asserting that, "Turkey is a
place where churches and synagogues are built near mosques."
Unfortunately, however, the Bultemas' experience is not
unique -- Christians and other religious minorities routinely
face bureaucratic obstructionism when they seek to build or
restore places of worship. The Turks, it appears, prefer
their churches in ruins, rather than restored and filled with
congregants.
EDELMAN