TURKEY - SE TURKEY UNSETTLED BY LARGE PEACEFUL PROTESTS OF

UNCLAS ADANA 000033

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PREL TU ADANA
SUBJECT: TURKEY - SE TURKEY UNSETTLED BY LARGE PEACEFUL PROTESTS OF
ANTI-ISLAMIC CARTOONS.

REF: A) ADANA 27 B) ADANA 29

1.(SBU) Summary: Southeastern Turkey's largely Sunni
population has taken considerable offense at the recently
published Danish editorial cartoons. One American Christian in
Gaziantep has reported non-violent police harassment; the
Gaziantep police chief undertook to look into the matter and
told us he is focused on protecting Americans. Overall,
authorities have advised restraint and, by and large, have been
effective at managing large protest activities with the
potential for violent outbursts. End Summary.

Protests peak after Friday prayer~.
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2.(SBU) Last week saw frequent outbursts of public criticism of
the recently published Danish editorial cartoons in southeast
Turkey, culminating in post Friday prayer protests and
demonstrations. In total, tens of thousands of peaceful
protesters were out on Friday in Adana, Diyarbakir, Sanliurfa,
Siirt, Mardin and Mersin provinces, according to multiple
reports from local sources and the press. The largest protest
was held in Diyarbakir and, according to conservative estimates
from local contacts, was 30-40,000 strong and streched over
three kilometers in length. In Adana, Consulate personnel
observed a 500-person protest group which formed after Friday
prayer at the Sabanci central mosque. Protestors in the region
reportedly denounced Denmark, the U.S., Israel and Europe,
burned Danish flags and chanted pro-Islamic slogans.
Nevertheless, protests stayed non-violent and Turkish National
Police deployed adequate riot control units to control crowd
behavior.

An AMCIT Christian caught up in the regional tension?
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3.(SBU) AMCON Adana received complaints from an AMCIT resident
of Gaziantep on February 7 reporting Turkish police harassment.
At the AMCIT's request, we approached Gaziantep Security
Director Dr. Ali Yilmaz about the complaint. He said that the
AMCIT and "his visiting friends," while publicly proselytizing
near a mosque, had angered many devout Islamic local residents.
He said that proselytizing was not a violation of Turkish law,
offered that he would investigate the allegation of harassment
and claimed that he was focusing on protecting the small number
of American residents in Gaziantep

Regional non-Sunnis riding out storm, but wary
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4.(SBU) AMCON Adana has polled Christian and other non-Sunni
groups to determine how their small communities are faring; we
have encountered general concern, but also widespread relief
that there has been little violence targeting them to date. An
exception is the small Syriac Christian community of a handful
of families in Elazig whose church was stoned on February 8.
The larger Syriac community in Mardin province fared better, but
took precautions, such as not sending children to school on
Friday, February 10 and staying off the streets on Thursday and
Friday, February 9-10 when protests were anticipated. The
Diyarbakir Christian Church reported that it was not the focus
of any protest or harassment last week, but noted considerable
community tension about the editorial cartoon controversy. In
Adana, police have been patrolling near several small storefront
evangelical churches since the January attack on a Christian
pastor. We have heard no reports of recent violence. Small
Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches in Hatay and Mersin report
no weekend violence either.

5.(SBU) Comment: Southeast Turkey's largely Islamic and very
devout population is angered and offended by the Danish and
Norwegian editorials which, they say, defame the Prophet
Mohammed. Regional non-Sunnis claim that they see a storm
unfolding around them and, while it is non-violent to date, are
remaining wary because they do not yet see when the storm will
blow over. End Comment.

REID