Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07ANKARA933
2007-04-19 14:51:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Ankara
Cable title:  

AFTERMATH: TRIPLE-MURDER OF CHRISTIAN BOOKSTORE

Tags:  PGOV PHUM PREL OSCE TU 
pdf how-to read a cable
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P 191451Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1800
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC//J-3/J-5//
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
RUEUITH/ODC ANKARA TU//TCH//
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEUITH/TLO ANKARA TU
RUEHAK/TSR ANKARA TU
RUEHAK/USDAO ANKARA TU
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000933 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/19/2017
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL OSCE TU
SUBJECT: AFTERMATH: TRIPLE-MURDER OF CHRISTIAN BOOKSTORE
WORKERS IN MALATYA

REF: A. ADANA 56

B. 06 ISTANBUL 044

C. 06 ANKARA 522

Classified By: Political Counselor Janice G. Weiner, reasons 1.4(b),(d)
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000933

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/19/2017
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL OSCE TU
SUBJECT: AFTERMATH: TRIPLE-MURDER OF CHRISTIAN BOOKSTORE
WORKERS IN MALATYA

REF: A. ADANA 56

B. 06 ISTANBUL 044

C. 06 ANKARA 522

Classified By: Political Counselor Janice G. Weiner, reasons 1.4(b),(d)

1.(C) Summary: News of the April 18 murder of three
Christian bookstore workers by ultranationalist teens spread
like wildfire across Turkey, and has dominated news and
public conversations. The Turkish government, media, and
civil society expressed shock and condemned the attacks.
Several Christians in Turkey, including some Amcits,
contacted the Embassy to express fears of copycat attacks.
Many newspaper columnists blamed politicians for failing to
beat back rising intolerance, which they argued also led to
the February murder of Turkish-Armenian writer Hrant Dink
(reftel B) and the stabbing of a Catholic priest in Trabzon
last year (reftel C). The public debate so far has been
encouragingly constructive. As with the Dink killing, we
will urge the GOT to use this tragedy to promote greater
tolerance. The public debate may be short-lived, however;
the final days of the tense presidential election may steal
the headlines from this tragic event. End summary.

--------------
Further Developments in Murder Case
--------------

2.(U) Turkish police detained ten suspects in the April 18
murder of two Turkish citizens and one German national who
worked at a Christian bookstore in Malatya. One of the
suspects was originally thought to be a fourth victim because
he jumped out of the building and went to a hospital for
treatment. Television images showed police wrestling one man
to the ground and leading several young men out of the
building in handcuffs. Unconfirmed press reports stated that
some of the suspects, who were high school graduates
preparing for college entrance exams, had notes in their
pockets stating, "We did this for the motherland." A Turkish
National Police (TNP) contact told us no group has claimed
responsibility. He said there is no evidence of a link to
Turkish Hizbullah or other known organizations. Police have
heightened security at churches and synagogues in some

provinces but there appears to be no coordinated national
security plan. A group of 150 marched in Istanbul yesterday
with candles and banners stating, "We Are All Christians."

3.(SBU) Three German Embassy officers are traveling to
Malatya to assist the family of the German victim, Tilman
Geske. The Human Rights Association (HRA) told us Geske's
wife applied to the Malatya Governor's office for permission
to bury Geske in Malatya's Armenian cemetery. The Governor's
office, according to HRA, is concerned that Geske's burial in
Malatya might create further tension. One of the other
bodies was taken to Elazig for burial. The third body will
be taken to Izmir for burial on Saturday.

--------------
Amcit Christians Fear Copycat Attacks
--------------

4.(C) Three Amcit Protestants called the Embassy on April 19
to express fears of copycat attacks. Brad Foreman, a
Bolu-based businessman who is a Christian but does not
consider himself a missionary, told us that he fears that
"one wacko could do the same thing to me and my family."
Foreman said he expected the death threats he received two
years ago would start again. Recently, he had experienced
only legal and bureaucratic harassment. Foreman hoped
high-level GOT officials and military officers would publicly
condemn the murders, urge tolerance toward Christians, and
attend any funerals. Chris Pestal, a Protestant who lives
with his Turkish wife in Konya, told us he is "laying low" to
avoid possible copycat attacks. Pestal said that most of
Konya knows that he is Christian even though he never
proselytizes.

5.(C) We urged these contacts to call local police if they
felt threatened, despite their reservations that police are
antagonistic toward Christians. We also sent them copies of
Embassy Warden messages, and agreed to stay in email and

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telephone contact.

--------------
GOT Sends Mixed Messages
--------------

6.(SBU) Following the murders, Minister of Interior Aksu
expressed sadness and condemned the assassinations. Aksu
said the attack was against "beraberlik" ("being together").
In a statement to the press, the Directorate of Religious
Affairs (Diyanet) deplored the attack. Diyanet High Board
member Professor Saim Yeprem said, "Islam never approves of
murder" and considers killing a person unjustly as akin to
killing all humanity. In contrast, MOJ DG of Legislation
Guney reportedly complained in parliament of the growth of
missionary activities in Turkey, which he compared to
missionary activity during the last days of the Ottoman
Empire. Guney reportedly stated there were at least 22
unauthorized Christian churches in and around Ankara.

--------------
Media Expresses Shock, Calls for Tolerance
--------------

7.(SBU) Coverage of the murders dominated print and broadcast
media. Mainstream media compared the killings to the recent
assassination of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink and
the murder of a Catholic priest in Trabzon last year, and
characterized the crimes as part of a plot against Turkey's
image and stability. Daily "Vatan" wrote that, just as in
the Dink and Santoro cases, "Young people controlled by dark
forces have committed a savage murder."

8.(SBU) Most columnists attributed the brutal attacks to a
climate of increasing intolerance. According to "Hurriyet's"
Ertugrul Ozkok, what happened in Malatya was the "collective
responsibility" of Turkey. He stressed that Turkey could not
wash its hands of the incident merely by blaming Turkish
Hizbullah. "Radikal's" Murat Yetkin asked all Turks to end
the practice of using religion as a political tool. "Sabah"
columnist Mehmet Barlas, noting the string of murders
including the Catholic Priest's stabbing and the Dink
assassination, wrote that it is time for the state and civil
society to criticize themselves for contributing to the
creation of this "violent, intolerant atmosphere."

9.(SBU) Some Islamic-oriented press tied the murders to
politics. "Zaman" columnist Ali Buluc argued that the
incident was a "provocation" related to the upcoming
presidential elections. The ruling Justice and Development
Party (AKP) was being "dragged into an environment of
violence, provocation and lack of tolerance."

--------------
GOT's Policies Pressure Christians
--------------

10.(C) Our human rights contacts agree that of all of
Turkey's non-Muslim religious groups, Christians tend to draw
the most suspicion and hostility from the Turkish state and
public. An EU Commission officer told us that many Muslim
Turks harbor suspicions about Christians because all public
secondary school students take religious courses that, in
general, portray negatively non-Sunni faiths. Christians are
associated with the Crusades, the Russian invasions of
eastern Anatolia in the late 19th century and 1915, and
European attempts to carve up the Ottoman Empire after World
War I. She believes the Turkish state, and many Turkish
citizens, still suffer from a "paranoia of missionaries who
are stealing the religion of Turkish citizens." This
paranoia was reflected by the Diyanet's 2005 public
anti-missionary campaign that included a nationally-delivered
sermon that depicted missionaries as part of a foreign plot
to "steal the beliefs of our young people."

11.(C) EU country contacts told us the murder will give
further ammunition to those in Europe who argue that Turkey's
Islamic faith and intolerance toward other religions render
it unqualified for EU membership. "This is the number-one
argument used by opponents of Turkish membership," a Dutch
diplomat commented. Our contacts said no matter who

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committed the murders, the event demonstrates that religious
freedom is one of the weakest areas in the GOT's reform
efforts.

12.(C) Comment: With all eyes fixed on the presidential
election's approaching climax, the public debate following
this triple-murder may be short-lived. As encouragingly
constructive as many of the commentaries have been, the
current highly charged political climate may not be conducive
to genuine reflection or reform. We will urge the GOT to use
this tragedy to promote greater tolerance, as we did the Dink
murder. End summary.

Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/

WILSON