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Viewing cable 07ISTANBUL996, ENVIRONMENT MINISTRY ADDS TO ECUMENICAL

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
07ISTANBUL996 2007-11-15 12:39 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Consulate Istanbul
VZCZCXRO7138
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHIT #0996 3191239
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 151239Z NOV 07
FM AMCONSUL ISTANBUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7672
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
UNCLAS ISTANBUL 000996 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV TU
SUBJECT: ENVIRONMENT MINISTRY ADDS TO ECUMENICAL 
PATRIARCHATE'S PROPERTY PROBLEMS 
 
1.  (U) This cable is sensitive but unclassified.  Please 
handle accordingly. 
 
 2.  (SBU)  Ecumenical Patriarchate staff confirmed November 
15 press reports concerning Ministry of Forestry (MOF) 
attempts, earlier in the week, to intervene with the 
renovation of a church property on Heybeli Island.  According 
to Metropolitan Meliton, a senior advisor to Ecumenical 
Patriarch Bartholomew I, a crew of eight MOF employees 
destroyed roof tiles, windows and window frames, which were 
part of the renovation of the Church of the Transfiguration, 
a small monastery that is on the same island as, but separate 
from, Halki Seminary.  Pictures that Meliton sent to us show 
considerable damage to the interior and exterior of the 
church. 
 
3.  (SBU)  Mainstream "Hurriyet" newspaper reported that the 
MOF argued the property belonged to the Treasury and that, as 
a result, the patriarchate was not permitted to renovate the 
church.  While Meliton acknowledged that the property had 
been confiscated by the General Directorate of Foundations, 
he maintained the patriarchate had been authorized to 
continue to use the church and had been given verbal 
permission to conduct minor renovations to the property. 
Meliton further confirmed the accuracy of Hurriyet's report 
that Bartholomew wrote a letter of appeal to the District 
Governor of the Princes' Islands Mevlut Kurban and that 
Kurban had responded to Bartholomew's appeal by preventing 
the MOF from further destroying the church property.  Meliton 
does not yet know whether the patriarchate will be permitted 
to continue with the restoration of the church. 
WIENER