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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ISTANBUL 000409 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV TU AA OSCE
SUBJECT: ISTANBUL PROTESTANT CHURCH FOUNDATION REPORTS 
RISING THREAT 
 
REF: A. 06 ISTANBUL 1528 
     ¶B. 07 ADANA 56 
     ¶C. 08 ANKARA 19 
 
ISTANBUL 00000409  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  Istanbul Protestant Church (IPC) 
officials lament that their status as a "foundation", while 
it enables them to hold real estate, has the downside of 
increasing government control over the church's finances. 
They also indicate that despite official recognition of their 
status, they, along with other Christians in Turkey, face an 
increasing number of threats.  END SUMMARY. 
 
Distinguishing between Associations and Foundations 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶2.  (U) IPC Pastor Carlos Madrigal, IPC Foundation President 
Timur Topuz and IPC Foundation Administrator Fatih Bilger 
told us July 25 the GOT approved IPC's foundation status in 
2000, the first minority religious community not included in 
the 1923 Lausanne Treaty to receive that status.  The IPC now 
has 70 to 75 baptized congregants, he said. The General 
Directorate of Foundations (GDF) granted the IPC foundation 
status after what the IPC leadership calls an "unexpectedly 
easy" two year process resulting in its property being 
officially recognized as a place of worship (Ref A). 
 
¶3. (U) Madrigal, a Spanish citizen who became IPC's pastor 23 
years ago, explained that Turkey's Foundations Law is the 
sole method through which religious communities (Muslim and 
non-Muslim alike) can hold real estate. While the law 
requires cabinet approval for the creation of a foundation 
(vakif), often a lengthy process, foundation status allows 
religious organizations to operate legally and openly. The 
Foundations Law provides some protection against arbitrary 
bureaucratic action by requiring a court judgment to close a 
foundation, he added.   According to Foundations Law, the 
minimum amount of capital needed to establish a foundation is 
determined each year by Parliament. However, the minimum is 
instead determined on a case by case basis depending on the 
objective of the applicant foundation. The GDF would require 
a foundation with the objective of building a university to 
have greater capital than one with the intention of hosting 
an annual conference. 
 
¶4. (U) Madrigal told us that becoming an association (dernek) 
under the Associations Law is much easier and more affordable 
than applying under the Foundations Law, taking as few as 
three months with no capital requirement.  As many as fifteen 
Protestant groups have registered as associations rather than 
foundations, according to IPC.  Madrigal pointed out that, 
because the governor approves and terminates an association's 
status, associations have fewer protections from potentially 
capricious provincial governments. 
 
¶5. (U) Religious associations and foundations both can apply 
to have the GOT officially recognize their place of worship, 
entitling them to free electricity, IPC said. Unregistered 
religious communities have no legal standing and are unable 
to own property in their name or open a bank account.  Topuz 
explained that he serves as IPC's president because the law 
requires foundations to have a Turkish citizen as their 
administrative leader, defined as the person with a legal 
role in interactions with the government. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Pointing out the downside of registration, Madrigal 
recounted that two months ago, authorities requested the 
IPC's financial records  in order to conduct an audit. The 
church received no response to its request for more 
information until five officials arrived to conduct an 
unannounced audit. Madrigal contends that registration 
introduces this additional government control over the church. 
 
More Threats than Anticipated 
----------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Despite IPC leadership's hopes that official 
recognition would improve their situation (Ref A), threats 
have in fact increased over the years, they said.  Madrigal, 
Topuz and Bilger agreed  the situation is far worse than ten 
years ago.  In January, Bilger received a threat from one of 
two Turks who had recently begun attending Church services. 
Bilger reported the incident to the police and prosecutor, 
with no response from either. Two months later, the IPC 
received an e-mail from a group purporting to be a 
 
ISTANBUL 00000409  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
pro-Christian militia that promised to protect Christian 
organizations from atrocities such as the Malatya murders 
(Ref B), if a deposit was made to the bank account specified 
in the email. The IPC reported the incident to the police, 
again with no response. 
 
 
¶8. (SBU) The IPC leadership also related the recent problems 
of a sister church in Eskisehir, attended by several Iranian 
Christian asylum seekers with an Iranian pastor providing 
services in Farsi. After witnessing one asylum seeker 
residing at the Church perform voluntary Church services, the 
police filed charges against the Church, claiming that it 
should have applied for a business license in order to use 
foreign labor; the Church was charged 5500 YTL by the Social 
Insurance Institution (SII) for supposedly employing an 
unregistered worker. The Eskisehir church has opened seven 
court cases against the Social Insurance Institution for each 
of the seven charges filed regarding the same worker. The 
Eskisehir Church was also targeted in May, when  security 
cameras caught a man placing three bullets in front of the 
Eskisehir church.  The church filed a case against him, which 
continues. 
 
A Turn for the Worse 
-------------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Madrigal said the deteriorating security situation 
leaves church members feel increasingly threatened, 
especially Turks who converted from Islam. In the 1990s, the 
IPC reported no threats and no cases opened against them by 
the government, but after the Malatya murders things have 
gone downhill, he said (Ref C). Members feel that nowadays 
non-Muslims are simply tolerated, have no rights, and are 
supported by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) 
in words only, instead of the deeds and tolerance that are 
desperately sought. 
OUDKIRK