Christians targeted for death in Turkey

[Joseph]

Wed 18 Apr 2007

Three dead in attack on Turk Christian publisher

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - Attackers on Wednesday slit the throats of three people in a Turkish publishing house which printed bibles, security officials said, the latest attack on minorities in mainly Muslim Turkey.
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NTV said a fourth person had died in hospital, but the report could not be confirmed.Security officials said six people had been detained in connection with the attack in the southeastern city of Malatya. Television pictures showed police wrestling one man to the ground and leading several young men out of the building, apparently in handcuffs.
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An official from the publishing house told local television that they had received threats over its publications.
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The attack follows the murder earlier this year of Armenian-Turkish editor Hrant Dink by an ultranationalist, which prompted extra security measures to be taken for writers and journalists. Dink was also from Malatya.
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Last year a priest was shot dead in the Black Sea province of Trabzon, which coincided with worldwide protests over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad.
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The government and other officials in Turkey have in the past criticised Christian missionary work here while the European Union, which Turkey hopes to join, has called for more freedom for the tiny Christian minority.
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For some Turkish nationalists Christian missionaries are seen as enemies of Turkey working to undermine its political and religious institutions.
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(c) Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior writtenconsent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
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This article: http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=598152007
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Last updated: 18-Apr-07 13:03 BST

[1.5 million]

This is terrible news and I fear is a sign of things to come (as otherwise powerless ultra nationalist [religious?] nutjobs take to violence to express themselves)...not good...and again - religion most certainly is a factor (and always has been).

[Jade]

arrghh great...I was already feeling depressed...Now this? seriously these things really do affect me...I'm at the "nothing in the world is right, nothing is pure, nothing is innocent, what is the world coming to?" mood right now - but a good thing to note is how a large group in Turkey is taking PM Erdogan being a possible candidate for presidency...I don't know if you guys have heard about it but there was a mass demonstration couple of days ago in Ankara where 300,000 people gathered from around Turkey to publicly oppose Erdogan...I see that as a glimmer of hope...Atleast this remains...

[Joseph]

arrghh great...I was already feeling depressed...Now this? seriously these things really do affect me...I'm at the "nothing in the world is right, nothing is pure, nothing is innocent, what is the world coming to?" mood right now - but a good thing to note is how a large group in Turkey is taking PM Erdogan being a possible candidate for presidency...I don't know if you guys have heard about it but there was a mass demonstration couple of days ago in Ankara where 300,000 people gathered from around Turkey to publicly oppose Erdogan...I see that as a glimmer of hope...Atleast this remains...

Hi Jade,

I share your dour mood due to current events surrounding us. But do yourself a favor an go out tonite or tomorrow and do something fun to get your mind off the worlds problems. You're too young to carry the world weight on your shoulders.

I certainly did read about the demonstration but what troubles me is this; Are the demonstraters consisting of the conservative, pro-military, virulently secular Ataturkists? I may disagree with Erdogan and his party on many issues but at least they have made the most effort of any regime past/present in Turkey to liberalize the country, changes laws, build the economy, cut back the military oversight, fight the deep state, etc. I'm well aware of their shortcomings but what is the alternative? It seems the trend is to turn back the clock and grow more nationalistic. Perhaps you can give us more insight.

[Kharpert]

It especially struck me how traditionally ass-backwards someone has to be to assassinate someone by slitting their throat. I know it's not important how they were killed but it seemed to symbolize what sort of ancient, vengeful, and murderous tradition these fundamentalists seem to be wallowing in.

[1.5 million]

It especially struck me how traditionally ass-backwards someone has to be to assassinate someone by slitting their throat. I know it's not important how they were killed but it seemed to symbolize what sort of ancient, vengeful, and murderous tradition these fundamentalists seem to be wallowing in.

Agreed - a blood sacrifice pure and simple....you would think we are beyond such supersticions eh? Well not only are we not - but the hard core Muslim world is steeped in it.

[bell-the-cat]

I don't know if you guys have heard about it but there was a mass demonstration couple of days ago in Ankara where 300,000 people gathered from around Turkey to publicly oppose Erdogan...I see that as a glimmer of hope...Atleast this remains...

Watched it on TV. Thought that there were more than 300,000 though.

BTW, and pardon my ignorance of Turkish history, what is significant about the 14th April?

[Joseph]

Armenian reference

INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/19/news/turkey.php

5 held in Turkey after killings in Bible publishing house
By Sabrina Tavernise
Thursday, April 19, 2007

ISTANBUL: Five men were detained for police questioning after three people were found with their throats slit in a publishing house in eastern Turkey that prints Bibles and other Christian literature.

Turkish authorities said the five detained were three 19-year-olds and two 20-year-olds. None was identified further.

Several of the suspects were carrying weapons when they were apprehended, the authorities said. One had broken his leg in a jump or fall.

The publishing house, in Malatya, a town with a reputation for nationalism, has had trouble in the past over a shipment of Bibles that nationalists forcefully blocked.

As change opens up Turkish society, the country's nationalist fringe, dedicated to the ethnic and religious purity of the state, has been turning to violence. Hrant Dink, a Turkish journalist of Armenian descent who was killed in January in Istanbul, was one victim.

The trend is a concern for the government, whose prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has been pushing hard for Turkey's entry into the European Union. Some European politicians have opposed membership, arguing that Turkey does not fit in culturally or religiously.

The three victims in Malatya were found seated in chairs, their hands and feet bound, according to Halil Ibrahim Dasoz, a government official there. He spoke on NTV, a Turkish news channel. One did not die from his wounds until later, Dasoz said, adding that the victim had also been stabbed in the back and stomach.

The state-run Anatolian news agency identified the victims as Tilman Ekkehart Geske, 46; Necati Aydin, 35; and Ugur Yuksel, whose age was not given. The German ambassador to Turkey, Eckart xxxxz, said through a spokesman that one victim was a German citizen but he declined to give details.

The victims were evangelical Protestants, said an evangelical pastor in Istanbul, Carlos Madrigal, Reuters reported.

Malatya once had a heavy Armenian population. But in eastern Turkey, Armenians were driven out or killed in a series of purges culminating in 1915, when 1.5 million Armenians died.

Subsequently, nationalists were urged to settle in the area to preserve a Turkish identity there.

Mehmet Ali Agca, who tried to assassinate Pope John Paul II in 1981, was from Malatya, as was Dink, the outspoken journalist.

"Nationalism is on the rise in Turkey," said Ali Bulac, a Turkish newspaper columnist in Istanbul. "It stands against the U.S. and the EU."

Turkish nationalists boast of their Muslim identity, but often have as much in common with the secularists of the state elite as with Islamists. So it was not clear whether the suspects were motivated more by a dedication to Islam or a longing for a pure Turkish state.

The distinction is important because of the broad debate over the role of religion now roiling Turkish society. The discussion has become more shrill in recent weeks because the country faces an election to its presidency, the single most important post safeguarding secularism.

Erdogan, a former Islamist who has moderated his views considerably, may try to compete for the presidency, a possibility that has thrown some secularists into a panic.

[Joseph]

Others debate the killings

http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/016106.php#comments

[Joseph]

Yet another Armenian reference

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/19/world/europe/19turkey.html?em&ex=1177128000&en=4bb81b604732ee94&ei=5087%0A

The New York Times

3 Evangelicals Found Slain in East Turkey


By SABRINA TAVERNISE
Published: April 19, 2007
ISTANBUL, April 18 — Three people were found with their throats slit in a publishing house in eastern Turkey that printed Bibles and other Christian literature, the authorities said Wednesday. One victim was a German citizen.


Osman Orsal/Reuters
Protesters in Istanbul marched Wednesday with placards reading “Let’s defend living together,” after the killing of three evangelicals in the east.
Turkish authorities detained five men for questioning, three 19-year-olds and two 20-year-olds; the five were not identified. The publishing house, in Malatya, a town with a reputation for nationalism, has had trouble in the past over a shipment of Bibles, and it seemed likely that the attackers had a nationalist agenda.

Change is opening up Turkish society, and the country’s nationalist fringe, for whom the ethnic and religious purity of the Turkish state is worth killing for, has been turning to violence more often. Hrant Dink, a Turkish journalist of Armenian descent, who was killed in January in Istanbul, was one of the victims. A Roman Catholic priest was another.

The trend worries the government, whose prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has been pushing hard for Turkey’s entry into the European Union. Some European politicians have opposed membership, arguing that Turkey does not fit in culturally or religiously.

The three victims in Malatya were found seated in chairs, their hands and feet bound, Halil Ibrahim Dasoz, a government official there, said in comments on NTV, a Turkish news channel. One did not die from his wounds until later; he had also been stabbed in the back and stomach.

The state-run Anatolian news agency identified the victims as Tilman Ekkehart Geske, 46; Necati Aydin, 35; and Ugur Yuksel, whose age was not given. The German ambassador to Turkey, Eckart xxxxz, said through a spokesman that one victim was a German citizen but he declined to give details.

The victims were evangelical Protestants, said an evangelical pastor in Istanbul, Carlos Madrigal, who said he knew them, Reuters reported.

The killings took place in the building where the publishing house was based, the Turkish interior minister, Abdulkadir Aksu, said at a news conference.

Several of the suspects were carrying weapons when they were apprehended, the authorities said. One had broken his leg in a jump or fall. NTV broadcast images of authorities rushing several young men down the stairwell of a building.

The recent nationalist attacks are ghosts from Turkey’s past. Malatya once had a heavy Armenian population. But in eastern Turkey, Armenians were driven out or killed in a series of purges culminating in the 1915 genocide, in which 1.5 million Armenians died. Subsequently, nationalists were urged to settle in the area to preserve a Turkish identity there.

Mehmet Ali Agca, who tried to assassinate Pope John Paul II in 1981, was from Malatya, as was Mr. Dink, the outspoken journalist.

“Nationalism is on the rise in Turkey,” said Ali Bulac, a Turkish newspaper columnist in Istanbul. “It stands against the U.S. and the E.U.”

The publishing house had changed its name recently after trouble with nationalists who had forcefully blocked a shipment of Bibles, said Meftun Kilinc, a reporter from ERTV, a station in Malatya, who spoke in a telephone interview. She said the new name was the Zirve Publishing House.

Turkish nationalists boast of their Muslim identity, but often have just as much in common with the secularists of the state elite as with Islamists. So it was not clear whether the suspects were motivated more by a dedication to Islam or a longing for a pure Turkish state.

The distinction is important because of the broad debate over the role of religion now roiling Turkish society. The discussion has become more shrill in recent weeks because the country faces an election to its presidency, the single most important post safeguarding secularism.

Prime Minister Erdogan, a former Islamist who has moderated his views considerably, may try to compete for the presidency, a possibility that has thrown some secularists into a panic.

Sebnem Arsu contributed reporting.

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