Keep Us Strong WikiLeaks logo

Currently released so far... 97115 / 251,287

Articles

Browse latest releases

Browse by creation date

Browse by origin

A B C D F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

Browse by tag

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
ETRD EAGR ETTC EAID ECON EFIN ECIN EINV ELAB EAIR ENRG EPET EWWT ECPS EIND EMIN ELTN EC ETMIN EUC EZ ET ELECTIONS ENVR EU EUN EG EINT ER ECONOMICS ES EMS ENIV EEB EN ECE ECOSOC EK ENVIRONMENT EFIS EI EWT ENGRD ECPSN EXIM EIAD ERIN ECPC EDEV ENGY ECTRD EPA ESTH ECCT EINVECON ENGR ERTD EUR EAP EWWC ELTD EL EXIMOPIC EXTERNAL ETRDEC ESCAP ECO EGAD ELNT ECONOMIC ENV ETRN EIAR EUMEM ENRGPARMOTRASENVKGHGPGOVECONTSPLEAID EREL ECOM ECONETRDEAGRJA ETCC ETRG ECONOMY EMED ETR ENERG EITC EFINOECD EURM EENG ERA EXPORT ENRD ECONEINVETRDEFINELABETRDKTDBPGOVOPIC EGEN EBRD EVIN ETRAD ECOWAS EFTA ECONETRDBESPAR EGOVSY EPIN EID ECONENRG EDRC ESENV ETT EB ENER ELTNSNAR ECHEVARRIA ETRC EPIT EDUC ESA EFI ENRGY ESCI EE EAIDXMXAXBXFFR EETC ECIP EIAID EIVN EBEXP ESTN EING EGOV ETRA EPETEIND ELAN ETRDGK EAIDRW ETRDEINVECINPGOVCS EPEC ENVI ELN EAG EPCS EPRT EPTED ETRB EUM EAIDS EFIC EFINECONEAIDUNGAGM EAIDAR ESF EIDN ELAM EDU EV EAIDAF ECN EDA EXBS EINTECPS ENRGTRGYETRDBEXPBTIOSZ EPREL EAC EINVEFIN ETA EAGER EINDIR ECA ECLAC ELAP EITI EUCOM ECONEFINETRDPGOVEAGRPTERKTFNKCRMEAID EARG ELDIN EINVKSCA ENNP EFINECONCS EFINTS ECCP ETC EAIRASECCASCID EINN ETRP EAIDNI EFQ ECOQKPKO EGPHUM EBUD ECONEINVEFINPGOVIZ ENERGY ELB EINDETRD EMI ECONEFIN EIB EURN ETRDEINVTINTCS EIN EFIM ETIO ELAINE EMN EATO EWTR EIPR EINVETC ETTD ETDR EIQ ECONCS EPPD ENRGIZ EISL ESPINOSA ELEC EAIG ESLCO EUREM ENTG ERD EINVECONSENVCSJA EEPET EUNCH ECINECONCS ETRO ETRDECONWTOCS ECUN EFND EPECO EAIRECONRP ERGR ETRDPGOV ECPN ENRGMO EPWR EET EAIS EAGRE EDUARDO EAGRRP EAIDPHUMPRELUG EICN ECONQH EVN EGHG ELBR EINF EAIDHO EENV ETEX ERNG ED
KMDR KPAO KPKO KJUS KCRM KGHG KFRD KWMN KDEM KTFN KHIV KGIC KIDE KSCA KNNP KHUM KIPR KSUM KISL KIRF KCOR KRCM KPAL KWBG KN KS KOMC KSEP KFLU KPWR KTIA KSEO KMPI KHLS KICC KSTH KMCA KVPR KPRM KE KU KZ KFLO KSAF KTIP KTEX KBCT KOCI KOLY KOR KAWC KACT KUNR KTDB KSTC KLIG KSKN KNN KCFE KCIP KGHA KHDP KPOW KUNC KDRL KV KPREL KCRS KPOL KRVC KRIM KGIT KWIR KT KIRC KOMO KRFD KUWAIT KG KFIN KSCI KTFIN KFTN KGOV KPRV KSAC KGIV KCRIM KPIR KSOC KBIO KW KGLB KMWN KPO KFSC KSEAO KSTCPL KSI KPRP KREC KFPC KUNH KCSA KMRS KNDP KR KICCPUR KPPAO KCSY KTBT KCIS KNEP KFRDCVISCMGTCASCKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG KNNB KGCC KINR KPOP KMFO KENV KNAR KVIR KDRG KDMR KFCE KNAO KDEN KGCN KICA KIMMITT KMCC KLFU KMSG KSEC KUM KCUL KMNP KSMT KCOM KOMCSG KSPR KPMI KRAD KIND KCRP KAUST KWAWC KTER KCHG KRDP KPAS KITA KTSC KPAOPREL KWGB KIRP KJUST KMIG KLAB KTFR KSEI KSTT KAPO KSTS KLSO KWNN KPOA KHSA KNPP KPAONZ KBTS KWWW KY KJRE KPAOKMDRKE KCRCM KSCS KWMNCI KESO KWUN KPLS KIIP KEDEM KPAOY KRIF KGICKS KREF KTRD KFRDSOCIRO KTAO KJU KWMNPHUMPRELKPAOZW KEN KO KNEI KEMR KKIV KEAI KWAC KRCIM KWCI KFIU KWIC KCORR KOMS KNNO KPAI KBWG KTTB KTBD KTIALG KILS KFEM KTDM KESS KNUC KPA KOMCCO KCEM KRCS KWBGSY KNPPIS KNNPMNUC KWN KERG KLTN KALM KCCP KSUMPHUM KREL KGH KLIP KTLA KAWK KWMM KVRP KVRC KAID KSLG KDEMK KX KIF KNPR KCFC KFTFN KTFM KPDD KCERS KMOC KDEMAF KMEPI KEMS KDRM KEPREL KBTR KEDU KNP KIRL KNNR KMPT KISLPINR KTPN KA KJUSTH KPIN KDEV KTDD KAKA KFRP KWNM KTSD KINL KJUSKUNR KWWMN KECF KWBC KPRO KVBL KOM KFRDKIRFCVISCMGTKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG KEDM KFLD KLPM KRGY KNNF KICR KIFR KM KWMNCS KAWS KLAP KPAK KDDG KCGC KID KNSD KMPF KPFO KDP KCMR KRMS KNPT KNNNP KTIAPARM KDTB KNUP KPGOV KNAP KNNC KUK KSRE KREISLER KIVP KQ KTIAEUN KPALAOIS KRM KISLAO KWM KFLOA
PHUM PINR PTER PGOV PREL PREF PL PM PHSA PE PARM PINS PK PUNE PO PALESTINIAN PU PBTS PROP PTBS POL POLI PA PGOVZI POLMIL POLITICAL PARTIES POLM PD POLITICS POLICY PAS PMIL PINT PNAT PV PKO PPOL PERSONS PING PBIO PH PETR PARMS PRES PCON PETERS PRELBR PT PLAB PP PAK PDEM PKPA PSOCI PF PLO PTERM PJUS PSOE PELOSI PROPERTY PGOVPREL PARP PRL PNIR PHUMKPAL PG PREZ PGIC PBOV PAO PKK PROV PHSAK PHUMPREL PROTECTION PGOVBL PSI PRELPK PGOVENRG PUM PRELKPKO PATTY PSOC PRIVATIZATION PRELSP PGOVEAIDUKNOSWGMHUCANLLHFRSPITNZ PMIG PREC PAIGH PROG PSHA PARK PETER POG PHUS PPREL PS PTERPREL PRELPGOV POV PKPO PGOVECON POUS PGOVPRELPHUMPREFSMIGELABEAIDKCRMKWMN PWBG PMAR PREM PAR PNR PRELPGOVEAIDECONEINVBEXPSCULOIIPBTIO PARMIR PGOVGM PHUH PARTM PN PRE PTE PY POLUN PPEL PDOV PGOVSOCI PIRF PGOVPM PBST PRELEVU PGOR PBTSRU PRM PRELKPAOIZ PGVO PERL PGOC PAGR PMIN PHUMR PVIP PPD PGV PRAM PINL PKPAL PTERE PGOF PINO PHAS PODC PRHUM PHUMA PREO PPA PEPFAR PGO PRGOV PAC PRESL PORG PKFK PEPR PRELP PREFA PNG PGOVPHUMKPAO PRELECON PINOCHET PFOR PGOVLO PHUMBA PRELC PREK PHUME PHJM POLINT PGOVPZ PGOVKCRM PGOVE PHALANAGE PARTY PECON PEACE PROCESS PLN PRELSW PAHO PEDRO PRELA PASS PPAO PGPV PNUM PCUL PGGV PSA PGOVSMIGKCRMKWMNPHUMCVISKFRDCA PGIV PRFE POGOV PEL PBT PAMQ PINF PSEPC POSTS PHUMPGOV PVOV PHSAPREL PROLIFERATION PENA PRELTBIOBA PIN PRELL PGOVPTER PHAM PHYTRP PTEL PTERPGOV PHARM PROTESTS PRELAF PKBL PRELKPAO PKNP PARMP PHUML PFOV PERM PUOS PRELGOV PHUMPTER PARAGRAPH PERURENA PBTSEWWT PCI PETROL PINSO PINSCE PQL PEREZ PBS

Browse by classification

Community resources

courage is contagious

Viewing cable 04ISTANBUL432, TERROR STRIKES ISTANBUL MASONIC LODGE

If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs

Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:
  • The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
  • The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
  • The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.
To understand the justification used for the classification of each cable, please use this WikiSource article as reference.

Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #04ISTANBUL432.
Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
04ISTANBUL432 2004-03-22 07:29 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Consulate Istanbul
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ISTANBUL 000432 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER PHUM PREL TU
SUBJECT: TERROR STRIKES ISTANBUL MASONIC LODGE 
 
REF: ISTANBUL 375 
 
 
1. (SBU) Summary: On March 9, a botched suicide attack 
against an Istanbul Masonic lodge left 2 dead and 7 wounded 
(reftel).  Investigations continue, but police statements and 
assorted press reports suggest that there may have been a 
network of planners and accomplices, as well as connections 
to a murder last year and possibly even to the November 
bombings of two Istanbul synagogues, the British Consulate 
and the HSBC building (Note: Istanbul police have not 
confirmed the latter).  Meetings with representatives of the 
Masons and Turkey's Jewish Community indicate a shared 
perception that "Islamic" terrorists have targeted their 
institutions.  End Summary. 
 
 
2. (SBU) Witnesses report that on March 9, 2 suicide bombers 
entered the Free Mason temple in Yakacik in the Kartal 
district of Istanbul, shot a security guard, and, while 
shouting Islamic slogans, opened fire on a Masonic lodge 
assembled for dinner.  Police report that 4 of 14 bombs 
strapped to the bombers then exploded, killing one bomber and 
a waiter, and injuring the other bomber and several Masons. 
The bomber who survived the attack is in stable condition in 
police custody.  The investigation has led to over a dozen 
arrests.  Police have linked one of the weapons used in the 
attack to the murder last year of a Jewish dentist.  One of 
the men arrested has since "confessed" to the murder. 
Istanbul police contacts told us that this suspect was also 
responsible for building the bombs used on March 9.  Some of 
those involved (including the dead bomber) reportedly 
received terrorist training in Afghanistan and Pakistan. 
Another man arrested since the bombings (at the airport about 
to board a flight to Pakistan) was also wanted in connection 
with the November bombings (our police contacts could not 
confirm any direct connection, however, between this latest 
attack and those earlier bombings).  The Governor announced 
last week that, in the course of this investigation, police 
had uncovered and thwarted a plan to conduct another bombing 
(note: unconfirmed press reports suggest that the target was 
a television network, aTV, perhaps chosen because of its 
"Jewish financing."  aTV is owned by Dinc Bilgin, who, 
according to our Jewish community contacts, may, in fact, be 
a "secret" Sabbatai Jew). 
 
 
Turkey's Long Masonic History 
----------------------------- 
3. (SBU) A senior local member of the Free Masons told poloff 
that the Masons have been active in Turkey for most of the 
last two hundred years.  With 13,000 active members and 
almost 200 lodges, there are Masons in almost every major 
Turkish city.  The largest concentration is in Istanbul where 
there are 108 lodges that operate out of three temples that 
also serve as community centers and gathering places (Note: 
"lodges" refer to groups of Masons who typically meet once 
every two weeks at one of the temples).  The recent attack 
took place at one of the three temples where one of the 
lodges was assembled for dinner. 
 
 
4. (SBU) During the Ottoman period, the Masons are believed 
to have supported the "tanzimat" (reformation) movement in 
the late 19th century and the "Young Turk" movement in the 
early 20th century.  Key "Young Turks," including Talat Pasa, 
Enver Pasa, and Cemal Pasa, were all reportedly Masons 
themselves.  Additionally, many of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's 
advisers may also have been Masons.  Our contact confirmed 
these rumors and argued that as a result of their support for 
these democratic and pro-Western reforms, Turkish Masons have 
been seen as "enemies" by "fundamentalist Islamists."  This 
antipathy increased markedly over the last 30 years. 
Necmettin Erbakan and others close to him espoused 
anti-Masonic messages as they worked to develop successive 
Islamic political parties. 
 
 
5. (SBU) The secretive nature of the Turkish Masons ("even 
more so than in the U.S., our contact noted) has generated an 
image problem for them in Turkey.  In 1999, the then-Grand 
Master launched a public campaign to address this problem 
(this included a public exhibit and television interviews, 
one of which was re-aired last week), but successive leaders 
have attached less importance to this issue.  In general, our 
contact believes that educated Turks are either "pro-Mason" 
or "neutral," and that their principal problem is the 
"anti-Islamic" accusations that have poisoned their 
reputation with the more extreme Islamic elements of society. 
 
 
Zionists?  A Jewish Connection... 
--------------------------------- 
6. (SBU) Forensic evidence linked one of the weapons used in 
the attack to the murder of a Jewish dentist in Istanbul last 
year.  One of the people subsequently arrested as a part of 
the ongoing police investigation "confessed" to the murder. 
Many Turks here are under the impression that Masons are 
"pro-Zionist," a fact bolstered by the large number of 
conspiracy theory-style Turkish books on that subject. 
Jewish Community Vice President Lina Filiba confirmed the 
widespread nature of such impressions.  She told poloff the 
Masonic lodge bombing (and its link to the murder of a Jewish 
dentist) and last year's bombing of two Istanbul synagogues 
have underlined a pervasive fear in Turkey's Jewish Community 
that, after 50 years of largely avoiding tensions between 
Israel and Muslim populations, Turkey's Jews are now being 
directly targeted.  The fact that the terrorists, fed a 
steady diet of misinformation, confused the Masonic Lodge 
with a Jewish target is no comfort, Filiba added.  Now very 
concerned with the physical security of their gathering 
places, the Jewish Community leadership is struggling to take 
precautions and reduce their exposure to potential attacks. 
 
 
7. (SBU) Last year's bombings of the synagogues, the British 
Consulate, and the HSBC building were a wake-up call for the 
Masons as well.  Our Turkish Mason contact told us that the 
Masons received reports from the police of an anonymous 
caller "threatening to attack more Masonic targets" when he 
called to claim credit for the British bombings.  In response 
to this and other threats, the Istanbul police added security 
details to their sites, but our contact noted ironically that 
because the police worked from "9 to 5," they were never in 
position to protect the Masonic temples during the busy 
evening periods.  Since the latest attacks, however, he 
admitted that police security has been provided around the 
clock. 
 
 
8. (SBU) Although the damage from this attack was limited, 
our contact was careful to note that news reports of 
"incompetence" on the part of "amateur" terrorists were 
incorrect.  His understanding of the attack (from the police 
and from witnesses) was that after shooting the private 
security guard, the terrorists entered the large garden 
courtyard and opened fire on the glass wall separating the 
courtyard from the restaurant.  Before they could reach the 
restaurant, however, one of the bombs detonated prematurely, 
killing one terrorist and incapacitating the other, before 
the remainder of the bombs could be manually detonated 
(presumably inside the building itself).  As a result, the 
damage was minimal and only those closest to the courtyard 
were injured. 
 
 
Comment 
------- 
9. (SBU) Investigations into the attack continue, but early 
indications suggest that there was a network of planners and 
accomplices (some of whom may have trained in Pakistan and 
Afghanistan) and a connection with last year's murder of a 
Jewish dentist.  Whether there was a connection with last 
year's synagogue and British Consulate bombings remains to be 
seen.  In any case, the Jewish community and the Masons are 
convinced that there is a network of local extremists that 
remains committed to targeting their communities and anyone 
they deem to be working against the interests of Islam. 
ARNETT