Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Popemobile too risky for Turkey visit

From The Australian, November 28, 2006, by Richard Owen and Suna Erdem ...

THE Vatican is so anxious about the Pope's safety during his trip to Turkey this week that it has vetoed use of the traditional Popemobile. Instead, Benedict XVI would travel in an armour-plated car, with several similar vehicles used as decoys....

Officials have also drawn up contingency plans for him to wear a bulletproof vest beneath his papal vestments, as Turkish authorities mount a huge security operation including rooftop snipers, special forces, helicopters and navy speedboats.

Before his first visit to a Muslim country, the Pope attempted to defuse further protests yesterday, sending "cordial greetings" of "esteem and sincere friendship" to "the dear Turkish people" ...

... in a conciliatory gesture to Muslims, the Pope had altered his official program to include a visit to the Blue Mosque, or Sultanahmet, in Istanbul.... ...In a reciprocal gesture, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan indicated that he would "find time" after all to meet the Pope today at Ankara airport. He insisted that his absence during the Pope's trip because of a NATO summit in Riga was not a "snub". The Pope was "welcome" in Turkey, "but whoever comes here must show respect for the Prophet Mohammed".

The exchanges reflect last-minute efforts on both sides to calm the tensions inflamed by the Pope's Regensburg speech in September, which referred to Islam as "evil" and "violent".
Cardinal Walter Kasper, head of the pontifical Council for Christian Unity, one of five cardinals accompanying the Pope, conceded the trip had become a "minefield".

.....Turkish police appealed for restraint at protests, saying they could harm the image of Turkey. But in Istanbul at the weekend, tens of thousands of protesters at a rally denounced the Pope as an enemy of Islam.....

The Times, AP

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