NEW TWISTS IN THE PLOT TO KILL THE POPE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000505120097-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 27, 2010
• Sequence Number: 97
• Publication Date: February 7, 1983
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/27: CIA-RDP90-00
A,MTI C.= :Z=
C. PAGE
ITALY
New Twists in the
Plot to Kill the Pope
As Italy presses the Bulgarian connec-
tion in the plot to kill the pope, the Reagan
administration is keeping mum. In Wash-
ington, officials continued to warn journal-
ists not to jump to conclusions, based on
circumstantial evidence, that Yuri Andro-
pov's KGB masterminded the affair. From
Rome, NBC complained that the CIA was
doing more than that: actively discouraging
journalists from pursuing leads in the case.
Whether that was true or not the adminis-
tration had a problem on its hands. If the
Italians make their case, the ensuing out-
rage would convulse East-West relations
and might scuttle any arms-control talks.
Ronald Reagan's reticence to speak out
on the case has left the Italian government
feeling a little isolated. Still, nothing seems
NE'17Sl+'....E' C
7 F"E"BRUARY 1983
to have stalled the probe itself. Sources close
to the investigation say that Musar Cedar
Celebi, a Turk who was extradited earlier
this month from West Germany by the
Italians, has now admitted that he met
Mehmet Ali Agca several times in Europe
and gave Agra money some time before the
shooting. Agca claims that Celebi was his
go-between with the Bulgarians in the plot.
Celebi counters that he gave money to Agca
just to help out a fellow countryman fallen
on hard times. Turks in Rome find Celebi's
explanation unconvincing because Agca
was well known in the community as an
escaped terrorist. Said one Turkish source:
"Why would he give money to Agca? Ev-
eryone knew who he was."
In another development, NBC News re-
ported that some of the same characters may
have plotted to kill Lech Walesa. During
Walesa's six-day visit to Rome in 1981,Agca
and Sergei Antonov supposedly met at the
Hotel Archimede to discussa hit on the Soli-
552R000505120097-4
darity leader. Giuseppe Consolo, Antonov's
lawyer, calls that charge "incredible" and
insists that "as Agca's position becomes
weaker, a new absurd story comes along."
The Bulgarian government, meanwhile,
has launched a public-relations campaign of
its own. In Sofia, The New York Times
interviewed some of the prime suspects in
the case: two former employees of the Bul-
garian embassy in Rome-Todor Aivazov
and Maj. Zhelyu Vasilev-and a Turkish
businessman and reputed drug-smuggler-
Bekir Celenk. Predictably, all protested
their innocence. "Do you really think I look
like a conspirator of murder?" asked a jovial
Aivazov. The suspects were in no danger of
extradition. In Rome, Antonov, a Bulgar-
ian airline official, stayed in jail. Magis-
trate Ilario Marcella, who beads the Ital-
ian investigation, recently turned down an
appeal by Antonov's lawyers, who contend-
ed that be should be set free for lack of
evidence. Bulgarian witnesses had claimed
that Antonov was in his office on the day
of the shooting. By rejecting their testimo-
ny, Marcella demonstrated his determina-
tion to press the case to its conclusion. Even
if the judge doesn't find Andropov's own
fingerprints on the plot, lingering suspi-
cions about KGB conspiracies are bound to
soil the new Soviet leaders image for some
time to come.
KIM ROGAL with ANDREW NAOORSKI m Rome
and DAVID C MARTIN m Washmpoo
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/27: CIA-RDP90-00552R000505120097-4