Source: Murat Gürgen, “‘Sakıncalı’ eşcinseller askere gitmeyecek!,” (“Objectionable homosexuals will not serve in the military!,”) Haberturk, 06 February 2013, http://www.haberturk.com/polemik/haber/817610-sakincali-escinseller-askere-gitmeyecek
And photos will not be required…
Alterations made in the Turkish Armed Forces Health Legislation have been published in the Official Gazette, the official publication of the Turkish state. A new regulation has been issued regarding the status of homosexuals, a topic which has recently been under heated debate. The new regulations state that if homosexual tendencies have been present throughout the individual’s life and if this situation can cause “objections” during his military service he would be given certificate being deemed “unfit to serve in the military” and exempted from service.
According to this regulation, the supplementary item of administrative instructions “The Appendix of Diseases and Disorders” has been renewed. The 17th clause of the instructions entitled “Psychosexual Disorders (homosexuality, transsexualism, transvestism)” has been revoked. The revoked clause had previously stated: “For those who are included in this clause, it is necessary to know their sexual behavioral disorders in the military environment due to possible objections, and to be confirmed either in the questionnaire of the unit or by official documents.”
In the new regulation, the title “Gender Identity and Behavioral Disorders” has been added to the procedures. Under this title the following regulation has been issued: “For someone to be included in this clause their gender identity and behavioral patterns must have been apparent to the highest degree for their entire life and it must be concluded that it would cause or has caused objections in the military environment.”
Photos will not be required.
Homosexual people had been complaining about the requirement of a photograph that was to be taken during sexual intercourse. However, there were not any items related to the requirement of photographic documentation in the earlier version of the regulations. In spite of that, it has been alleged that there had been a requirement in practice. Military sources that evaluated the new regulations stated that with the removal of the items that cause differences in interpretation, the practice of requiring “photographic evidence” will no longer continue. It has been stated that the expression of an “objectionable situation” means homosexual tendencies affect the lifestyle in the military unit negatively.