Gay Turkish youths are being forced to prove their sexuality to avoid being conscripted into the army. There are no specific anti-gay laws in Turkey, but out gay men aren't welcome in the military, giving them little encouragement to carry out the duty their country requires of them.
In an interview with the BBC, Armagan Kuloglu, a retired Turkish army general, said openly gay servicemen would create "disciplinary problems" and disruptive and expensive "separate facilities, separate dormitories [and] training areas" to be built.
"When someone comes out and says he is gay, then the army needs to make sure that he is truly gay, and not simply lying to evade his mandatory duty to serve in the military," he said.Gay men looking for an exemption certificate (a "pink certificate") on the grounds of homosexuality say they must submit evidence of their sexuality to army officials. They have been forced to submit explicit photos of themselves having sex with other men.
Turkey's military still defines homosexuality as an illness, referencing an American Psychiatric Association guide written in 1968.
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