BBC documentary questions Turkish Army’s take on gays

‘Is it possible to prove one’s sexual orientation? And is it compatible with professional ethics for a military doctor to ‘diagnose’ someone as homosexual?’ asks Emre Azizlerli, producer and narrator of the BBC World Service’ documentary

“Young men are being seen off by their families to go and start their military service, which is compulsory for men in Turkey and is not taken lightly.” So begins The Pink Certificate, the BBC World Service’s recent hit radio documentary, which dissects the controversial procedures used to “diagnose” the homosexuality of gay potential conscripts and exempt them from military service: sending them home, instead, with the pink certificate.

The documentary was produced by the BBC’s Emre Azizlerli and Tim Mansel, and is narrated by Azizlerli himself, a Turkish journalist and producer, who came up with the idea for the documentary. He also researched it and arranged interviews with gay men who have been found exempt by the Turkish Army, and others who are waiting for the army to decide if they will be considered homosexual enough to qualify for exemption.

The Turkish Army refused to grant interviews or comments for the documentary, but the documentary also includes an interview with a retired general, as well as a psychiatrist who served in the army and whose duties included diagnosing homosexuality, now considered an outdated practice. “They are taking a huge step into manhood,” Azizlerli narrates, as families see their sons off to the military, and repeats a young man’s words of heated anticipation of the four years of military service ahead of him: “You cannot call a man a man until he goes to the army.”

Click here for full article (Hürriyet Daily News)