VZCZCXYZ0003
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHIT #0169 1360746
ZNR UUUUU ZZH (CCY AD672D8F WSC6226-695)
P 160746Z MAY 09
FM AMCONSUL ISTANBUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8948
INFO RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RHMFISS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RUEUITH/ODC ANKARA TU

UNCLAS ISTANBUL 000169 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
C O R R E C T E D COPY CAPTION 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL TU OSCE
SUBJECT: MIXED MESSAGES: RESPONDING TO HOMOSEXUALITY IN 
TURKEY 
 
REF: 08 ISTANBUL 452 
 
¶1. (U) Summary. Turkey is confronting conflicting cultural 
and moral ideals as it continues down the road of modernity. 
On May 14, daily "Milliyet" reported that a moderate 
columnist from "Zaman" linked homosexuality with massacres in 
Iraq and Afghanistan in a televised statement during which he 
criticized restrictions on hate speech based on sexual 
orientation.  Another piece in "Hurriyet" covered the 
professional restrictions faced by a soccer referee who 
openly announced his homosexuality.  Both examples of state 
and social prejudice follow the unprecedentedly liberal 
decision by an Ankara high court, finding an Istanbul gay and 
bisexual support group not in violation of public morality. 
End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) "Zaman" columnist Ali Bulac linked massacres in Iraq 
and Afghanistan with homosexuality during a live interview on 
CNN Turk on May 13. Citing suicide bombings in Iraq and 
Afghanistan, Bulac said "as homosexuality grows, massive 
killings of people also grow. There is a proportional 
relationship between homosexuality and civilian massacres 
during wars."  Reported in "Milliyet" as having a 
"respectable" reputation among liberals in Turkey, Bulac also 
criticized the 2004 amendment to the Turkish criminal code 
which restricts hate speech based on sexual orientation.  "If 
people have a right to decide their sexual preference, there 
should be a right to criticize this as well," he argued. 
 
¶3. (U) Responding to Bulac's statements, the Association for 
Gay and Lesbian Cultural Studies and Solidarity (KAOS-GL) 
criticized this "dangerous approach" that focused not on the 
fact that civilians were killed but on the sexuality of the 
killer.  Professors of psychology at several Istanbul 
universities noted that there is no literature that shows a 
correlation between "sexual preferences and tendency for 
massacres" and condemned additional prejudices against 
homosexuals. 
 
¶4. (U) Prejudice permeates even the ranks of professional 
soccer in Turkey.  On May 14, "Hurriyet" covered the story of 
a soccer referee who was not assigned to games by the 
Referees Committee because he publically announced his 
homosexuality.  Officials from the Committee denied the 
allegation, and argued that the referee was not assigned 
because he had failed to complete his military service, a 
requirement mandated by the Committee by-laws. The "Hurriyet" 
story pointed out the flaw in the Committee's reasoning: the 
referee was exempted from military service under a legal 
provision that allows homosexuals to be exempted so long as 
they have a medical report documenting their homosexuality. 
The referee has promised to challenge the decision in court. 
 
¶5. (U) These examples of rights abuses contrast starkly with 
a liberal decision by an Ankara high court on November 25, 
2008 ruling against the closure of Lambda Istanbul - a gay 
and bisexual rights organization. The case, which had begun 
in a local Istanbul court in May 2006, ended with the court's 
decision stating, "sexual identity and orientation is not 
something individuals choose but it is brought from birth or 
acquired from the way of upbringing, hence it is something 
individuals do not control." 
 
¶6. (SBU) Comment. In an atypical judicial outcome, the Ankara 
court delivered a verdict on the appeals case that seems 
counter to general societal norms.  In addition to mentioning 
the constitutional guarantee for equality before the law 
"regardless of race, ethnicity, religion or sex," the court's 
verdict referenced the European Convention on Human Rights, 
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and other 
international agreements.  Such confrontations between ideals 
will only grow in number as Turkey grapples with the 
implications of modernity and openness in what is still a 
conservative culture.  End Comment. 
Wiener