ATHENS - Greece officially does not want gays in its armed forces, excluding both those serving under its compulsory conscription system and those enlisting voluntarily, the Greek armed forces general staff said on Tuesday.
The Greek army bars gays from its ranks under a 2002 presidential decree which excludes from military service all persons ”suffering from psycho-sexual or sexual identity disorders,” a general staff source told AFP.
The confirmation came as the country’s gay community (Eok) on Tuesday filed a complaint against the Greek defence and transport ministries, arguing that this “fascist” statute is now preventing them from obtaining drivers’ licenses as well.
A certificate testifying that a conscript has completed his military service -- which is compulsory for all Greek males -- is among the required paperwork for a driver’s license in Greece, observed Eok member Vangelis Iannelos.
Iannelos pointed to the case of a gay man who was recently told by the transport ministry to attend a six-month psychiatric treatment course if he wanted to obtain a driver’s license.
Iannelos’ own army certificate, issued in 1996, noted that he ”suffers from homosexual behaviour”, he said.
At the behest of Greece’s personal data watchdog, such details are no longer inscribed on the army certificate.
But as the same document is given to all cases exempt from army service, “homosexuals are placed in the same bag with psychotics,” Iannelos told AFP.
In February 2006, the Greek state committee on human rights, an official advisor to the prime minister, had demanded steps to end anti-gay discrimination in the country. No such measures have been taken.
(source:Khaleejtimes.com)
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