Greece does not want gays in its armed forces

(AFP)

28 March 2006

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:http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/March

The following is the goal of this thread (So, Don't be loser by taking off the topic ):

Well, homosexuality is unacceptable in Islam too, however, my question is, did (those who bark whenever similar issues appear and happen in the Islamic country) bark at this too? If so, please show me their barking, I am eager to see it. Thank you in advance.

NB: I already posted a thread about 2 free lessons to understand the meaning of (off topic and irrelevant) and how to post new thread you can find it right here (BTW: no fees)

Peace and love

Yours Sincerely,

Cat Stevens

Note: Silly, Irrelevant, and the like, responses, posts, comments will be ignored (it depends on my mood and time if I won't ignore them), taking off the topic is losers' style, ask yourself: will you write such response if the writer wasn't a Muslim!

well that's the traditions of the spartans finally buggered (hehe) then.....

German Government: “Treat Gays As Equals”
GERMANY, Berlin - The German government said Thursday that homosexuality is no reason to reduce a soldier’s status or limit his responsibility.
The issue had arisen in the case of an officer who was reassigned from platoon leader to an office job after a background check revealed he is gay. He filed suit in Germany’s constitutional court last year against the move, and in April the defense ministry said he would be reinstated as platoon leader.

In a response to a question by the parliament faction of the Party of Democratic Socialism, the government reaffirmed that homosexuality is no “separate entry criterion” for military service. The defense ministry will also make it clear in army regulations the consequences of discrimination based on sexual orientation and offer advice for leaders in a brochure dealing with gay troops in the army.

Gays in Israeli Military Don’t Hurt Combat Readiness - Study
ISRAEL - The presence of gay and lesbian soldiers in the Israeli military does not affect combat readiness, unit cohesion, or military preparedness, a study by U.S. researchers has found.
The study, conducted by Aaron Belkin, director of the Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Melissa Levitt of ELM Research Associates, showed that “military performance did not decline” after the Israeli government allowed openly gay men and lesbians to join the services.

“In this country, the military ban is based on the idea that gays undermine performance and cohesion,” says Belkin. “The experience of foreign militaries shows that there is no evidence for this position.” Belkin said that even in the event of people’s coming out once they are in the services, “Israeli officials report no deterioration of unit cohesion or performance.”

The report’s conclusions are similar to those reached in a study of gay and lesbian personnel in Canada’s military.

Sex Change Pilot To Keep Flying
UNITED KINGDOM, London (AP) – A Royal Air Force flier who had a sex change operation will be allowed to continue flying as a woman, Britain's Ministry of Defense said Monday.
Flight Lt. Eric Cookson, 39, now Caroline Paige, is the only transsexual in the Royal Air Force, the ministry said.

The helicopter navigator is on sick leave recovering from the surgery, which cost $27,000, and will shortly take medical tests to ascertain whether she is fit to fly again, the ministry said.

In an interview with the mass-selling tabloid The Sun, the tall blonde now known to her friends as Caz said she had always felt like a woman.

"When I joined the RAF in 1980, I didn't encounter any problems because nobody suspected my inner feelings,'' she said. "But about two years ago, things got worse as I realized I was not living my true life – so I decided to do something about it. Now I can't wait to get back to flying.''

After signing up, the former Cookson trained as a navigator and flew regular missions in Phantom F4 and Hawk fighter planes before switching to helicopters in 1992, the Ministry of Defense said. Cookson served in Bosnia and the Persian Gulf.

Two years ago, Cookson told RAF doctors he wanted to change sex and was given permission to dress as a woman while he waited for surgery, which was performed May 10.

"This was all new ground to them because I am the first transsexual to declare myself,'' Paige told The Sun, adding that colleagues "have been very supportive and loyal.''

Gays No threat to Australia Military – U.S. Study
UNITED STATES, California, San Francisco (Reuters) – Australia's 1992 decision to allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in its armed forces has had no impact on military readiness, according to a new University of California study.
Aaron Belkin, director of the Centre for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military at U.C.-Santa Barbara, said the Australian results confirmed similar findings on gays serving in the Israeli and Canadian armed forces.

"Our research shows again and again that when (gay) bans are lifted, military performance does not decline,'' Belkin said on Wednesday. The United States has refused to lift its ban on openly gay troops, citing a danger to combat readiness and unit cohesion.

The United States and Turkey are the only members of NATO that still ban people who are openly homosexual from serving in their armed forces.

Britain ended its ban in January after the European Court of Human Rights ruled that it was a violation of European human rights treaties to discharge military personnel because of sexual orientation.

Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and the Scandinavian countries do not consider the sexual orientation of recruits or of military personnel on active duty.

The new California study, co-authored by Jason McNichol, a doctoral candidate at U.C.-Berkeley, involved interviews with Australian soldiers, academics and Defence Ministry representatives as well as reviews of all published material on the topic.

It concluded that despite initial concern among military leaders that ending the ban on gay soldiers would jeopardise recruitment, troop cohesion and combat effectiveness, the integration of openly homosexual soldiers since 1992 had proceeded smoothly and had virtually no widespread impact.

Indeed, the study concluded that many senior Australian military commanders believed the policy change had been a success that had helped to build "greater equity and effective working relationships within the ranks.''

Senior officials, commanders and scholars report that there has been no overall pattern of disruption to the Australian military, and the study noted that the new policy had been put to the combat test as openly gay and lesbian soldiers served in recent active deployments in East Timor.

Recruitment and retention rates had not suffered as a result of the policy change, the study concluded.

Belkin said that his institute did not take any official position in the U.S. debate over gays in the military, but added that it had sent copies of all its studies to the Pentagon for review.

"People who oppose lifting the ban almost always make the same arguments, and once the ban is lifted, they almost always change their minds,'' he said.

The complete study is available on the world wide web at: http://www.gaymilitary.ucsb.edu/australia_pub.htm

Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and the Scandinavian countries do not consider the sexual orientation of recruits or of military personnel on active duty.

Dumb Greeks.

Originally Posted by catstevens

The following is the goal of this thread (So, Don't be loser by taking off the topic ):

Well, homosexuality is unacceptable in Islam too, however, my question is, did (those who bark whenever similar issues appear and happen in the Islamic country) bark at this too? If so, please show me their barking, I am eager to see it. Thank you in advance.

i think that many would be 'barking at all cases'. no matter of the situation.
if you do not accept homosexuality, i personally think you are being SOO discriminatiary, i don't care if you are Muslim, Greek, Christian, African or anything, disagreeing and not accepting homosexuality, i take with no difference to racism.

I repsect religion, but have no respects for the part of religions that says homosexuality is unacceptable.

Na di cannot show you the barking, unless you give me the time in the world, to go around and talk to people. i live in a democracy, the people have the issues. i am so-called barking, so there is proof

Originally Posted by catstevens

(

Well, homosexuality is unacceptable in Islam too, however, my question is, did (those who bark whenever similar issues appear and happen in the Islamic country) bark at this too? If so, please show me their barking, I am eager to see it. Thank you in advance.

!

about this we dont accept Islam period.