Turkey

18/04/1997

1 Conscription

conscription exists

According to art. 72 of the 1982 constitution - which was passed after the 1980 military coup - all Turkish citizens must perform a so called 'fatherland service': "Fatherland service is the right and duty of every Turk. How this service in the armed forces or in the public sector is carried out or is supposed to be carried out, is prescribed by law."

This means the Turkish Constitution leaves it up to the legislator how 'fatherland service' is carried out. In theory, it can be non-military service.

In Turkish law 'fatherland service' is prescribed by the Law on Military Service (Law No. 1111) and the Law for Reserve Officers and Reserve Military Servants (Law No. 1076). Art. 1 of the Law on Military Service specifies that all males who are citizens of the Turkish Republic, must receive armed military training, irrespective of their age. Law No. 1111 was enacted in 1927 and states that 'fatherland service' is compulsory military service, so refusal to perform 'fatherland service' is a crime punishable by the military penal code. [3]

Law 1111 was changed in 1992 when Law 3802 came into force on 1 June 1992. Amendments to the law on 19 February 1994 created further changes. [5]

Although this is officially denied, Turkey is in fact in state of war with the PKK guerrillas.

military service

Military service is compulsory for all men aged over 20. In practice men older than 46 are no longer called. All military duties come to an end when they reach this age. [1]

Military service lasts is 18 months. When the law was altered on 19 February 1994 the length of service again became 18 months; beforehand it had temporarily been fixed, by a special regulation, at 15 months. Duration of service can be extended for unit of those called up at the same time. There have been cases of groups of conscripts who have been told three days before their service was due to end that they would have to serve for a further three months. [3] [6]

Apparently, there are no regulations that permit to perform an entirely unarmed service, but after completing the basic military training conscripts may spend the rest of their service period working for local authorities or in hospitals. [4]

Conscripts can be called into active service until they are 45. If the military is short of soldiers, reservists can be called up. There is no training for reservists. [1] [6]

postponement and exemption

There are many means of deferring military service. University students can get postponement in order to study. Delay is possible for a maximum of 6 years, until the conscript is 29. After that further postponement is allowed only for post-graduate education for at most 4 years. [1]

Exemption from service is granted only to unfit conscripts. A military doctor can declare a conscript unfit for military service.

Until recently, the only legal way of getting out of military service was by buying oneself out. For this option, the Turkish authorities use the misleading term 'alternative service'. But when the law changed on 19 February 1994 this was allowed only to Turks living abroad. When the sum of 10,000 DEM is paid - either all at once or else in stages up to the age of 38 - conscripts who are legally remaining abroad may abbreviate their service to a month's basic military training. Most of the Turks residing in Germany and the Netherlands buy themselves out. They are all called up to perform the basic military training in the barracks of Burdur. Apparently, the military training they receive resembles a training in patriotism. For many it is a brainwashing experience. In this way, the Turkish Ministry of Defence must annually receive more than 1.5 million German Marks in foreign currency, peace activists have estimated. [5]

Special exemption regulations can apply, depending on the current political situation. Sometimes this may mean an individual can get complete exemption by paying a much higher sum. Certain professional groups (for example doctors, teachers, and civil-servants) may be permitted to perform special service. Teachers, for instance, willing to take a job in the south-east, are exempt from military service. No special regulations apply to clergy. [6]

It is an open secret in Turkey that many local officials can be bribed; frequently conscripts with a money manage to avoid military service by bribing them.

recruitment

All Turkish men are registered for the draft when they become 19. In the cities police call at potential conscripts officially registered addresses to hand out summons to appear at the local police station. They are taken to the military recruitment office where they are registered as conscripts. In the villages the gendarmerie performs this task. Owing to incomplete registration, some men - sometimes all the men in a village - are not registered as conscripts at all. [5]

When they are 20 they have a medical examination. When declared fit, they get a military identity card and a call-up notice. The former are delivered in many ways. Some receive a call-up notice, but often the call-up is announced in the local press, or else orally. According to the law, giving a call-up notice to a conscript's uncle has been considered a legally valid way of informing a conscript that he is being called up. Traditionally call-up is a kind of ceremony: all boys of a certain age leave home to become men. [5]

There are many reported cases of conscripts being threatened by police not to try to avoid military service.

2 Conscientious objection

legal right

Although art. 24.1 of the Turkish Constitution guarantees the right to freedom of conscience, there is no legal right to conscientious objection and no civilian substitute service is available. There is not even the right to perform unarmed service.

The Turkish Military Penal Code includes a special anti-CO article - art. 45, Punishment of Acts of Conscience: "Whenever a person objects to an action or to performing an action for reasons of conscience or belief, this does not inhibit sentencing."

This article states that no-one may be exempted on religious or conscientious grounds and that such grounds do not preclude punishment. Juridically, this anti-CO article can hardly be justified because of art. 24.1 of the Turkish Constitution that guarantees freedom of conscience and belief. Owing to this article, a Jehovah's Witness, refusing to obey an order he considered contrary to his religious faith, was sentenced on 5 June 1975. [3]

As there is no legal provision for conscientious objection, COs are treated as draft evaders and deserters and face strong repression.

overt conscientious objection

Anyone taking a public CO-stand faces a different situation. Ever since 1990 some Turks have publicly declared their opinion against the armed forces and military service. A few announced they are conscientious objectors. Some thirty people are involved, fourteen of whom actually live in Turkey. Although their motives may differ, they are all against the use of military force. Some of them base their conscientious objection on the fact that the Turkish armed forces are suppressing the Kurdish minority rights. Others are motivated by pure pacifist, non-violent convictions ('all wars are dirty wars').

With the call-up of conscientious objector Osman Murat Ülke because of his transgression of art. 155 of TCK a new phase seemed to have begun. On 1 September 1995 Osman Murat Ülke in the course of a press-conference burned his call-up papers and military passport, declaring he was not a soldier and never would be one. On 7 October 1996 he was arrested. 28 January 1997 he was sentenced under art. 155 to six months' imprisonment. Meanwhile he was forced to enlist in the armed forces, where he disobeyed orders. He was charged under art. 87 of TACK and on 6 March 1997 was sentenced to five months' imprisonment. [5] [6]

A fresh trial began on 3 April 1997. He was charged with desertion (art. 66.1a), for using tricks to avoid military service (art. 81.1), for draft evasion (art. 63.1a) and for not joining his unit in time (art. 63.1b). On 23 October 1997 he was sentenced to 10 months' imprisonment and fined for desertion and persistent disobedience. Although he had already served 40 percent of this sentence and should normally have been released, he was again accused of 'desertion' and kept in jail. [6]

3 Draft evasion and desertion

Many articles of the Turkish Military Penal Code (TACK) deal with draft evasion, refusal to perform military service and desertion.

penalties for draft evasion

According to art. 63.1a, those who evade the draft or desert from the army in peacetime receive a prison sentence of

- 1 month, for those who report within 7 days;

- 3 months, for those arrested within 7 days;

- 3 months to a year, for those who report voluntarily within three months;

- 4 months to a year and a half, for those arrested within three months;

- 4 months to 2 years, for those who report voluntarily after three months;

- 6 months to 3 years house of correction, for those arrested after three months.

By the alteration of law on 19 February 1994 - which came into force on 19 June 1994 - all normal prison sentence were to be replaced by heavy sentences (house of correction).

Art. 63.1b states that those who respond to the call-up late and those arrested while deserting, may be punished by a month's to a year's imprisonment.

Art. 64 prescribes sentences for failing to respond to a reservist officers' and reservist military officials' call-up.

Refusal to register for the draft, refusal to undergo medical examination, evading the draft and desertion are all criminal offenses without limitation. All military duties and voluntary commitments, stand exist until they have been completely fulfilled (art. 49.A).

penalties for disobedience (insubordination)

Soldiers' disobedience usually leads to disciplinary sentences. Persistent disobeyers may be sentenced to a maximum of 2 years' imprisonment (art. 87). Disobedience in front of an assembly of troops, being absent without leave or disobedience during an arms training are all punishable by 3 to 5 years' imprisonment (art. 88).

In wartime the prison sentences are longer.

Art. 14 of TACK is noteworthy. It distinguishes between normal insubordination and insubordination committed in front of an assembly of seven or more soldiers, which is much more severely punished.

penalties for desertion

Those on active service who are absent without leave for more than six days may be sentenced to one to three years' imprisonment. The same sentence can be handed down to those who return from leave to barracks more than six days late. Repeated desertion or desertion during military exercises is punishable by no less than 2 years' imprisonment (art. 66).

Those who desert and go abroad without permission and do not return within three days may be punished by 3 to 5 years' imprisonment. Aggravating circumstances may mean that they get 5 to 10 years' imprisonment; so do officers and military officials guilty of desertion (art. 67).

Art. 68 and 70 prescribe sentences for deserters who report voluntarily and groups of soldiers who desert.

penalties for other criminal offenses

Art. 58 - Undermining the national will to resist - enables criminal offenses cited in art. 155 of the Turkish Penal Code ('Alienating the people from the army') to be sentenced by military court under art. 58 of TACK.

Art. 96 - Alienating the people from the army - is similar to art. 155 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK). Since December 1993 offenses by civilians set forth in art. 155 of TCK have been dealt by the Military Court in Ankara. The military judges consider breaches of art. 155 of TCK a breach of art. 58 and 96 of TACK, and they have sentenced various civilians for this. This strongly suggests that Turkey is in state of war. [3]

practice

In December 1993 Minister of Defence Mehmet Gölhan estimated the number of draft evaders and deserters to be 250,000. According to an estimate by ISKD, the Association of War Resisters in Izmir, as many as 400,000 people may have been involved in 1995.

Little is known about the major group of draft evaders or about deserters. They are conscripts who find themselves unable to bear army life any longer and quit. There is also a sizeable group of conscripts of Kurdish origin who, when faced with the war in the south-east, crossed over and joined the PKK-forces. In the south-east where the state of emergency is permanent, it is virtually impossible for young men to remain neutral. Deserting from the Turkish armed forces in this region in effect implies supporting the PKK - the only way to survive. Evading the draft inevitably means fleeing from the area.

Many deserters are inmates in the Mamak military prison in Ankara. For deserters it is not easy to remain in hiding in Turkey. If there are identity-checks, they risk getting caught, as identity-cards bear military registration-numbers. Many try to escape abroad.

For a long while no steps were taken against draft evaders as it was not practicable to do so and because the might of the armed forces was not seriously diminished by the number of draft evaders. Until in December 1993 Minister of Defence Mehmet Gölhan decided to stem this wholesale evasion of military service. The conscription-law was modified and an ultimatum was announced: the draft evaders were allowed three months in which to report voluntarily. Having paid a fine, they would then have to perform their service. Whoever disobeyed this injunction would be sent to prison, with the obligation to perform military service still standing. In mid-1994, the Ministry of Defence announced that 50,000 of the 250,000 military service evaders had reported. [5] [6] [2]

4 Forced recruitment by the PKK

The Turkish armed forces are in fact at war with PKK guerrillas in south-east Turkey. Many young men and women in this area are recruited by PKK. Even Kurds living in western Europe are recruited by PKK. There are reported cases of forced recruitment and of children under 18 serving in the PKK.

The PKK is even believed to have a military service law, by which all Kurdish youth aged 18 to 25 are conscripted in the PKK army. [8]

6 Annual statistics

The Turkish armed forces comprise 639,000 troops, which is 1.02 percent of the population. Every year about 640,000 young men reach conscription age. There are 450,000 conscripts in the armed forces. [7]

Sources

[1] Information from the Turkish Consulate, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 1997. [2] Suphi, Michael 1994. Faraç, a report from the Turkish torture-chambers. EPO, Berchem, Belgium. [3] Hür, Ahmet 1995. Das Militärstrafgesetz in Bezug auf die Verweigerung des Kriegsdienstes & Die Militärgerichtsbarkeit, Türkische Gesetzgebung. DFG-VK NRW, Dortmund, Germany. (Translated from original: Askeri Yargi, Türk Hukuk Mevzuatinda' and 'Silahli Askeri Egitime Karsi Vicdani Red Hakki, Türk Hukuk Mevzuatinda', both published by Izmir Savas Karsitlari Dernegi, Izmir). [4] Schmid, G. 1994. Wehr- und Zivildienst in Europäischen Ländern, Informationen, Analysen, Unterrichtbausteine. Wochenschau Verlag, Schwalbach/Ts. [5] Essen, N. van, et al. 1995. Stop the war in Turkey, AMOK, Amsterdam, Netherlands. [6] ISKD newsletters, 1994-95 and other information from Izmir Savas Karsitlari Dernegi (ISKD), 1997. [7] Institute for Strategic Studies 1997. Military Balance 1997/98. ISS, London, UK. [8] Imset, Ismet G. 1995. Child soldiers in Turkey and the Kurdish Conflict, paper presented for the Quaker United Nations Office - Geneva. Edgware, Middlesex, UK.

Return to main menu