Solidarity with Mehemet Tarhan

Mehemet Tarhan was taken into custody on April 8, 2005 on the grounds that he was a “military service deserter,” and transferred in the accompaniment of the gendarme to Tokat 48th Infantry Regiment. He had declared his conscientious objection on October 27, 2001 at the Ankara branch of IHD(Human Rights Association).

On April 10, 2005, Sivas Military court filed a lawsuit against Mehmet Tarhan on the charge of “insistent insubordination before the unit with the intent of evading military service altogether” (Article 88 of the Military Criminal Code) after he refused “to wear military uniform.”

Mehmet Tarhan was kept in Sivas Military Prison from April 20–26, 2005 for examination about his homosexuality and his psychiatric condition. But Tarhan refused examination, defining the “unfit for service” report (widely known as “rotten” report) as the “rottenness of the militaristic order itself.”.

It was understood that from the day Mehmet Tarhan was imprisoned until May 19, 2005, he was constantly threatened, harassed, subject to blackmail and beatings by other inmates (who were encouraged by some people from the prison administration). Tarhan’s lawyers applied to the Military Prosecutor about these atrocities. Also shortly after the atrocities were revealed to the press and public opinion, on May 25, 2005 Tarhan’s hair and beard were violently and forcefully shaved by 7 soldiers. Tarhan who sustained injuries during these events went on a hunger strike with the demands of “Protesting the unfair and inhumane treatment he received, legal action against the perpetrators, civilian doctor’s examination, having the same rights as all the other prisoners.” This hunger strike lasted for 28 days.

On June 9, 2005'te the third hearing of the case was held and Tarhan was released in order to be tried free. But the vicious cycle of Military Recruitment center, Military Unit, Military Prison was put to work again and Tarhan was sent once again to the Tokat Infantry Regiment escorted by the gendarme. As he again refused to wear military uniform, a second lawsuit was filed on June 10, 2005 on the charge of “insistent insubordination before the unit with the intent of evading military service altogether.”

On August 10, 2005 the cases were concluded and Mehmet Tarhan was sentenced to 4 years (2 years for each case) in prison. The decision was appealed.
On September 30, 2005, Tarhan’s hair and beard were again forcefully and violently shaved by 7-8 soldiers. After this torture, Tarhan went on another indefinite hunger strike with the following demands: “Protesting the unfair and inhumane treatment he received, legal action against the perpetrators, civilian doctor’s examination, having the same rights as all the other prisoners.” After the negotiations by his lawyers, his demands were met on November 2, 2005 and he ended his hunger strike.

On October 26, 2005, a delegation from Human Rights Association, visited Tarhan and gathered information about the marks of violence on his body, the prison conditions and the torture.

On October 31, 2005 two doctors from the Sivas Doctor’s Association met face to face with Tarhan, and although they could not medically examine him, they got information. From October 31, 2005 on, as a result of the negotiation efforts from Mehmet’s lawyers, agreement was reached about his demands.

On November 2, 2005 his statement in relation to the complaint was taken by the Military Prosecutor. And on the same day, he ended his hunger strike.

Mehmet Tarhan´s Declaration of Conscientous Objection

The bombs that rained on the Afghan people today are claimed to be in relation to the death of thousands of people because of planes that crashed into the Twin Towers and the whole world is thus expected to take part in this attack. I abhor all kinds of violence, I believe that participating or condoning any type of violence leads the way to new events of violence and makes everyone responsible for all the ensuing trauma in the aftermath. I think that the wars sparked off by states for the sake of power are first and foremost a breaching of the right to live. Whatever the reason, the breaching of the right to live is a crime of humanity and no international treaty or law can justify it. For that reason, I declare that I will not participate in this in any circumstance whatsoever. I will not serve in any militaristic apparatus. I long for a humanity devoid of violence, far from the games of power, unbounded and at peace with nature. The fact that this vision does not exist in practice, does not require me to change my opinions or actions that pertain to it.
I do not believe in the necessity of the state, and I feel no affinity towards any state. And I do not want to strengthen the militaristic structure at all with actions that are dubbed as patriotic duty. The state that claims I am one of its citizens, wants to recruit me in the military, to turn me into a war machine that will die and kill for it if necessary, and further, wants me to partake in the crime of humanity I described above, all so that it can continue its own existence. I will not allow this and I will keep my beliefs. I consider the “disability” report that is offered to me as a “right” because I am gay, as the disability of the militaristic structure itself.
I will not serve in the military or other apparatus of any state as an individual. Since I consider giving excuses as an insult to myself and humanity, I refuse to take any kind of permits not to do military service or deferrals of any kind.
Consequently, I will not do military service in any shape or form. I encourage all to not go to military service, not participate in any processing regarding military service, to refuse the MERNIS project and other control mechanisms such as the tax number, and to support non-violent actions.
The way to stop wars is to dry out the human resources of war.
All types of violence are crimes of humanity.
October 27, 2001
Mehmet Tarhan.

The Statement Mehmet Tarhan read at the hearing of August 4, 2005

By declaring my conscientous objection on October 27 2001, I stated that I would not perform military service, that I would not take part in any army or similar hierarchical organization and that I would not serve in the dissemination of militarist culture into social life.
Since that date, especially taking into consideration the war frenzy that the world has been swept into since September 11, I become more confident with each passing day that I have made a right decision. Because the teror attacks and the ongoing atrocious wars in four corners of the world, including the land we live in, demonstrate that a way of life that excludes violence in its entirety is the only humane solution.
Since armies are the tools for using legitimized violence, they are one of the most important obstacles before a world devoid of violence. This is because militaries owe their existence, their power and sustainability to wars and to the probability of wars. And militaries are, by nature, institutions that produce wars.
For the military, there is no such thing as a state of peace. The periods where there is no armed conflict, are merely intervals where they try to universalize the tyranny they impose onto the society, that is, a time period devoted to preparation for war and fighting against the implementation of peace.
As the ruling classes’ apparatus of violence, the military diffuses the culture of obedience through military service. The individual who becomes accustomed to taking orders and obeying without questions, not only loses her/his independence but becomes an enemy to the idea of independence. What differentiates a humanbeing from a machine or a well-trained dog is that her/his acts stem from his/her individual will. So obeying without asking any questions, is far from being humane, to say the least. Expecting unconditional obedience from someone is equivalent to asking her/him to abandon his/her humanity.
Because I find it important to lead a humane life and as an indispensible precondition of this I feel that all humans should lead a humane life, I declare once again that I will never take orders and I will never give orders. I believe that discrimination and violence are crimes of humanity and in the name of avoiding to commit this crime, I am determined to not be a part of the military which is an apparatus of violence based on hierarchy that imposes such hierarchical constructions over the society, I am determined to disobey, and refuse to be transformed into a murder machine by taking a training of dying and killing.
I find it tragicomical and protest that, in this building that is placed inside a military barracks, persons who carry military ranks see themselves as having the right to make statements regarding my destiny according to laws that bind them alone. I want the restriction on my freedom to end immediately.

08-04-2005
Mehmet Tarhan
Sivas

More Info

• Mehmet Tarhan's page
• Mehmet Tarhan on Infoshop (The introduction in this piece is from there)
• Bettina Frese interviewed Mehmet for the spanish Diagonal newspaper. Read the english translation HERE.