He, too, was arrested

One does not become an officer for money; one becomes an officer for the homeland.

He, too, was arrested.

He graduated from the staff academy,

In the first week of Ramadan in 1904, he was arrested along with 10 of his friends for attempting a coup against Sultan Abdulhamid.

The justification was forming a secret organization with some captains, collecting money among themselves, and holding meetings to organize a bomb assassination against Abdulhamid.

However, none of this was true.

He had been slandered and reported by a friend he had taken into his home out of pity.

The issue of forming a secret organization consisted merely of meetings held with friends. As for the incident of collecting money among themselves, they had created a relief fund for friends whose hometowns were far away and whose money did not arrive or arrived late.

That was it.

There was no assassination plan or intention against Abdulhamid either. However, as idealistic officers, in order to save the homeland, they were going to overthrow Abdulhamid—who never left the palace and remained a spectator to the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire—and seize control of the administration. They were idealists. Their blood was boiling.

By the way, do not say things like, "Wow, overthrowing Abdulhamid, huh?" Abdulhamid is not the Abdulhamid you are fed in TV series. He was sickly. Paranoid. I am not the one saying this; it is written in the memoirs of his friends with whom he served and raised glasses at the time.

Know that they are feeding you a different Abdulhamid in the TV series.

Anyway.

They immediately threw these arrested staff officers behind bars. And the places they were thrown into were the notorious cells of the era. First to the Taşkışla Dungeon, then to the Bekirağa Company Dungeon. Of course, they also subjected them to violence there. However, Ali Rıza Pasha, their professor from the academy, stepped in and, at the insistence of his friends, met with Sultan Abdulhamid. He secured their pardon.

Because these were the most talented, smartest staff officers of the Academy who had achieved high ranks.

They pardoned the detainees, but they did not pardon these three staff officers.

They exiled them to the farthest lands, namely Damascus and Beirut. They were essentially prisoners of the fortress. Those who went did not come back, because they usually died.

Well, one of those three staff officers was Mustafa Kemal. The other was Ali Fuat, and the third was Müfit from Kırşehir.

Just as Mustafa Kemal was being put on the exile ship from Istanbul's Sarayburnu, his mother arrived from Thessaloniki. However, his handcuffs were not removed. He was put on the ship between two guards. They were not allowed to meet either.

His mother cried after him. She walked away crying.

These statements are not a figment of imagination; Atatürk said them while visiting his mother's grave when she died.

Mustafa Kemal and Müfit from Kırşehir, among these exiled officers, arrived in Damascus on March 11, 1905, and rented a house with an earthen roof. Then they reported to their units.

They began their duties.

Not much time passed; while Mustafa Kemal was resting at home, his friend Müfit arrived.

He said that the military unit they were under the command of was going on a mission to suppress the Druze rebellion. Müfit had learned this information from others. The companies under their own command were going on a mission, but they were not being informed. It was very interesting. They did not like this situation at all. Thereupon, Mustafa Kemal took his friend Müfit with him and went straight to the regimental commander;

- "Your regiment is going on a mission. Within your regiment, there is a company that I command. Shouldn't I also go along at the head of that unit? Why didn't you inform me?" When Mustafa Kemal asked this, he received the following answer;

- "You are interns in this regiment. You are staff officers. You cannot handle such tough tasks. I deemed it appropriate for you to stay in Damascus. Your salary will be paid, do not worry," he said, which surprised Mustafa Kemal.

He looked at the regimental commander's face.

What was this man saying?

What did it mean to say 'Your salary will be paid'? It was an insult to him. Did the regimental commander think he was an officer 'for money'? He thought for a moment; it meant the regimental commander did not know this:

'One does not become an officer for money; one becomes an officer for the homeland.'

Unable to stomach this situation, Mustafa Kemal and his friend did not give up. Together with Müfit, they decided to go to the Army Commander Hakkı Pasha.

However, nothing came of that either.

Hakkı Pasha did not even meet with them. With what courage were they coming to him? Was a grand Pasha going to listen to two exiled captains? Hakkı Pasha got angry and turned them away.

However, Mustafa Kemal was not about to give up. He stood up from where he was sitting and burst out, "We will go too." When Müfit asked, "How?" Mustafa Kemal replied, "We will go after them."

Finally, they made a decision, went after the soldiers, and joined them in the field. And they were very successful in that rebellion. Moreover, on December 25, 1906, they even received the fifth-class 'Order of the Medjidie' from Abdulhamid—who had exiled them—for their outstanding service in the mission they went on.

Now, we all know that the young lieutenants who graduated from the Military Academy in 2024 chanted the slogan "We are Mustafa Kemal's soldiers" all together at their graduation ceremony.

Well, they are already Mustafa Kemal's soldiers anyway.

They sat at Mustafa Kemal's desks.

They studied in Mustafa Kemal's classroom.

They ate in Mustafa Kemal's dining hall.

They took lessons based on Mustafa Kemal's battles and tactics.

They took Mustafa Kemal's struggle and life as an example.

They were born, lived, grew up, and studied in the country founded by Mustafa Kemal.

And they graduated from Mustafa Kemal's Military Academy.

Do not confuse the issue.

They did not become officers for money; they became officers for the homeland.

This is a situation you are not accustomed to. You do not understand things like the homeland, the nation, or ideals.

Those lieutenants did not become officers for money. They became officers for the homeland. If the lieutenants are not going to be Mustafa Kemal's soldiers, in this country that you have turned into a migrant dumping ground for money,

are they going to be your soldiers?