Is Atatürkism Becoming a 'This-or-That' Factionalism?!

Following the events at the November 10 Atatürk Commemoration Ceremony at the Tuzla Infantry School, where a lieutenant failed to pin a photograph of Atatürk to his uniform, and the subsequent allegations of religious sects coming to light, everyone except the government and its media recalled July 15 and asked, "Have no lessons been learned?"

In our opinion, this is a very wrong question.

Can one expect lessons to be learned from those who, with the mindset that "no harm comes from those whose foreheads touch the ground in prayer," "gave whatever was asked," failed to take precautions for the July 15 coup attempt that came shouting its arrival, and ultimately called July 15 "a gift from God"?

There are very fundamental issues we need to discuss regarding the Tuzla Infantry School example. How did those who are supposed to fight shoulder-to-shoulder tomorrow end up facing each other like this? What were the commanders doing, or not doing? Do those who dismantled the chain of command that made the TSK (Turkish Armed Forces) what it is, using July 15 as a pretext, have no responsibility for what happened and what will happen?

WHOSE WORK IS THE “NEW TSK”?

Let us set aside the fact that the TSK, our only guarantee in these lands, was turned upside down by the "FETÖ" plots, which were US-EU operations.

Who was/were the one(s) who determined the roadmap for the “New TSK” of the “New Turkey”?

Was it not retired General Adnan Tanrıverdi, whose views are well-known and who was retired from the TSK due to a lack of positions, who founded SADAT (International Defense Consultancy), ASSAM (Center for Justice Seekers Strategic Studies), and ASDER (Association of Justice Seekers) during his retirement, directed the government's policies, and ultimately served as Erdoğan's chief security advisor when the new regime was transitioned to? Did he not claim ownership of all the regulations made, saying, "The pieces have fallen into place"?

While Tanrıverdi and his friends were advocating for the ASRICA Islamic States Union, were they not demanding that the "official ideology," namely Atatürkism, be absent from Turkey's new constitution, that the "immutable and unamendable articles" not be included, and likewise, that the principle of secularism be abolished?

Was it not the same team that spearheaded the February 28 plot case?.. Did they not label the 103 retired admirals who said, "Protect the Montreux Convention, do not allow new sect structures in the TSK" as "coup plotters" and list one by one how they should be punished?

When the scandal of the "robed admiral" occurred in 2021, even though even Erdoğan said, "We did not and do not look favorably upon a soldier who presents a photograph that does not align with the TSK's understanding of discipline," did they not declare the robed admiral "blessed" and chant the slogan, "Stand tall, do not bow, this nation is with you," by claiming that "Atatürkism, Kemalism, Secularism, and democratic discourse are absolutely a veiled pretext for hostility toward Islam"?

You know the result; the TSK launched an administrative investigation. However, while the robed admiral retired comfortably without receiving any punishment, a lieutenant colonel, who was alleged to have leaked his photograph, was suspended and retired this year.

A major "fight against FETÖ" was launched in the TSK after July 15, right? But didn't it turn out that Serdar Atasoy, who was made a general by the Supreme Military Council (YAŞ) decision in 2020 and then appointed as the Intelligence Chief of the Land Forces Command, had his lieutenant rank pinned by Fethullah Gülen? Well, has anyone asked/questioned who provided the references for this person or who proposed his promotion at the YAŞ?

THERE IS ONE MORE ISSUE THAT SHOULD NOT BE FORGOTTEN.

With the change made to the entrance regulations for Military Academies and Non-Commissioned Officer Vocational Schools on March 23, 2021, was the term "reactionary" (irtica) not removed and replaced with the provision: "not having membership, affiliation, connection, or contact with terrorist organizations or structures, formations, or groups decided by the National Security Council to be engaged in activities against the national security of the state"?

In this way, were the doors of the TSK not opened to all sects and communities, except for "FETÖ" members?

In this case, whether the lieutenants who did not hang the Atatürk photograph at the Tuzla Infantry School are sect members or not; what kind of accountability can be demanded?!

WHO IS THE TANRIVERDI TEAM TARGETING NOW?

We mentioned Adnan Tanrıverdi, SADAT, ASSAM, ASDER... There are many names in the management ranks who were expelled from the TSK or forced to retire due to "reactionary activities."

They also got involved in the Tuzla Infantry School issue. For example, one of them, in an article titled "New Military Coup Preparation," while claiming that "coup preparations are continuing at full speed," look at whom he accused and how, starting with Erdoğan:

"President Erdoğan has remained a spectator to the disgrace of religious officers being beaten at the Tuzla Infantry School, even though more than a month has passed since the incident... Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler has signed off on a bigger scandal by not dismissing the responsible commanders despite the ugly events that took place in the TSK involving nearly a hundred officers... The government has only tried to cover up the events... The School Commander, Major General Aydın Cihan Üzüm, should have been dismissed first and foremost... Another person who caused the events to escalate by remaining helpless and not intervening regarding the school commander and administrators, whose lack of discipline is clearly visible, is Chief of General Staff General Metin Gürak. Another commander who should be held accountable is the Land Forces Training and Doctrine Commander, Lieutenant General Zorlu Topaloğlu. The commanders in question still think we are living in the coup era and are in such a state of helplessness that they are handing over the management of the TSK to a few officers acting like bandits... Erdoğan says he has passed his apprenticeship period and is currently in his mastery period. But he must know what a mistake he is making by remaining a spectator to the events happening in the TSK, which is our heart and soul..."

Another, in an article titled "The Issue of Coup-Plotter Lieutenants," called on Erdoğan to give instructions for the investigation of lecturers teaching at Military Academies after July 15, while hinting that these could be "crypto-FETÖ" members and "active and retired officers carrying a coup-plotting mentality." He also requested that courses such as "democracy, history of coups, human rights" be added to the military academy curriculum.

ERHAN AFYONCU IS ALSO ON THE LIST

Another, in an article titled "The Coup-Plotter Lieutenants of Tuzla and Atatürk...!", described the lieutenants who reacted to the failure to pin the Atatürk photograph as "traitors using Atatürk's name," and said, "What is this country suffering from these fake Atatürkists? When will you stop using Atatürk as a mask for the hostility toward faith and Islam within you? Will you never learn and come to your senses?"

Then he targeted the Rector of the National Defense University and Military Academies, Erhan Afyoncu, with the following expressions:

"These lieutenant-wannabes didn't just spring up from the ground. There is an environment that made them this way. It is the education system in the Military Academies that trains and encourages them in this way. It is the coup-plotting cadres nested there. They are traitors who teach Atatürkism as cursing the religion and all sacred values of this nation. If you perceive the event only as a fight over whether an official was pinned or not and cover it up, be prepared for what will happen to us in the future...!

The National Defense University (MSÜ) was established based on the lessons learned from July 15. Wasn't it so that there would be no more coups in this country, and that officers, not coup-plotters, would be raised from the Military Academies, my dear Rector...! Are you proud of your work? Or are you closing the account by targeting 7 lieutenants...? The cause of this is the cadres you are at the head of. The swamp has not been drained; it is still breeding mosquitoes. Continue sweeping the filth under the rug...!"

IS KEMALISM "FETÖ"-ISM?

The first to accuse the lieutenants at the Tuzla Infantry School of being "coup-plotters" was Yeni Şafak. Yesterday, another voice rose from Yeni Şafak. Aydın Ünal, who wrote Erdoğan's speeches for years, was an AKP deputy, and still writes for Yeni Şafak, said, "There is no difference between Kemalism and FETÖ," while responding to CHP Chairman Özgür Özel's words, "Have you learned no lessons from FETÖ?"

Since another meaning of "Kemalism" is "Atatürkism," do you see where this is being taken?

For some reason, when the Palestine-Israel war began, Aydın Ünal had made a claim such as, "Throughout history, the most dynamic force in the region has been the Turkish-Kurdish alliance. Kemalism could not break this alliance; Zionism will not be able to break it either. As in the past, the Turkish-Kurdish alliance will bring victory and peace to the region tomorrow."

Let us finish with today's article by the representative of the newspaper that was once Turkey's "flagship" but has now anchored to the government.

While evaluating what happened at the Tuzla Infantry School and the attitude of the Ministry of National Defense, he made the following comment:

"In a structure built on discipline, the organization of structures under various names like 'this-or-that' should never be allowed. The Turkish Armed Forces is not a platform for spreading ideas and organizing."

Based on what we have explained above, we ask:

What is going on; are we entering a phase where Atatürkism, which is taught as the first lesson in the TSK, is now being viewed as "this-or-that" factionalism?!