Did the Lieutenants kill our 78 citizens?!

On November 1st, 15 people lost their lives and 2 were seriously injured when a concrete canopy collapsed at a train station in the city of Novi Sad, Serbia.

Following suspicions that the incident was caused by negligence during repair work carried out in 2021, Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Goran Vesic and Minister of Internal and Foreign Trade Tomislav Momirovic resigned immediately. After the prosecutor's investigation, 11 people, including Minister Vesic, were detained.

Students who reacted to the government after the accident organized protests across the country with the slogan "Stop Serbia" and boycotted schools and classes. In the action, which was also supported by thousands of citizens, one of the most important intersections in the capital Belgrade was finally closed.

Upon this, Prime Minister Milos Vucevic announced that he was resigning to lower the tension and that the Mayor of Novi Sad would also resign, saying, "(The government) must show responsibility at the highest level... Those responsible will be punished." He then stated that he was ready to sign a pardon decision for the 13 students and 1 academic who were detained during the protests.

There is no need to describe the situation in our country. 78 of our citizens, 36 of whom were children, lost their lives in the fire at the hotel in Kartalkaya, but there is not a single resignation. As a nation, we are watching the war of words between the Minister of Culture and Tourism and the Mayor of Bolu.

As for any reaction or action; who are we to do so!..

Already, as if to say "Don't even think about it" in advance, threats like "If you have the guts, come out to the street and let's see", "let's see what you're made of", and "If you attempt to occupy even an inch of this country's streets again, you will see us, the youth who are the essential element of the national will, standing against you" have started to fly in the air.

THE DISMISSED LIEUTENANTS

Those who cannot hold anyone accountable for our 78 citizens do not forget the lieutenants, however!..

As is known, the decision regarding the 5 lieutenants whose dismissal from the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) is requested—among the 500-700 lieutenants who gathered after the Military Academy graduation ceremony, recited the Officer's Oath which was removed from the directive in 2023, and drew their swords while saying "We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal"—is expected to be announced this week.

Before conveying the backstage information regarding those who have not forgotten these lieutenants in this turmoil and the decision that has been or will be made, let us recall the 4 lieutenants who were dismissed from the TSK last year.

Following the discussions that arose after a lieutenant did not wear an Atatürk photograph at the Atatürk Commemoration Ceremony held at the Tuzla Infantry School on November 10, 2023; in addition to the lieutenant who refused to wear the photograph and the 2 lieutenants who supported him, 4 lieutenants who reacted to them were dismissed from the TSK.

An interesting event occurred during the dismissal process of those lieutenants.

A general who was the Head of Legal Services of the Land Forces Command also participated in the process of taking the statements of the lieutenants during the administrative investigation. He even asked the lieutenants questions.

When the investigation was finished and the files came to the High Disciplinary Board of the Land Forces Command, it was seen that the Head of Legal Services was also on the board. Upon this, a lawyer for the lieutenants reacted by saying, "You were in the investigation. You are in the decision. Will you also be in the court?" Following this, the Head of Legal Services hurriedly left the High Disciplinary Board, received a medical report, and his deputy attended the meeting in his place.

Yesterday was the hearing of the lawsuit filed by Ö.S., one of those 4 lieutenants, to the Administrative Court for the cancellation of his dismissal. Look at what happened this time?

The Ministry of National Defense sent the High Disciplinary Board's decision to the Court with a "confidential" stamp and by covering the names of the board members one by one. Perhaps due to the Ministry of National Defense's "confidential" letter, the Court did not upload the file to the National Judiciary Informatics System (UYAP) on the grounds of "confidentiality".

When this was the case, the lawyers of the former lieutenant Ö.S. emphasized that hiding the names of the committee members who made the dismissal decision restricted their right to defense, because they could not check whether these people were also involved in the investigation process, and asked, "What are they hiding from the Court?"

Ö.S. also made a remarkable defense. Stating that he did not commit the crime of insulting religious values, Ö.S. said, "I cannot commit it either. Because I am a believer, I come from such a family. I am against those who exploit our religion. Our recent history is also a witness to those who exploit religion." Ö.S. also noted that his only request from the court was to send him to his classmates who are still fighting terrorism in northern Iraq.

THE LIEUTENANTS EXPECTED TO BE DISMISSED

Let us come to the 5 lieutenants whose dismissal from the TSK is requested due to the ritual after the Military Academy graduation ceremony.

One of the pens supporting the government yesterday, with an article titled "A vital reminder before the lieutenants' decision", practically called for their dismissal. The accusations he made are as follows:

- Ebru Eroğlu and her friends, by doing this pirate act despite not being permitted, gave political messages such as, "The oath recited at the official ceremony is not our oath. We do not abide by it and this is our official ceremony oath. If you do not allow it, we will organize like this, clatter our swords like a sword-shield team, and recite the oath you ordered not to be recited, and give the necessary message"...

- Ebru Eroğlu lied by saying, "The order given was valid for the ceremony. No order was given for after the ceremony." Because whether before or after the ceremony or during the ceremony, the instruction given was absolute. Moreover, she did not ask her commander, "Can we recite this oath after the ceremony?" Furthermore, how would her commander know what was on Eroğlu's mind and this organized action she planned with her friends? In short; those words of Eroğlu were to find a cover for this organized political demonstration and to mock the mind and common sense of the decision-makers...

- Ebru Eroğlu and those accompanying her imposed this "parallel oath", which was removed after July 15, right in front of our eyes. Therefore, the Prophet's Hearth was not a "hearth-head"!..

In response, let us just say the following:

- The lieutenants did not say, "The oath recited at the official ceremony is not our oath," they questioned why the oath they took when entering the school was repeated for a second time.

- The Officer's Oath, called the "parallel oath", was recited in the presence of Erdoğan until it was removed from the directive in March 2023, not after July 15, and also in the celebrations held by the lieutenants among themselves before the 2023 and 2024 graduation ceremonies. Moreover, the Ministry of National Defense has repeatedly announced that there is no problem with the content of the Officer's Oath.

- If the order given by the commanders covers not only the official ceremony but also before and after the ceremony; why was it not a problem for the lieutenants to recite this oath the night before? Also, why were the commanders asked during the investigation process whether they gave an order after the ceremony, and why was the dismissal of these commanders from the TSK also requested?

Let us also add this:

The lieutenants committed "indiscipline" and even "gave political messages" by reciting the oath that was removed from the directive, is that so?

Last week, we wrote that the "Turkey Century" anthem, which is not in the directive, was made to be recited by the lieutenants at the official ceremony.

We researched the subject a little more.

No one knows when, how, and by whose order this anthem was included in the graduation ceremony program. None of the commanders who did not allow the recitation of the Officer's Oath on the grounds that "Political consequences may be drawn" objected to the "Turkey Century" anthem and said, "It is not in the directive." Only some lieutenants reminded that the Turkey Century Anthem was also included in the program of a political party, but ultimately they obeyed the order given and recited this anthem both in the rehearsals and at the graduation ceremony.

WAS THERE ANYONE WHO OPPOSED THE DISMISSAL?

What about the fate of the lieutenants?

According to the claims in the backstage, unfortunately, the decision of the High Disciplinary Board of the Land Forces Command is in the direction of the dismissal of the lieutenants.

It is unknown whether there will be any change in this decision during the approval phase of Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler, who has previously announced many times that the lieutenants committed "indiscipline"; but my curiosity is this:

If the High Disciplinary Board made a dismissal decision as claimed, were there any member or members who did not agree with this decision?

Müyesser YILDIZ

January 29, 2025