Lieutenants and coincidences!..

The government, its partners, and of course their media, have not only made no secret of their satisfaction with the dismissal of 5 lieutenants and 3 commanders from the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), but they continue to accuse them.

Let us begin with our article from the day before yesterday titled “They wrote an ‘indictment’ for the lieutenants” in terms of following the trail of the matter.

That day, a remarkable piece called an “article” and “analysis” was published on the Yeni Şafak newspaper's website. It was almost like an “indictment” prepared with the accusation of a “coup against the government.”

We responded one by one to the inaccuracies in the accusations directed at the lieutenants and their commanders.

This article by Yeni Şafak was also published in the newspaper yesterday - albeit with significant changes.

For example; the headline “A threat beyond discipline in the TSK: The oath-taking ceremony incident and the provocation planned against the government” was changed to “Not a discipline issue, but a ‘threat to stability’”...

The terms “article” and “analysis” were removed...

Expressions in the nature of a verdict, such as “It is clearly seen that the situation is an organized provocation rather than an individual reaction,” “It has laid the groundwork for provocation,” “It shows that the commander either underestimated the situation or consciously turned a blind eye to this provocation,” “It aimed to create the perception that the government has lost control over the TSK,” became “it is seen,” “it is shown,” “it is said,” “it is emphasized,” “it points to,” even though it is unclear who is saying them...

While the headline “A provocation against the government: Its use as a political tool in the eyes of the public” was changed to “The perception of the government losing its influence over the TSK,” the sentence regarding Lieutenant Ebru Eroğlu’s announcement of “The Malazgirt battalion to the field” containing a symbolic message, the headline “Laying the groundwork for overthrowing the government,” and the expressions that the lieutenants' incident “brings to mind a FETÖ-like strategy” were removed...

Most importantly; the accusations in the conclusion section of that “Article/Indictment” regarding “Damaging the government's reputation, laying the groundwork for overthrowing the government” and the following “verdict” were not included in the text published in the newspaper:

“The distrust that is sought to be created in the public opinion, especially against the government, is the most dangerous dimension of this provocation. Individual disciplinary punishments alone are not sufficient to prevent such provocations within the TSK... It is of vital importance for both the discipline of the TSK and the political stability of the country that the government adopts a determined and clear stance against such events.”

ANITKABİR PROVOCATION

Speaking of “provocation”; another incident occurred the day before yesterday.

On social media, with a text signed “Civil initiative” underneath, an announcement was made stating: “We are meeting at Anıtkabir on Sunday, February 2, together with our 5 young lieutenants. One million people are walking to Anıtkabir together at 12:00. The Republic is the protector of the protectorless. Either all together or none of us.”

The lawyers for the lieutenants, who immediately intervened in the situation, announced that this post was “a purposeful and provocative attempt, and that the lieutenants had no such plan.”

Let us underline the points that draw attention here.

While the lieutenants had gone to Anıtkabir on that day quietly, alone, and without informing anyone, what was the purpose of making this announcement for the following day?

Did this “Civil initiative,” whose identity is unknown, not remind one of the “Young Civilians” movement that supported the Ergenekon and Balyoz conspiracies in particular?

What a coincidence that the slogan “Either all together or none of us,” which has been voiced by the CHP and Ekrem İmamoğlu recently and which Erdoğan has also harshly criticized, was used in this conspiracy against the lieutenants?

THE ARREST OF ÜMİT ÖZDAĞ

Let us go back a little.

As is known, following the discussions that took place after a lieutenant refused to pin an Atatürk photograph to his lapel at the November 10 Atatürk Commemoration Ceremony at the Tuzla Infantry School in 2023, both this lieutenant and those who supported him, as well as the lieutenants who reacted, were dismissed from the TSK.

The pro-government media not only labeled the lieutenants who reacted to the failure to pin the Atatürk photograph as a “junta,” but also claimed that they had connections with Ümit Özdağ. As is known, Özdağ was recently arrested, not for this, but on charges of “publicly inciting the people to hatred and hostility.”

While the investigation regarding the 5 lieutenants at the Military Academy was ongoing, the WhatsApp correspondence of the lieutenants at the Tuzla Infantry School was leaked as if it belonged to these lieutenants.

Again, during that process, it was emphasized that some of the lieutenants' lawyers were “lawyers for the coup plotters in the February 28 process,” and that “some were Ergenekon defendants.”

Can this many “coincidences” really be “coincidences”?!

BAHÇELİ ALSO CALLED IT A “JUNTA”

As is known, one of the first to react to the lieutenants was Devlet Bahçeli, the leader of the MHP, a partner in the People's Alliance.

After the dismissal of the 5 lieutenants and 3 commanders from the TSK, Bahçeli stated that the decision was “correct and appropriate,” while using expressions for those who opposed the decision such as “coup-lovers in democratic masks,” “fake and hypocritical Atatürkists who follow the pursuit of preparing an environment of organized attack and provocation through the lieutenants,” “scoundrels who are fortifying the internal occupation front,” “those who insidiously serve the formation of a climate of polarization and junta-formation in the TSK.”

Let us suffice with reminding just this:

When retired admirals made a statement in 2021 saying, “Do not let Montreux be breached. Do not allow new cult structures in the TSK,” Bahçeli had said, “For the sake of an example to the world, the ranks of the 104 retired admirals should be stripped. Their retirement rights should be taken away, and their pensions should be cut. The judicial and administrative investigation regarding the declaration should be deepened and completed. Who is behind it, who is standing in front of it; the whole lot should be revealed and exposed to our nation... This crime cannot remain unpunished, it will not remain so.”;

He had characterized the statement as a “memorandum” and a “coup call as clear as day”;

And he had directed accusations of “tutelage-seeking circles, opponents of democracy, pawns of imperialism, enemies of Turkey, coup-mongers” at those who defended the admirals.

In the end, a verdict of acquittal was given for all of the admirals.

Müyesser YILDIZ

February 3, 2025