The Rector's chat with the lieutenants: "I am a Kemalist... I am resisting the sects"!..

You have heard; following the graduation ceremony on August 30, Lieutenant General Tevfik Algan, the Chief of Staff and Chairman of the High Disciplinary Board of the Land Forces Command, who opposed the dismissal of the lieutenants who recited the Officer's Oath, drew their swords, and declared, "We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal," has retired.

The pro-government media immediately targeted Lieutenant General Algan, and one of those pens even demanded that all 4 of them be dismissed; but this is what happened. For now, only Algan has bid farewell to the TAF.

MSB sources also confirmed this development yesterday, stating, "The Chief of Staff of the Land Forces submitted his retirement petition of his own volition. His request was deemed appropriate and approved."

What triggered this sudden "request for retirement"?.. Could it be his reassignment to the 3rd Army Command on temporary duty?!

Let us assume that the lieutenants were dismissed not because they were "Kemalists," but on the grounds of "indiscipline"; well, what "indiscipline" did the great Lieutenant General commit that he was sent to the 3rd Army and politely told to "retire"?

Did he commit the "crime" of not fulfilling the requirement of the decision announced from the very top, from the very beginning, regarding the lieutenants?!

THE RECTOR WHO "GIVES CONFIDENCE TO FRIENDS AND FEAR TO ENEMIES"

From the statements during the investigation process regarding the lieutenants, we learned that one of the invisible actors in the lead role is the Rector of the National Defense University, Prof. Erhan Afyoncu.

It was Afyoncu who made the Dean's office officials rush around asking, "What is happening?" while the lieutenants were holding that celebration among themselves, and who later came to the Military Academy and practically took the statements of the commanders, but for some reason, he did not say a word and remained silent until the lieutenants and commanders were dismissed.

Finally, a few days ago, he participated in Ahmet Hakan's "Tarafsız Bölge" (Neutral Zone) program on CNN Türk and spoke.

Ahmet Hakan also found what Afyoncu described to be "super impressive" and noted that it "gave confidence to friends and fear to enemies."

Let us look at what Afyoncu said that is relevant to our topic.

He spoke as follows regarding the dismissed lieutenants:

"I am a man who knows the Balkan Wars. The entry of politics into the army caused us to lose the entire Balkans... I will not allow this, and no one with a sense of history would allow it... There is no possibility for someone who does not respect Atatürk to be in the Military Academy. The lieutenants' oath with swords is something not in military regulations... They asked for permission 7 times, and were told no 8 times. The lieutenants insistently did what they were told 'not to do'... The problem here is not mentioning Atatürk's name, but indiscipline."

We have written countless times how many times the lieutenants applied to recite the Officer's Oath within the scope of the official ceremony, that they obeyed the order given and did not recite it at the official ceremony, and that they performed this ritual during their own celebration after the official ceremony ended. Therefore, let us not repeat it and just ask this:

"Is saying 'We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal' a disrespect to Atatürk and bringing politics into the army? Is this what it means to strike 'confidence in friends/fear in enemies'?"

Let us continue with Afyoncu's statements. He also reacted to the criticisms of retired soldiers directed at them with the words, "There are some former soldiers who appear on television and bash our school and us. FETÖ established 'shock squads' in these schools under your command during your era. Where were you then?"

Shall we briefly remind them where they were?

Those who considered Fethullah Gülen a "Hocaefendi" (Master), saying, "Return, let this longing end," "No harm comes from those whose foreheads touch the ground in prayer," and "giving them whatever they wanted," were in power.

Those who wanted to fight against "FETÖ" and draw attention to the danger were either forced into retirement/resignation or sent to Hasdal and Silivri with conspiracies amidst the rhetoric of "We are ending the tutelage," "The TAF's bowels are being cleansed"!..

Well, where was Prof. Afyoncu during the same period?

I believe he was writing in Fethullah Gülen's newspapers from 2008 to 2014!..

AN EFFORT TO "COMPENSATE" FOR THE TUZLA INFANTRY SCHOOL?

Let us come to the reason for Rector Erhan Afyoncu's sharp stance towards the lieutenants. It seems to have to do with the events that took place on November 10, 2023, at the Tuzla Infantry School during the Atatürk Commemoration Ceremony, when a lieutenant, alleged to be a member of a sect, refused to wear an Atatürk photograph on his lapel.

As is known, the pro-government media created a "lieutenant junta" out of this incident...

The team of the late retired general Adnan Tanrıverdi, the founder of SADAT, targeted Erhan Afyoncu as well as the TAF command echelon...

The lieutenants, who were stated to be members of a sect, also intended to file a criminal complaint against Afyoncu on the grounds of "concealing a crime and abuse of office" by going to the Infantry School, which is affiliated with EDOK, not the University, and directing the investigation... (We researched the latest situation. They filed a criminal complaint against EDOK Commander Zorlu Topaloğlu with the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, but a decision of non-prosecution was issued. As for the criminal complaint against Afyoncu, it was abandoned so that it would not branch out and because no results could be obtained.)

Likewise, it was rumored that after these reactions, Afyoncu wanted to meet with Ahmet Albayrak, the owner of Yeni Şafak, but Albayrak did not accept...

Now, it is claimed that Afyoncu is trying to compensate for these reactions in the Tuzla Infantry School incident through the lieutenants and extend his term of office.

AFYONCU'S STRUGGLE WITH THE SECTS

We had written that the first person to go to the Tuzla Infantry School and meet with the lieutenants at that time was Rector Erhan Afyoncu.

About 15 months later, we learned what was discussed in the meeting that Afyoncu held with 7-8 lieutenants who reacted to the lieutenants said to be members of a sect.

According to what a lieutenant who attended this meeting, which took place at the School Command Headquarters and lasted over 1 hour, told; Rector Erhan Afyoncu, after stating that he did not intentionally call School Commander Aydın Cihan Uzun so they could speak comfortably, asked, "Did you know these children since the Military Academy?"

Then, he explained that there were around 70-80 students affiliated with sects that they had identified throughout the National Defense University, but that they had no evidence, that they were monitoring them, meaning there were not as many sect members as the lieutenants thought.

A lieutenant asked if the three lieutenants they reacted to were among those identified by the University administration. Afyoncu said, "No. The list is very incomplete."

The same lieutenant suggested, "If you have these students followed, if you have the places they enter and exit monitored, the rest will come." Afyoncu replied, "It is not my duty. I am not an MIT (National Intelligence Organization) agent. This is MIT's job. It would be against the law, I cannot have this done."

Upon the words of the same lieutenant, "Professor, you even have communication with the President. It shouldn't be very difficult for someone in your position to report this to MIT and have it followed up," he spoke as follows:

"In the last interviews, I joined a commission. I personally identified a FETÖ member. On average, 1 out of every 10 children who come to the interview is affiliated with FETÖ/sects. I experience the same thing every year during the interview period, I struggle with the sects. The sects are pressuring to get in, I am resisting. I am a Kemalist, just like you."

You know how it is said that the lieutenants at the Military Academy committed "indiscipline" and were dismissed because of it; in that meeting at the Tuzla Infantry School, Rector Afyoncu commented on the subordinate-superior relationship, which is the basis of discipline, saying, "There is no subordinate-superior relationship at the Military Academy. It is not a very necessary thing." Upon this, the following dialogues took place between the lieutenants and the Rector:

Lieutenant: If we are not going to learn and apply the concept of superior while still at the Military Academy, how will superiors make their subordinates listen to them in the troops? This is contrary to the 100-year-old Military Academy culture.

Afyoncu: There are students who abuse this. They are mobbing the lower classes. No student has the right to do this to another student. We cannot allow this.

Lieutenant: Does it seem more logical to you, Professor, to throw the Military Academy culture into the trash because of a few ignorant people?

Another lieutenant: (Hitting the table and shaking his index finger) Professor, I am warning you. You are at the head of Turkey's most distinguished, most critical educational institution, and history will hold you accountable for the mistakes you make. You have to act with this awareness.

Do these conversations alone not show that the most fundamental mistake in the system established after July 15 is the dual-headedness in the form of civilian-military?

Regarding the process concerning the lieutenants who said, "We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal"; we had said, "Do not harm the lieutenants, address the real problems, gentlemen!.."

Unfortunately, they harmed both the lieutenants and their commanders... And unfortunately again, they have no intention of addressing the real problems!..

Müyesser YILDIZ

February 21, 2025