This is how he became a 'Servant' to the nation

Fifty-one days before his passing, the late Gendarmerie Staff Colonel Güven Şağban made the following post on his social media account:

“Let me say it once more: 1. Atatürk and the Republic must be defended everywhere. 2. Politics and religious sects must not enter barracks, mosques, schools, or sports. 3. Merit must be prioritized in the selection of administrators. 4. It is wrong to appoint those who have been involved with FETÖ to any position.”

The late Güven Şağban was only 55 years old when he left us on February 19 due to respiratory failure.

On February 20, he was bid farewell with a military ceremony at the Ahmet Hamdi Akseki Mosque in Ankara. However, apart from one commander, no one from the Gendarmerie General Command Headquarters—to which he dedicated his life and where he was taken hostage and became a veteran while trying to save it on July 15—came to see him off.

I waited for today, the day of the new Gendarmerie decree, to talk about Güven Şağban and the book he left us, titled “Yaşadıklarımın Çığlığı” (The Scream of What I Experienced), which was released by Kırmızı Kedi Publishing House on July 15, and which he described before he died with these words: "I am in the hospital while writing these lines due to my chronic illness, respiratory failure. I am aware that my condition is quite critical. I don't know if I can overcome this process. If I cannot, greetings to all my friends! I entrust this book to them. Let it be accepted as a scream of what I have experienced! My final word is, may the homeland be safe! May the Turkish nation exist forever!"

Actually, I had written about his struggle on July 15, his subsequent purge along with other July 15 heroes, his being deprived of the state medal of honor, and the revocation of his protection order during the period when these events took place.

Following his unexpected death, my esteemed journalist colleagues Barış Terkoğlu and Aytunç Erkin both reminded us of who Güven Şağban was and pointed to some of his notes in the book “Yaşadıklarımın Çığlığı,” which serve as a guide regarding the course of the Gendarmerie.

After stating that I will draw attention to those notes where appropriate in the Gendarmerie file, which I will explain in a few consecutive articles unless an extraordinary development occurs, let us begin with what happened before the new Gendarmerie decree was published in the Official Gazette on Friday.

The Departure of Arif Çetin

During the day on Thursday, journalist İsmail Saymaz alleged that the Ministry of Interior wanted to retire Gendarmerie General Commander Arif Çetin, who is claimed to be close to former Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu and has reached the age limit, but that Çetin was resisting this decision.

A few hours later, this claim was answered not by Arif Çetin himself, but by a person closest to him through Seyhan Avşar, Editor-in-Chief of Gerçek Gündem. This close associate conveyed the following words from General Çetin, stating that he was quite angry, sad, and uncomfortable because of what was written:

“He says, ‘I have given 48 years of my life to this state. We are not Janissaries. We serve in the military bureaucracy. If they say “die,” we die. We do whatever they want. Throughout my life, we have never acted outside the law. We do whatever is ordered to us. Whatever our President says, that happens. I am 65 years old. My retirement has come. A law needs to be passed by Parliament for me to continue. There is no harm in me retiring. Everyone will retire one day. I am saddened that people's personal rights are being touched upon.’ This process has worn our general out a lot.”

On the evening of the same day, there was the Graduation Ceremony of the Gendarmerie and Coast Guard Academy. Gendarmerie General Commander Arif Çetin also gave a speech at the ceremony, which Erdoğan attended and spoke at.

And these statements by Çetin became a hot topic:

“Mr. President, as your excellency has commanded, we have come not to be masters to this nation, but to be servants. Mr. President, Mr. Commander-in-Chief, I express my gratitude to your excellency for not withholding your support from us in providing personnel, vehicles, tools, materials, equipment, and all kinds of resources for the Gendarmerie General Command and the Coast Guard Command to successfully carry out their duties... Mr. President, Mr. Commander-in-Chief, I express my gratitude on behalf of myself and my entire organization for honoring our academy with your presence on this important day for these young brothers of ours, our young personnel.”

Just 6 hours after this ceremony, Erdoğan retired Arif Çetin due to the age limit.

Does the Director General of Security say “My Commander-in-Chief”?

Before explaining how these words of Çetin were interpreted in the Gendarmerie organization and political circles, let us examine the address of “Commander-in-Chief” and the expression “we have come to be servants.”

Ahmet Hakan, Editor-in-Chief of Hürriyet, whom Erdoğan pointed to as an example to Abdülkadir Selvi by saying “He is doing what is necessary,” wrote the following yesterday under the headline “Of course, he will say ‘My Commander-in-Chief’”:

“There are those who find this strange. I consider it a duty to remind them of the following: The President is the commander-in-chief. Today, Erdoğan is the commander-in-chief because he is the President. Tomorrow, another name will be the commander-in-chief because they are the President. There is nothing strange about a general calling the President ‘Mr. Commander-in-Chief.’ The situation of a general not calling the President ‘Mr. Commander-in-Chief’ is both abnormal and dangerous. As for those who harp on the fact that the Gendarmerie General Commander was retired one day after saying ‘Mr. Commander-in-Chief,’ I want to ask them: Was a general saying ‘Mr. Commander-in-Chief’ going to be a reason for favor? Won't it just be passed over by saying ‘In the end, he said what he had to say’? Some minds are still stuck in the 90s regarding civil-military relations.”

Let us also remind Ahmet Hakan of the Constitution. Article 117, titled “Commander-in-Chief and Chief of General Staff” regarding “National Defense,” is quite clear. “Commander-in-Chief” is entirely related to the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) and the Chief of General Staff.

I guess Ahmet Hakan is unaware that the position of the Gendarmerie General Command has been changed in the new regime. As is known, it was removed from the TSK and attached entirely to the Ministry of Interior. Although military ranks are still used, it is now an internal security unit and is no different from the General Directorate of Security, which is attached to the Ministry of Interior. Even if Arif Çetin used the address “My Commander-in-Chief” due to his former TSK affiliation and general rank, this is the legal situation. To elaborate further; for example, does the Director General of Security say “My Commander-in-Chief” to Erdoğan, or can he?

His Album with the Nation

As for Arif Çetin referencing Erdoğan’s words, “We have come not to be masters to this nation, but to be servants.”;

On the day he was retired, 12punto published an album of who General Çetin had taken photos with.

Let us also recall how the Gendarmerie, which he headed for 7 years, was pitted against the nation.

Weren't the village women who opposed the stone quarry that Cengiz İnşaat wanted to build in the İşkencedere Valley in Rize's İkizdere district in 2021 swept away by the gendarmerie?..

Didn't the gendarmerie block the protest of Özak Tekstil workers in the Urfa Organized Industrial Zone last year?..

Is it possible to forget the intervention against the villagers who opposed the cutting of trees in the Akbelen forest?..

What about what happened to the Lezita workers who were on strike due to poor working conditions last April?..

Like Yaşar Güler

As for the reflections of that speech Arif Çetin made 6 hours before being retired;

While the comment “He must have known he would be retired. A last-minute effort to get his name removed from the decree” is being made, the example of the extension of the age limit of the then-Chief of General Staff Yaşar Güler with a legal amendment in 2022 is given, and it is said, “The law could have been changed for him as well.”

Likewise, it is claimed that he gave the message, “Even if I am to be retired, I am ready for other duties you will give me from now on.”

As is known; Erdoğan ensured that Yaşar Güler remained as Chief of General Staff for another year by extending the age limit, and made him Minister of National Defense last year.

The conclusion drawn from these comments is that it would probably not be a surprise if Arif Çetin, who has remained in office for so many years with the support of the MHP, a partner of the People's Alliance, is appointed to the Ministry of Interior or another important ministry in the future!..