A new 'tutelage' in the TSK!..

On Friday, a new radish emerged from the bag, or rather, from the omnibus bill in Parliament.

AKP deputies submitted several proposals within the omnibus bill regarding the TSK (Turkish Armed Forces), the Gendarmerie General Command, and the Coast Guard Command.

According to this, Erdoğan will not only change the waiting periods for ranks in the TSK but will also decide on the dismissal of those accused of indiscipline at the lieutenant-colonel rank.

Actually, there is nothing new on the Western front. Erdoğan had previously obtained these powers via Decree-Law (KHK), but the Constitutional Court annulled them in 2013 on the grounds that they "cannot be left to the initiative of a single person."

Erdoğan will now obtain the same powers through legislation. Naturally, the dismissals for indiscipline, in particular, have drawn attention. How angry must they have been at the lieutenants who said, "We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal," and even at the commanders who objected to their dismissal at the High Disciplinary Board!.. Why wait 3-4 months; let them be fired in one fell swoop, right?!

In any case, the justification for the proposal is: "taking rapid and effective solutions against acts of indiscipline that could damage the effectiveness of the TSK."

The initial comments are striking; even if the lieutenants return to the TSK by court order, it seems Erdoğan will be able to dismiss them!..

The Meaning of Those Powers

What do these powers mean? Let us summarize from the statements made by some figures from the opposition.

CHP's Deputy Chairman responsible for the Ministry of National Defense, retired Rear Admiral Yankı Bağcıoğlu, emphasized that it is highly probable that the regulation regarding the determination of rank waiting periods by Erdoğan will be annulled again by the Constitutional Court, and noted the following:

"It is absolutely inappropriate to evade judicial review while ensuring discipline, to cancel the presumption of innocence, to restrict the right to defense, and to leave it to the arbitrariness of one person. Difficulties may also be encountered in ensuring discipline in this way."

CHP Kayseri Deputy Aşkın Genç said, "The position of the glorious Turkish soldier between a lieutenant and a colonel cannot be at the mercy of a president. Just a short while ago, 5 of our lieutenants were expelled from the army. Because they said, 'We are the soldiers of Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.' Who can guarantee that the same thing will not happen again? This is one of the greatest insults that can be made to the glorious Turkish army, to this army that founded the Republic of Turkey. Withdraw this law while there is still time."

The assessment of İYİ Party Group Deputy Chairman Turan Çömez was as follows:

"Erdoğan's dominance in every field will now become permanent over the TSK as well. From now on, the time our officers will wait to receive a rank is not subject to rules, but to Erdoğan's decree. If he wants, he can make all captains majors in one night... He will retire whoever he wants, and give rank to whoever he wants. He will bring whoever he wants to the command echelon for whatever duty he wants, and show the door to whoever he wants. Welcome to the autocratic order, goodbye to democracy and the rule of law."

İYİ Party Deputy Chairman, retired Colonel Kevser Ofluoğlu, also made the assessment: "It is a sign of lawlessness that will hover over the soldiers like the sword of Damocles. In other words, they will intimidate the military. They want to bring it completely under their domination. They should take their hands off the army."

Defense from Pro-Government Circles with a 'February 28' Twist

This is the extent of the reaction shown. But the pro-government media could not even tolerate this and, with the headline "They are uncomfortable with the power given to the Commander-in-Chief," signed off on this strange defense:

"The secular mentality that expelled religious officers from the army during the February 28 process simply because they wore rings, performed prayers, or their wives wore headscarves, is uncomfortable with the power given to the President. The 'fondaş' (funded) media has started a perception operation... that the proposal submitted to Parliament will be applied to the junta-member lieutenants who were dismissed for taking a pirate oath by drawing swords against the state."

Of course, they did not forget to let retired Colonel Mustafa Hacımustafaoğulları, Deputy Chairman of the Association of Defenders of Justice (ASDER), another organization of the famous SADAT-linked Adnan Tanrıverdi, speak. While claiming that these steps were taken to make the TSK "stronger," Hacımustafaoğulları said, "Those who oppose this regulation should not forget the fact that approximately 10 thousand people who had no crime were expelled from the army through various methods during the February 28 process. At that time, as a result of the organized approaches of FETÖ and some structures that defined themselves as Kemalist, many innocent people were removed from the TSK. This damaged the structural integrity of the army and weakened its backbone."

One question: let us assume that mistakes were made in that period; then what is the guarantee of the correctness of what is being done and will be done today by the decision of a single person?!

The 'Trial and Error' Era in the TSK

Shall we go on a short journey through history?

When the AKP came to power, the path to the judiciary was closed against Supreme Military Council (YAŞ) decisions. In 2003, Prime Minister Abdullah Gül signed a first by placing a reservation on YAŞ decisions regarding the dismissal of some officers and non-commissioned officers from the TSK, together with Minister of National Defense Vecdi Gönül, on the grounds that they were "not open to judicial review." While Erdoğan evaluated this as "the use of democratic rights," the Chief of General Staff of the period, General Hilmi Özkök, reacted by saying, "It encourages reactionaries."

Before the 2003 YAŞ meeting, which Erdoğan attended for the first time, it was reported that instead of placing a reservation on dismissals to "avoid unnecessary tensions and conflicts," he would defend the view that "YAŞ decisions should be open to judicial review." Abdullah Gül also commented on this attitude of Erdoğan, saying, "The Constitutional Court and the President of the Council of State also say that YAŞ decisions should be opened to judicial review. Everything has a time. We must not create opportunities for misunderstandings. We are focusing on other things right now."

In the 2005 and 2007 YAŞ meetings, both Erdoğan and Minister of National Defense Vecdi Gönül continued to say, "The path to court should be open for those dismissed," while placing reservations on the dismissals.

Following the slogans of "EU reforms... We are ending military tutelage" and the process of conspiracy cases against the TSK, we arrived at the year 2013; the TSK Disciplinary Law was changed, and the path to the judiciary was opened against all kinds of dismissal decisions of the YAŞ, except for promotion procedures and retirement due to lack of cadre. In this context, the articles regulating the issues of separation due to "reactionary and moral" situations were removed from the law. With the regulations made through relevant bylaws in 2014, it was envisaged that high disciplinary boards would be established at the Ministry of National Defense and force commands to process personnel with rank who committed disciplinary offenses in the TSK. Thus, the YAŞ was bypassed in dismissal decisions.

The destination reached 23 years after ending "military tutelage" is this:

Erdoğan is replacing the YAŞ... So what will happen to the disciplinary boards at the Ministry of National Defense and force commands; will these also be abolished and will YAŞ-like boards or something be established at the Palace?!

A Lieutenant's Lawsuit

Since we are in a process of regression; is there not a very important deficiency in this latest proposal?

Before stating what this is; let us draw attention to a lawsuit that will give an idea regarding the fate of the lawsuits filed by our last 5 dismissed lieutenants.

I.T., a trainee lieutenant at the Army Aviation School Command in Isparta, shared a visual in a WhatsApp group where his classmates were present in August 2023, with the note, "Our first domestic car 'Vatandaş' (Citizen), only the government can ride it for now." In another post, he used a visual in which a person was montaged holding a pistol behind his back under a photo taken of the King of Saudi Arabia with Erdoğan during his visit to Turkey, where Atatürk was behind them.

Following these posts, an investigation was launched against Lieutenant I.T. Ultimately, he was dismissed from the TSK by the decision of the Land Forces Command High Disciplinary Board in June 2024 on the grounds that "the economic and diplomatic relations carried out by the Government of the Republic of Turkey were criticized, and the posts exceeded the purpose of humor."

I.T. and his lawyer İlter Aksoylu filed a lawsuit at the Konya 3rd Administrative Court for the cancellation of this action.

The lawsuit was concluded in favor of I.T. on January 16. In the decision given unanimously in the name of the "Turkish Nation"; after emphasizing that in accordance with the principle of "no crime or punishment without law," every act linked to a penal sanction must be defined and the types of acts the law considers crimes and prohibits must be stated in a way that leaves no room for doubt, it was stated:

"Although the actions subject to the lawsuit were established on the grounds that the WhatsApp posts contained political content and views, and exceeded the dimension of criticism in citizen relations and domestic and foreign policy to the extent of damaging the reputation of the TSK, the defendant administration could not present concrete information and documents supporting that the posts in question, which are clearly incompatible with the seriousness of the military profession, were made for a political purpose, that the plaintiff did not include any political comment or expression in the continuation of the posts, and that there was no proportionality between the act mentioned and the punishment applied, and since it was understood that the 'proportionality' principle in disciplinary law was violated, it was concluded that the actions subject to the lawsuit were contrary to the law."

The decision in question found quite a lot of space in the media, and it was even noted that this was "hopeful" for the return to the army of the 5 lieutenants who were dismissed because they said, "We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal."

But, look, what happened;

The Ministry of National Defense appealed the decision. The Konya Regional Administrative Court 3rd Administrative Litigation Chamber also decided unanimously and in the name of the "Turkish Nation" 3 months later, on April 16, that the dismissal of I.T. from the TSK was correct.

I.T. had returned to the TSK with the first decision and regained his uniform. However, with the decision of the Regional Administrative Court, his connection with the TSK was immediately severed. What happens after this is left to the Council of State process.

If we come to the important deficiency (!) in the proposal regarding the TSK after this example; let the path to the judiciary against the dismissal decisions that Erdoğan will make also be closed, so it is complete!..

Müyesser YILDIZ

May 19, 2025